When I logged on to my computer this morning I noticed this article. NFL- Sports Concussions Called a 'Ticking Time Bomb' - AOL Sports It caught my interest as it flashed by because I seen Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's picture in the introduction . Being a Steelers fan I decided to see what the article was about. I was glad that I did because , though Michael has had at least one concussion from missing a block and being hit in the head during a karate class. I never really thought of it as that big of an injury since he never last consciousness. As a matter of fact I wouldn't have even taken him to the ER except that his pupils dilated catching my attention.
This makes me wonder, If these "head injuries " are as dangerous as the article suggests,aren't eighty to ninety percent of today's children at risk? I personally have always known that Shoto Kan karate could cause injury . I remember the first month that Michael started karate.I dropped him off at the dojo and went to my mother's house to return a dish I had borrowed. When I came back I seen an ambulance in the parking lot of the plaza where the dojo was located. Panic overcame me and I got out of my car and ran in without even taking the keys with me. Luckily it was not my precious five year old who was injured but there were adults in the class who were sparing. One missed a block and took a hit to the face. For those of you who have never watched this type of sparing, when a punch hits the skin, the snap of the impact splits the skin open like you cut it with a knife. I have never forgotten the fear that I felt this day and have since felt it many times as I watched Michael compete once he earned his brown belts and finally his black belt.Luckily Michael has grown up competing and though any belt lower than a brown never free spars in competition, he has learnt how to block .
I know that many Americanized karate clubs fight in full protective pads to prevent injury but in Shoto Kan hand pads and mouth guards are the only padding used. I agree with this because One of the main reasons that I put my son's into karate was to teach them self defence. Now if they have never spared or taken a hit without padding what happens when they need to defend themselves on the street and they don't have their padding? I believe that teaching them to defend themselves, how to block and how to fall are essential.
Though karate can certainly cause injury,Karate is not even mentioned in this article. How many boys play football? I have heard that there are now pee wee football leagues for children as young as five. Though these kids wear full pads so do professionals and as the article proves these don't always protect. Then there is hockey, Baseball, basketball, even track and field . Once in high school I saw a pole vaulter miss the pads after his vault.
When you stop and think about it most activities that our children participate in can cause head injury ( or many other injuries for that matter). Aside from sports how about horse back riding? Bike riding? skateboarding? Are their any children out there who are not at risk? I would think that if any, it would be a small percentage. So what is a parent to do? I'll tell you what I do ; I pray ! What else can be done ?
