What is a good martial art for someone with a head injury.

izzi1s

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I am hoping I can get some assistance from some experts. My cousin who is in her 20's is wanting to take up a martial art.

Here is the issue.
She has had surgery and now has no bone in the back of her skull (she will obviously have to get medical clearance from her Dr. as it could def kill her.

As much as I would love to recommend Jiu Jitsu to her I know a take down could cause her to hit the area and that would not be good.

She is interested in Krav Maga but I do not know enough about it to know if there are head blows or take downs etc.

I thought about a weapons style art like bushido but lets face it, who walks around town with a sword on them.

Any assistance would be helpful...Thanks
 
I am hoping I can get some assistance from some experts. My cousin who is in her 20's is wanting to take up a martial art.

Here is the issue.
She has had surgery and now has no bone in the back of her skull (she will obviously have to get medical clearance from her Dr. as it could def kill her.

As much as I would love to recommend Jiu Jitsu to her I know a take down could cause her to hit the area and that would not be good.

She is interested in Krav Maga but I do not know enough about it to know if there are head blows or take downs etc.

I thought about a weapons style art like bushido but lets face it, who walks around town with a sword on them.

Any assistance would be helpful...Thanks

Why are they not putting a metal plate to cover the hole?

I was going to suggest BJJ, with a very skilled, and gentle person, controlled, and trusted person. she can learn the techniques without getting physical. Other than that, learn how to use a gun, a knife, and pepper spray, also situational awareness, woman tend to lack common sense or may not see red flags a man would see. A great analogy i frequently use is just the simple act of putting your hand up and saying stop dont come any closer, if you do this, and the person continues to come closer, the situation has just escalated, something to be recognized.
 
I am hoping I can get some assistance from some experts. My cousin who is in her 20's is wanting to take up a martial art.

Here is the issue.
She has had surgery and now has no bone in the back of her skull (she will obviously have to get medical clearance from her Dr. as it could def kill her.

As much as I would love to recommend Jiu Jitsu to her I know a take down could cause her to hit the area and that would not be good.

She is interested in Krav Maga but I do not know enough about it to know if there are head blows or take downs etc.

I thought about a weapons style art like bushido but lets face it, who walks around town with a sword on them.

Any assistance would be helpful...Thanks
Gun-fu.
I'm sorry but nothing is an option. Even a mcdojo would be a bad idea. Any sports for that matter. She should read books like how to win friends and influence people, 48 laws of power, shit like that. If it appears to be escalating towards a physical confrontation, 0-100 immediately, with killing intent. That is an incredibly dangerous weakness she has. This is all assuming that it goes directly from scalp to brain, with no bone or plate or anything. Instead of leaning towards a fighters mentality, she should more so lean towards a politicians mindset. These are very serious limitations she has.
 
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Why are they not putting a metal plate to cover the hole?

I was going to suggest BJJ, with a very skilled, and gentle person, controlled, and trusted person. she can learn the techniques without getting physical. Other than that, learn how to use a gun, a knife, and pepper spray, also situational awareness, woman tend to lack common sense or may not see red flags a man would see. A great analogy i frequently use is just the simple act of putting your hand up and saying stop dont come any closer, if you do this, and the person continues to come closer, the situation has just escalated, something to be recognized.

Note to self........

How to beat Shincheck up, hold hand up and say "stop don't come any closer" Shincheck automatically walks forward into flying superman punch.......
 
Tai Chi

Sorry, but that your best option with such a dangerous head injury. It can be fun and will help her stay fit.
 
Dude, you can’t do martial arts, let alone sports without hitting the back of your head. I have bumped the back of my head with every sport I’ve ever done.

She could take up running or swimming...
 
Like everybody else said, none.
Bjj is still completely inappropriate. There are too many klutzes. Bottom position is out of the question as the back of your head is on the ground, no guard, half guard, mount escapes, no sweeps, no takedowns. It’s just not possible.
 
Chi Kung standing meditation. An example of what I was taught.

Stand in a low horse stance with your arms horizontal to your shoulders straight out to your sides. Bend your wrists so your palms face the opposite walls fingers pointed to the ceiling.

Now all the tough guys mocking this, hold that stance for 5 minutes...You can't, you aren't "strong" enough. There are 5 more that I know of and train right now and probably infinite variations to build non impactive relaxed strength and endurance that were developed to help regulate physical endurance on maneuvers.

Tai Chi same principles as above, but with movement to maximize relaxation and endurance preservation during intermittent periods of intense physical activity.

There's a bunch of other arts that under the right lineage and teacher will produce good physical speed agility and power safely.

Face it, 99% of us never use "self defense" for real, so training and competing is something we enjoy(sic) as a pass time.

Someone with a disability that keeps them from dangerous martial "pastime" training can reap the benefits of martial training conditioning without the risk of severe injury.

I used that system above 10 years ago post op for ruptured tendons and is the core of my extended physical therapy before returning to the mat again.
 
I am hoping I can get some assistance from some experts. My cousin who is in her 20's is wanting to take up a martial art.

Here is the issue.
She has had surgery and now has no bone in the back of her skull (she will obviously have to get medical clearance from her Dr. as it could def kill her.

As much as I would love to recommend Jiu Jitsu to her I know a take down could cause her to hit the area and that would not be good.

She is interested in Krav Maga but I do not know enough about it to know if there are head blows or take downs etc.

I thought about a weapons style art like bushido but lets face it, who walks around town with a sword on them.

Any assistance would be helpful...Thanks


WTF, that sounds scary as hell. Ain't no doctor will clear her as they'll prob. have some liability issues in this if it could kill her. I've got hit in the head with wooden practice swords often. And it's not just about getting knocked in the head that can mess her up, it's also the sudden movements, jerking, shaking, etc. that are all involved with BJJ and most MA.

Krav Maga is also a very bad idea. Krav Maga at Level 1, teaches you to go ape-shit and exert all of your energy into a conflict or attack. It's basically MMA Lite with decent weapons disarming training.....so there's also BJJ in it. There's a lot of running around, with some exercise involving, tagging like games. If you get someone spazzy, they may forget and smack your cuz in the back of the head. There are also pushing attacks, etc. Level 2, they start training like beginner's Muay Thai + BJJ, in general.

I say, Tai Chi and carry a gun. Nothing wrong with Tai Chi if you're severely injured, disabled and/or elderly.
 
Chi Kung standing meditation. An example of what I was taught.

Stand in a low horse stance with your arms horizontal to your shoulders straight out to your sides. Bend your wrists so your palms face the opposite walls fingers pointed to the ceiling.

Now all the tough guys mocking this, hold that stance for 5 minutes...You can't, you aren't "strong" enough. There are 5 more that I know of and train right now and probably infinite variations to build non impactive relaxed strength and endurance that were developed to help regulate physical endurance on maneuvers.

Tai Chi same principles as above, but with movement to maximize relaxation and endurance preservation during intermittent periods of intense physical activity.

There's a bunch of other arts that under the right lineage and teacher will produce good physical speed agility and power safely.

Face it, 99% of us never use "self defense" for real, so training and competing is something we enjoy(sic) as a pass time.

Someone with a disability that keeps them from dangerous martial "pastime" training can reap the benefits of martial training conditioning without the risk of severe injury.

I used that system above 10 years ago post op for ruptured tendons and is the core of my extended physical therapy before returning to the mat again.

can you make another thread about this? I have always wanted to try Tai Chi, it seems like it would build good control and coordination of the body. Such as being able to touch something with your foot, as easily as you can with your hand for example. Anyways the Tai Chi I have seen looked very gentle on the body, but I see in your post quoted above, you mention:

"Tai Chi same principles as above, but with movement to maximize relaxation and endurance preservation during intermittent periods of intense physical activity."

That is what I am interested, something that puts you in a brief difficult stance such as horse stance with a transition to the next and next. Maybe all the Tai Chi I have seen was like old man Tai Chi or something rather than the harder or more advanced level.
 
can you make another thread about this? I have always wanted to try Tai Chi, it seems like it would build good control and coordination of the body. Such as being able to touch something with your foot, as easily as you can with your hand for example. Anyways the Tai Chi I have seen looked very gentle on the body, but I see in your post quoted above, you mention:

"Tai Chi same principles as above, but with movement to maximize relaxation and endurance preservation during intermittent periods of intense physical activity."

That is what I am interested, something that puts you in a brief difficult stance such as horse stance with a transition to the next and next. Maybe all the Tai Chi I have seen was like old man Tai Chi or something rather than the harder or more advanced level.

Ex-UFC guy Nick Osipczak is really big into Tai Chi now. He wants to show that it can be used in MMA. If you search for "Nick Osipczak tai chi" on YouTube you'll find a lot of stuff.


 
@izzi1s, the first thing she needs to do is talk to her doctor and see what is deemed safe for her.

The second thing is to determine WHY she wants to study a martial art. Everyone ITT seems to be assuming that it's for self-defense, but maybe she just wants to do it because she thinks it will be fun?

If her doctor think it's okay, she may want to look into a style that practices no-contact or light-contact sparring. These are usually going to be karate, taekwondo or kung fu schools. In a school like that, she'll have a lot of fun stuff to do like perfecting her techniques so that they look as pretty as possible and learning the forms/katas, and she may do some punching and kicking AT people but she shouldn't be hitting or getting hit on any meaningful level.

Competition would also be an option, as kata competition would be open to her.

But again, I think ultimately it comes down to what her doctor will clear her for and why she wants to study martial arts.

If it's for fun, there should be options. If it's for self-defense, that's trickier.
 
I am hoping I can get some assistance from some experts. My cousin who is in her 20's is wanting to take up a martial art.

Here is the issue.
She has had surgery and now has no bone in the back of her skull (she will obviously have to get medical clearance from her Dr. as it could def kill her.

As much as I would love to recommend Jiu Jitsu to her I know a take down could cause her to hit the area and that would not be good.

She is interested in Krav Maga but I do not know enough about it to know if there are head blows or take downs etc.

I thought about a weapons style art like bushido but lets face it, who walks around town with a sword on them.

Any assistance would be helpful...Thanks


Target shooting is a great martial art. Keeps your mind keen and practically meditative.
 
Could participate in striking classes and do the drill work but no sparring ?
 
I agree with @NAKMUAY18 here. BJJ is a terrible idea and to be honest the vast majority of martial arts have risks of head contacts, especially the full contact ones but also the grappling arts, and even those without contact have risks.

If I were to recommend one I would probably say traditional karate without any sparring, for example Shotokan Karate but only doing the fitness, kihon and kata side of it, or something like Kung-Fu or Tai Chi as recommended by others.

But I think with such a condition she might as well just practice running, swimming, yoga and such, or maybe racket sports like tennis, table tennis or badminton.
 
Posting on Sherdog. There's belt ranks and too
 
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