Okay, CTE is something that anyone who participates in a Combat Sport should be concerned about.
CTE is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or a progessive brain disorder caused by repeated head injuries, leading to symptoms such as memory loss, mood swings, and cognitive decline.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy
You can get CTE in football, soccer, boxing, hockey, mma, kickboxing, etc. or any activity that causes trauma to the head. Personally, I have boxed, kickboxed, done bare knuckled fighting, point fighting, football, wrestling, etc. and just plain martial training. So, I have taken some head shots through the years. So this is important information for myself and anyone involved in a contact sport.
Right now there are no treatments for CTE. None… Zero… So do everything in your power not to take head shots!
I feel blessed at this time. I have no symptoms of CTE. I am 58, and train daily and I am attempting to learn new things on a regular basis. I jave been asked if I would change anything in regards to my training in the past. Well, I am glad for how I have been trained but I would have taken some more precautions in my personal training. I’m not sure if all of the kickboxing, boxing and point fighting was really worth it. It certainly helped me become an exceptional martial practitioner but there are other ways to get there. The lesson here is to be smart in your training. Look through the lens of what is your goal! Very, very, very few people will ever make money from professional fighting. If that is not your goal then any training that has you taking shots to the head may simply not be appropriate. Here is hoping for good health moving forward for all of you,
New study on MMA and CTE
A new study finds MMA fighters take ten times more head trauma in training, compared to fights
Fighters worries:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1854544/2020/06/04/mma-fighters-brain-health-cte-is-reality/
https://memory.ucsf.edu/sites/memory.ucsf.edu/files/wysiwyg/UCSF%20Dementia%20Patient%20Guide_CTE_11-3-17.pdf
See You On The Mats!!!
Train Smart!!!
