The Knockout Gavin Mulholland

from Lift Hands Volume 21 March 2022 - The Multi-Award Winning Martial Arts Magazine

The Wudang Stepping Methods: The ‘Ingenuities’ Of Taijiquan Nasser Butt

Why is it that some people are easier to knock out than others? How is it that some people can withstand a barrage of punishment, while others just seem to crumble? You may have been studying karate for 20 years but all it takes for you to lose against some teenage Chav is for them to land just one lucky punch. That’s it - 20 years of training and there you are flat on your back having your ribs broken and head stoved in — and all it took was it a split second for that knockout punch to land.

If you get knocked out in a sporting context, be that boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai, kumite or MMA, there will be a referee there who will step in, stop the fight and spare you any further punishment. Getting knocked out on the street however, is an entirely different prospect. When you get knocked unconscious in an altercation outside of the dojo environment, there is no guarantee that your attacker(s) will stop. In fact, unconscious people have been kicked to death while lying unconscious and unresisting on the floor.

But what is it that actually causes the knockout and more importantly, is there anything that you can do to stop it from happening to you?

When somebody is hit hard in the head, it is likely that the arteries in the neck will compress. Similarly, a blow to the head can cause the circulation in the brain to compress. Despite this, what really determines the outcome of the blow in terms of knockout is the acceleration and snapping motion of the head. When hit hard the head accelerates backwards or sideways and it is ultimately the force of this acceleration that determines whether or not somebody is rendered unconscious.

Okay, so if it is the movement of the head that is important, what can you do to minimise that movement?

Well, let’s go back to basic physiology and ask ourselves the question, what is it that moves, controls and supports the head? The answer of course, is the neck.

Having a strong neck will help minimise the movement of the head when forcefully impacted. In turn this will minimise or even prevent, the rapid acceleration of the brain following such a punch. A strong and balanced musculature is a great way to prevent injury and this is one of the reasons Okinawan Karate made/makes such heavy use of Hojo Undo, (training aids such as Chi’ishi, Kongaken and iron Geta). Traditionally, they sought to strengthen the body at the same times as honing martial ability.

Above: Zutsuki — Headbutt; Middle: Neck musculature; Below: Bridge

By strengthening the muscles of the neck, a fighter can vastly increase their ability to withstand hard blows to the head. Take a look at ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield. Both were heavyweight boxers. Both were genuine world champions. And surprisingly, both were small — well relatively small for heavyweight boxers anyway. Both Tyson and Holyfield used to fight somewhere around the 15 stone mark. When you bear in mind that someone like Lennox Lewis would fight at over 17 stone you can start to see the discrepancy.

So how was it that these two exceptional boxers were able to withstand a withering amount of punishment from much larger and heavier opponents? At least part of the answer lies in the structure and musculature of the neck. If you dig out some old photos of these two men, you will notice that Evander’s neck is thick with muscle, while Mike Tyson doesn’t actually appear to have a neck at all!

This is an extremely important area and all fighters, from whatever discipline should, as part of their normal training regime, be taking time to strengthen their necks. Even if you don’t grapple or make much contact during class, you should still seek to minimise the possibility of getting knocked unconscious.

Regardless of your skill levels, if you get knocked out you will have lost all ability to defend yourself, your property or your family. If you so much as pay lip service to ‘self defence’ you should be looking to strengthen your neck.

Strengthening the neck undoubtedly plays an important roll in preventing a knockout. People often talk about ‘the lucky punch’, but as ever, you make your own luck in this world. If you want to avoid going down to that ‘lucky’ punch, make some luck of your own and start working some basic neck strengthening exercises into your weekly conditioning routines.