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Warrior Wednesday - Mouth Guards

[caption id="attachment_11040" align="alignright" width="300"]sword Image created using Bitmoji[/caption]

I was briefly thinking about the gruesome side that I could've went with in writing this post. Given that I write some horror, it could've been pretty gory.

Instead, I decided to talk about mouth guards. Surprisingly, I haven't seen their use in any of the martial arts I've practiced including karate and jiu-jitsu and they probably should be. Now, usually in sport martial arts there are rules against punching in the head, but it really only takes a fall to smash one's face into the mat and mess up one's smile. Tooth repair is expensive and there are better badges of honour to achieve.

In roller derby we always wore them. The first one I had was a cheap one from a department store that is boiled. The protection level was good, but I couldn't talk or drink water with it in. Let's face it, during a game, communication can make all the difference in a win.

Once I could afford to, I switched to a SISU mouth guard. They're thinner and highly protective while allowing drink breaks and speech. A bonus to them is that they only need hot tap water to form and can be easily reformed if your teeth shift.

When you're rolling about on the floor and taking out someone's legs, it's possible one of you will break a tooth.

Kendo doesn't use them here that I'm aware of, but though they get hit in the head with a sword, they don't get hit in the teeth usually. Accidents happen sometimes, of course, but it would probably be overkill to bother with one. The real scare with Kendo is concussions. When one is getting hit repeatedly in the head, even with a helmet on, one can end up with a concussion.

Mouth guards should definitely be used if one is planning an MMA career. One's ears are already going to turn cauliflower, so one might at least be able to chew their steak after a win.

Of course, it's no surprise to me in arts where water breaks are akin to weakness that mouth guards aren't popular. More on that separate issue another day.

Sorry I'm late on this by the way. I'm quite busy trying to get myself employed, so I don't lose my home. It's getting scary. Just a glimpse into my own personal battle right now. This means I'm missing out on the Guelph Spring Iaido and Jodo seminar weekend this year. I'm sad about it, but I'm meeting someone about an internship, which may lead to money down the road. At least, I hope so.

R~

 

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