In MMA when you can no longer intelligently defend yourself the contest ends, in power slap if try to defend yourself you're automatically disqualified.
@@michaelharville886well you are going for the extreme there…. The moment they are clear to take a unprotected blow they stop it…. If you’d boxed or done mma you would know it’s rare to take a full blow…. It’s either partially blocked or rolled with 99.9% of the time. I’ve boxed for years and can say I’ve never hit someone with 100% in the same way you could if they can’t move…
I saw an interview with Dan Hardy and he spoke about the power slap and said "you're basically trading brain cells for cash. We're at the point in society where you could put two people in cars and have them drive at each other and there'd be an appetite for that." And that is essentially what this is - a game of chicken without even the ability to swerve out of the way.
I really love UFC, I love Wrestling and combat sports in general. I was a collegiate wrestler and appreciate the skill involved to get to the top. What I love about MMA is that there are infinite ways a fight can go down. Im very bothered by slap league because it’s honestly sick. I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis. There is simply no real skill involved and there is honestly no potential evolution to the so called “sport”. With UFC we have all enjoyed seeing how the fight styles and fighters have progressed over the last 3 decades. With power slap, there is absolutely no excitement associated with where the sport can go. Power Slap needs to respectfully die. I’m over it. I can’t believe anyone thought this could be considered a sport.
Guy says “what was I doing”. I got knocked out once 7 years ago from a bike accident( pile drived my forehead into the pavement) when I woke up from people trying to help me I thought they were trying to steal my bike. I walked home smoked a joint and slept all weekend. Came to work after the weekend with my face entirely swollen and clearly still concussed, I could barely stand outside from the light hurting my eyes so badly.I still worry about the long term effects that incident has had on me. This disturbs me heavily
Head injuries and concussions are always very serious injuries. The more times you get your head hit the more likely you are going to get long term effects. I really hope that you aren't facing any effects any more, but there is always that chance. I think that it is good for everyone to be aware that you shouldn't anything other than recovering after experiencing a head trauma. I've had one concussion. It happened when I was playing soccer. I hit myself with another player and got my head hit on the turf. I actually kept playing for five minutes and thought everything was right just like you thought your bike was getting stolen. 5-10 minutes after the hit I realised that I didn't remember what day it was and what I did just moment ago. Thankfully my friends were aware of my situation and that "I wasn't quite there" anymore after the hit. This happened in school so my friends sent me to see a nurse. He checked that I wasn't acutely in need of health care. I was really scared because I hadn't experienced memory loss ever before the hit. I got sent to see a doctor and she did all the necessary checks to me. For my luck this happened on Friday so I got to take easy for the weekend. My only injurious effects were headache and short-term memory loss about the hit. Symptoms only lasted for like one day so I was very lucky. I was really scared and this experience really shook me off. I was taking easy for couple of weeks after the hit and thankfully haven't experienced any long-term symptoms. Now it's been half a year and I am feeling really well. This "sport" of knocking the hell out of other person is so fucking stupid.
I hear ya' friend. One never really can tell what kind of impact an head injury like this has. I did the same thing when I was young... cracked my skull on concrete in a cul-de-sac of my neighborhood when I fell off my bike. I was told that people came out of their houses thinking that a gunshot went off because the sound of my skull hitting the ground was so uncannily loud. I used to be a basically well-adjusted 15 yr old kid with a psychiatrist proctored 139 Woodcock-Johnson mean-iq before the brain bash. It sure seems like there's some evidence that I was negatively affected in some mental capacity, though I never went back to suffer through another pointless and lengthy iq test (which, paradoxically, this second time it might've actually said something not-so-worthless, if I could use it to compare before and after scores). I noticed a few mental 'blind spots' that developed around this time in my life (although humans are also naturally growing a lot at this stage, so who knows for absolutely sure)... But some evidence was, for instance, that I began talking much more and with less of a filter, whereas I was extremely quiet before and more internally thoughtful. I started taking longer to think things through and finish school work/tests. Started getting bad headaches. I was diagnosed as 'ADD' (the type without the physically hyperactive component). I'm always with my head in the clouds, unfocused on tasks directly before me a lot of the time to this day. Just incidentally, oddly, I think it helped a tiny bit with anxiety. I felt more generally spaced-out after my possible brain damage.
I have only ever had one concussion.. was surfing on a 4 - 5 foot day.. finished surfing so I decided to go into the shallows and mess around in the white water. Wiped out on like 2 foot of water and went head first into the sand.. was puking for the next 2 days
In all likelihood you're gonna be okay in the grand scheme of things. Knockouts are never good for you, but one concussion isn't going to ruin your life. Now repeated incidents of concussion on the other hand, that's when you need to start to worry.
My mom was diagnosed with ALS a few months ago and I was looking back on a few odd events that have occurred in the past few years. One that stood out to me was that she had a forward fall during which she did not throw her arms up instinctively to protect her head like a lot of people do, I guess what you're referring to as the moro/startle reflex. She straight up face-planted and sustained brutal injuries to the face, which seemed really odd at the time. In ALS patients, the upper extremities tend to be more hyporeflexic and the lower extremities tend to be more hyperreflexic, so I guess it makes sense that such a primal spinal-cordy type reflex (😅) would be affected by a condition like ALS since it seems to affect the body side of the nervous system moreso than the brain side. 🤔 Interesting. This video has helped me connect some dots as to why undetected ALS may have been affecting her ability to protect her head in that fall, which was initially confusing to me because when she was in the process of being diagnosed, she seemed to be very hyperreflexic (I didn't realize at the time that this was occurring mostly in her lower extremities during the testing process). Anyway, I realize it's unrelated to this video, but I thought you might like to know that you have improved my understanding of what my mom is going through. I'm very interested in medicine and I wish I had it in me to go to medical school. The human body is fascinating (and scary at times for situations like my mom's 🥺).
Please correct me if I've misunderstood something. 😅 Seems like you have associated the issue with the moro reflex to brain injury, which wouldn't have been the case for my mom prior to impact. 🤔
Great commentary. This sport is just absolutely maddening. In the UK the long term effects of head injuries in simply contact sports are devastating former athletes lives, so I can’t even imagine what nightmares await those that partake in combat sports like this over the months and years. Hopefully it doesn’t take a fatality before someone puts a stop to it.
Found out about you from one of my favorite channels, Napoleon Blownapart. This is the first time I have really agreed with any sort of societal outcry against violence on television etc. It is sick and sad and watching Gary Goodridge talk about how he realized he had CTE actually almost made me want to cry for the dude. Sad shit
@@RichHilsden That would be fascinating. Just in regards to boxing, I've always wondered how they make decisions regarding such extreme situations. How do you tell someone who's likely concussed and whose face is split open to go back out? What are you looking for specifically when you DO call the fight off?
It was pretty in Poland, but got banned after a former strongman competitor died after getting slapped, any sport the sole purpose of which is unprotected strikes to the head deserves to get banned.
I first saw slap fighting around 2 years ago and it left me speechless. I just can't understand why this is a thing. And now that Dana White got into it, it's even more worrying. Slap fighting is not a real combat sport. There's no skill or strategy involved. These people are just standing there defenseless and getting rocked repeatedly. It's really just monetized brain damage.
Hi Rich, I wonder would you be able to have a chat either via email or zoom some time about your thoughts on power slap for an upcoming video I'm making on the subject? I'd just like to get a proper medical experts opinion on this!
The worst part is that an actual slap involves only your fingers and the top of your palm. When it involves your palm heel, that's at frigging palm heel attack with a hook arm swing, not a slap!
Good video, I've been a fan of combat sports for a long time. I enjoyed your comparison and analysis. One comment I wanted to make is the on the Moro reflex, I've never heard that used to descript the body's response to a knockout. I've only ever heard of it referred to as a "fencing response".
Thank you. Spread the word. This is not OK. This is not on par with MMA. This is taking full power unprotected blows to the head. It's not a sport. It's abuse and exploitation of desperately poor people.
We love to compare ourselves to the ancient Romans and say how barbaric they were watching gladiators die in the Colosseum, yet this Slap contest is essentially the same, but it will just take more slaps to finally bring someone to their grave.
This so needs to be outlawed! I don't understand how people don't cherish their brains as invaluable! You can't put a price on it. I wouldn't do that so called sport for millions of dollars. Say the winner doesn't get knocked out but gets slapped hard a few times. How often does he have a match? How do they possibly think the constant hits to the head won't affect their brains? Mind boggling to me.
It is a breath of fresh air to hear a qualified professional tell the truth and call out his own profession to hold them accountable. These guys are getting brain injured while Dana and others capitalize?? I didn't like seeing a video of Dana putting his hands on his wife. With injury or infection there is an inflammatory response that can be seen using non invasive radiology. Progression of infection or physiological changes can be seen and was lectured in accredited medical education. The areas of inflammatory response can be isolated and has been lectured for CME credits required for ongoing medical licensing. There is no higher standard. Here is an example while lecturing in Chicago. We would be asked about specific health issues and whether it could be seen. I did not know that acute pancreatitis was a difficult diagnosis. Patrick Swayze, Michael Landon, Steve Jobs and others died from this. I was asked to look at a young man's shoulder so he strips to the waist and acclimates. Looking over low temperature spans, I told him the shoulder was fine what is up with the abdomen? I asked health professionals what is in the abdomen inflamed and looking like an inverted banana? Note: the image you will see here was to highlight the area of inflammatory response, changing temperature spans allowed isolating sources of inflammation using non invasive radiology. Note: Every pixel is accurate temperature that can be analyzed. thermoguy.com/acute-pancreatitis-can-be-seen-with-100-non-invasive-imaging/
Man it's nuts how Dana got this "sport" commissioned... every combat sport gives a person the ability to defend themselves but in slap fighting you must stand and take the strike...
Ugh, thank you for being clear & vocal about this. Didn't hear about this fresh hell back when the response was posted & now see another (intercranial) event is scheduled for late October 2023. Perhaps trauma & neuro content creators could collaborate on an educational campaign to coincide with it. I'll put a few more thoughts about that at the end of this post. I only took about 20 hours of undergrad & grad neuroscience, a mere rounding error compared to the study undertaken by experts, but this being permissible (i.e. venues could refuse bookings, Vegas could intervene on behalf of public health, etc.) & seen as entertaining signals to me that two IMMENSELY important things are still not understood by the public: 1) Evidently, there's widespread ignorance about the medical gravity of the reflex you mentioned, which (like @obiwongaming mentioned) I also primarily hear called as the 'fencing' reflex or response. Perhaps the instinctive alarm it prompts in most who witness it isn't enough to make Concussion Clash "unentertaining," but people need to know if they see a child exhibit it in sports, or witness an assault, etc., etc. it MUST be mentioned ASAP to medics, first responders, family members of the concussed, or whoever is responsible for med intervention in a setting. Life or death matter at worst, (hopefully) shapes approach to monitoring/treatment at best. 2) After DECADES of discussion of CTE in contact sports... somehow, it seems the 'second impact' or 'consecutive impact' problem has failed to really sink in? Sports involve something other than head trauma, at least. This is nothing but rounds of head trauma. Agree with @DruSolis mentioning this is the ultimate deconstruction of sport, simple & repulsive trade of health in hope of reward. But I don't actually fear our human brutishness most in all this. Our base selves are a double-edged sword, sometimes aiding survival in unfathomable circumstances, sometimes piquing fascination with degrading exploitation like these "fights." What I REALLY fear is shrugging, feeling the normalizing of the lowest & cruelest is inevitable. Everyone speaking out is saying we can choose better, and I believe that's true. Finally, if a head injury commentary & education project was taken up by content creators to coincide with a future bout, I really think eSports organizations might join in and help amplify the endeavor. Many of these orgs have invested heavily in competitor wellness as a path to improved performance in recent years, and gamers at large are invisible participants in profitability of fighting events as a significant percentage of under-40 folks within sports betting. Liquid eSports, in particular, seems to have an awareness-raising organizational pillar in alignment with the medical community on this topic.
I think it was wrestler Lance Storm whose take was : “I’m watching guys become future suspects in domestic violence calls” that put it in perspective for me
Awww I can tell how passionate you are about this topic.. this show is horrible. Hope this doesn't last for too much longer. Thank you for using your platform to express the dangers of not only participating in this "sport" but the healthcare professionals who stand behind it just for a check. 😢
Hi Doctor, I have found your video very interesting. Brain injury topics have caught my attention since my father had a head trauma due to a fall at his house, neurologists told me he was very lucky to survive and not being paralyzed, he had a brain bleeding that did not require surgery, he was under anti seizure meds, blood thiners and a med to control a heart arrhythmia that developed due to the brain trauma, after 3 months in a nursing home he is back at home, he is rejecting the idea of living in a supported living facility, he was declared mentaly competent to make his decisions, my question is, is still safe if I lift him up when he falls and presses the life alert button? Or from now and on it is better if at every fall we should instead call an ambulance and taking him back to hospital? Thanks for your advise and hope you have a wonderful day.
In combat sport, it's over, when someone is unable to defend them self. In slap"fighting" it starts with someone not defending. But i like how Dana is ruining the credibility of UFC in the process. He has once again shown, that he doesn't care about the health of his employees.
Of course the longer this "sport" stays around, the more likelihood we will see severe outcomes for multiple people. I can't help but think of the boxers who died not long after their match because of brain damage (Leavander Johnson, Maxim Dadashev, and many more). The obvious difference here is that major defenseless strikes to the head is the key element, highlight selling point, and focal entertainment value. Dana White in particular has a track record of being complicit in not looking after people's best interest over $$$. You would think his recent incident of landing in trouble over a slap coincidentally might prompt him to do some self reflecting, but I'm not so sure about that.
@@RichHilsden I have been a fan of combat sports due to the level of skill involved, but this is plain idiotic and a clear exploitation of the poor, atleast you get to defend yourself in other combat sports, this is moronic.
Another aspect of this is that they are going on show where they have to keep getting concussions on the verge of being knocked out, then do it all again on a few weeks.
I'd be super interested in a video explaining the damage caused by leg kicks especially to the knee, where the kick lands above or below the knee surely there is still some damage to the knee itself? Lowkick championships is a good reference.
the guys taking part in slap league dont take it serious because slap sounds harmless and implies its not serious but thats wrong. they also always talk about slapping the sh** out of each other which makes it sound less serious and more like a game.
I think a huge part of why something like this is even allowed to happen is because of the role hollywood has played in portraying concussions and KO's as injuries no more serious than bonking your shin on a coffee table. In any action movie, the hero will get knocked out via a blow to the head so the bad guy can get the drop on him, and when he wakes up he's no worse for wear. The general public doesn't understand that being knocked unconscious even ONCE means you have received brain damage that can cause serious, life lasting neurological complications. When I was a teenager, I had the flu and fainted from a fever spike/Blood pressure drop while standing, and fell all the way backwards and hit my head on a tile floor. Wouldn't you know it, just a year or two later I started having seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. PROTECT YOUR HEAD.
The worst part about power slap is the fact that they have guys holding them up when they fall. They are useful to break the fall, but them being there also helps the continue to get slapped by holding them up. At least in mma you are allowed to defend yourself, and the fight ends as soon as you cannot defend yourself anymore. Hell if you get really good at grappling, you hardly even have to take that many shots in your career if that fits your fighting style. Can't really say the same for power slap. I personally don't even find it entertaining even if it did no harm to the human body, but that's my opinion.
First of all the whole Power Slap thing shouldn't exist and it makes me angry as well. But as a person who had a couple of seizures before, i disagree with whole "They are lying to you" at 5:47 . When you are on the floor and disoriented telling someone what's going on is pure stress and can be problematic for the person on the floor. An "Everything is fine" kind of talk to calming the person is better. What happens after he gets up or a minute later is important. But don't stress a person who just gaines conscious again.
i fell of a big old washing maschine as an infant to a concrete floor... then i nearly drown as a toddler, nobody knows how long i was under water... i struggle with depression and substance abuse but i dont think thats a cause, is that posssible...? besides beeing on the spectrum as they say, i consider myself normal, but who knows...
I have enjoyed and participated in combat sports since a young teen. I absolutely enjoy watching UFC, One, PFL, etc. But, this slap stuff isn't MMA or Boxing and I'm not sure how it can be called a Sport. In other Combat Sports one can defend themselves so such strikes rarely land flush with the head. I also believe, like most, that this "sport" is leading to serious brain damage to these participants. I also believe Dana White is in for a rude awakening when the inevitable lawsuits start flooding in. I'm not privy to the contracts they sign so I'm not sure what kind of protections anyone involved has.
It's an insult to athletes to call these people athletes, and Dana usually comes across as an okay guy, but this makes me question him entirely. It really is some sick stuff.
its brainless crap.. ridiculous.. cant imagine the long term damage, even short-term.. the doctors should be ashamed for okayng this. i love MMA boxing, i completed in boxing, and this is total BS.
Yeah, one time I saw this girl get smashed over the head with this giant piece of wood by this huge dude, and immediately she put her hands and legs up like that, eyes rolled back with her mouth open and upper lip stretched down almost like she was making an O with her mouth. She immediately started like convulsing, sort of looked like a seizure, but she died right after.
I am a huge fan of combat sports and all sports in general. I think we are making our youth soft by the overprotection of them but I must say for me this slap sport is over the top. I don’t see how a sports league would sponsor this activity with a clear conscious. We know it’s harming these men and women but the ufc only sees dollar signs 💵. They have to come up with something other than a blow to the head if they want to make it long term IMO.
What would you have a doctor say to someone who just got concussed? If I just work up from a traumatic event, I'd rather hear, "You're okay," than, "Oh man, you're fucked." 😂 After the shock dissipates, then give it to me straight.
But.... these people are choosing to do it. You get injured in lots of other sports, and while this is a bit different, its still done fully consenting participants. Its crazy, yes. But they have a say.
This guy was going well until he said he participated in combat sports. So, if he took punches in the head doing those sports he probably also got permanent brain damage from that. Also, this is about money? LOL what about UFC, its about what?
Power Slap is what you do when your drunk macho buddies start acting tough. Can't believe people actually watch and participate in this. The first slapper has a HUGE advantage, there's no defense, which means you can't even call it a fight.
I love watching fighting. N I can handle seeing some brutality. But this power slap literally gives me a head and makes me feel nausea just watching clips
Dana said guys are training to take impact better with neck and jaw training. Best you can do is grow a beard I guess. It’s sad to see these guys in the future. Getting slapped on the same cheek is so repetitive.
How many teens or 20- somethings see this and imitate it without medical clearance on the pavement without the person standing Behind the victim? And yes I wrote VICTIM!
I will subscribe simply because you have morals and aren’t afraid to call these doctors out. Funny how Dana can dump millions into a slap (clubbing) league….but can’t pay his ACTUAL fighters more money.
The slaps in Slap Fight Championship (SFC) are not clubs which is why knockouts are rare and fights go many more rounds. Frank the Tank wins a lot because its more toughness and technique rather than the luck of winning the coin toss here in the club-fest.
At the end of the day, these people sign up willingly whether it's for their own good or not. They don't have to do it. Humans have always watched stupid shit, especially violent stupid shit. This is no different. And I actually like it as a guilty pleasure.
There is a CLEAR difference in that you can't fucking defend yourself in anyway it's clearly a HUGE difference than boxing or mma where you can duck,weave,block,feint, take down. And yes they also take head shots, but not in the same un defended way. So power slapping is basically getting TKO'd/KO'd in every match and round like 9/10 times, unless the person misses a bit. And just because it's a slap doesn't mean it doesn't do huge damage, it can even mask it like the video said because it doesn't do cuts etc. I just think it's way too boiled down and just cuts combat sport down to the Haymaker TKO/KO element.
If one consents to trading brain cells for cash who tf are u to judge? U are completely unaware of their economic standing. In that context, the brain cells they’ve consented to waste could be viewed as a noble endeavor. Their decision to compete is completely their responsibility regardless of the trauma suffered, if a doctor has deemed them to be fit for competition & has taken all ethical consideration into account, the responsibility lies solely on the contestant who chooses to compete. Not the doctor.
