HAHAHAHAHA. Who the heck is that????

Anyways, Marco Lala had an interesting video discussing headbutts (it wasn't the focus of the video, just a section of it). He didn't cover how to spar with them (for obvious reasons), but he explained how to put your weight behind it, how to train it with a heavy bag and **** like that.

HAHAHAHAHA. Who the heck is that????


The guy's name is Joey, and the clip is from one of the MTV reality shows, possibly Shot of Love? I had posted the whole video in Strikesian, but for some reason it was deleted. DW and co. MUST snag him for TUF as soon as he gets off that show...six months of sprawl training and a BJJ blue belt, and he will dominate the UFC.

I've also found head butt to be effective against the solar plexus or heart region, and to the groin.

I call you a liar.

I challenge you to a head butting contest.

You get one each first and free to the solar plexus, heart and groin.

I get one - to your face.

BS challenge rules apply.

Oh dear. This thread has gotten pulled rather off topic - Shame on you, ringworm! Please, if you want to discuss the potential relationship between Muay Thai and CMA, create your own thread to do so.
Back to the topic of training headbutts with aliveness:
My karate coach does have some plexiglass faceshield headgear, but we generally avoid it, because it's a pain to see or breathe in.
I was considering trying to throw some "Zidane" headbutts to the sternum in sparring, as a way to get into the idea of training live headbutts without upsetting my psarring partners too much. While it doesn't give the same target as headbutting someone in the face, I'm theorizing that it'll work on the same sort of nescessary clinch control and body positioning. It'll also exaggerate the lowering of the body to throw the headbutt; given my height, I will probably need to do this to some degree to throw a headbutt to the face, as well.
I was also considering trying to aim them at the cheekbone area. If both people are wearing headgear, this should mean a layer of padding on the weapon (my forehead) and the target (their cheek). This would be truer to the intended targets of a headbutt (nose/face), while still not subjecting anyone to a forehead to the nose.
Sadly, I did not get much of a chance to work on this when sparring at karate on Saturday. I only fought two rounds, and one of those was boxing only. One of the major impediments in my quest to diversify my striking skills is a lack of regular sparring partners for striking.
I'm very curious as to how hard is to pull a headbutt in sparring compared to other strikes. For example, I find that knees to the head (another potentially heavy hitting/cutting weapon) are much easier strikes to pull and throw lightly than punches or kicks, and whenever I've got someone in position for a knee to the head in sparring I'll just throw a light tap rather than trying to drive my knee in. Hopefully, given time and willing sparring partners, I can do more research on this.

Mighty -


The head butt is close in work.

The main targets are the nose, side of the head/temple area and forehead.

Be prepared to bleed. This is why I'm no longer an advocate of a head butt except in dire circumstances. You are likley to exchange blood.

Had enough stictches to make a small quilt,


Joe

Mighty -


The head butt is close in work.

The main targets are the nose, side of the head/temple area and forehead.

Be prepared to bleed. This is why I'm no longer an advocate of a head butt except in dire circumstances. You are likley to exchange blood.

Had enough stictches to make a small quilt,


Joe

Does the headbutt still have any cut-inflicting power if headgear is worn and the forehead is covered? Bare knuckle punches can open up some nasty cuts too, but they're minimized by the use of gloves in sparring. I'm hoping to apply the same concept to the headbutt.

If you've got headgear on you should be okay, you shouldn't hurt the other guy too too bad. There is still room for error, of course. If he turns his face into it by accident, there will be blood. Even going for the solar plexus you could get his head instead, and the cheek bone is not impervious to damage. I've seen a cheekbone entirely caved in. I mean, you should be safe, it's just a very forceful attack so anything can happen. Go try it in sparring, let us know how it goes.

Let your opponent know you will be throwing headbutts first, so that way they are prepared.

not really as scientific as they try to make it, but amusing to watch anyways... so remember drop a keg on your friends head from the 3rd floor is a felony.. 2nd floor should only be a misdemeanor.

FSN Sport Science - Episode 4 - Cheap Shots - Head to Head
YouTube - FSN Sport Science - Episode 4 - Cheap Shots - Head to Head (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7gonCQJylI)

not really as scientific as they try to make it, but amusing to watch anyways... so remember drop a keg on your friends head from the 3rd floor is a felony.. 2nd floor should only be a misdemeanor.

FSN Sport Science - Episode 4 - Cheap Shots - Head to Head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7gonCQJylI

The fact that they treat headbutting and knocking foreheads as the same thing goes further to prove what a garbage show Fight Science is.

This is in the same category as fish hooking and eye gouging to me. Once you have position and foot work which is part of all the other aliveness training it shouldn't be terribly hard to head butt someone. Just like in grappling once you establish a dominant position you can do all the "d34dly" techniques that they don't allow in "sport" competitions.

You say this, but put people in headgear, and immediately the start headbutting with the front of their face, hitting the other guy's forehead half the time- unless they had soccer training.

What, self critical- you've taken a group of students, put headgear on them and instructed them to start headbutting eachother? Where does your experience come from?

Not even disagreeing with you, but it's a fair question.

This is in the same category as fish hooking and eye gouging to me. Once you have position and foot work which is part of all the other aliveness training it shouldn't be terribly hard to head butt someone. Just like in grappling once you establish a dominant position you can do all the "d34dly" techniques that they don't allow in "sport" competitions.

I dunno, that's like saying once you have position and footwork it shouldn't be terribly hard to punch someone. It's true, but if you train how to punch it'll probably be a lot more effective.

I've had no problems applying them with boxing headgear. When sparring Chickenbeakfist, its one of my methods of stopping his judo efforts. When sparring with training knives, if I can grab their weapon hand with my left hand, I'll headbutt the chest and keep pressure so I can stab underneath pretty much uninterrupted.

It's true. Throwing a solid headbutt while I'm trying to set up a throw has proven pretty successful for Codos. Gives him the split second he needs to counter. Could this be the mythical ANTI-GRAPPLE!?!?!


Probably not...


But it doesn't hurt any more than a punch if you're wearing boxing headgear.

What, self critical- you've taken a group of students, put headgear on them and instructed them to start headbutting eachother? Where does your experience come from?

Not even disagreeing with you, but it's a fair question.

At the lower ranks in the place I do my filipino boxing stuff and kickboxing, students wear close-faced headgear(a lot of the clients are girls that came in thinking they were doing cardio kickboxing, and get lured into sparring). Lots of people headbut when we do weapons sparring, but very few people do it in a way that wouldn't smash their own faces up on my forehead. The equipment you need to do it safely can give you bad feedback.

I dunno, that's like saying once you have position and footwork it shouldn't be terribly hard to punch someone. It's true, but if you train how to punch it'll probably be a lot more effective.

Except for the range part. You have to have already gotten past a lot of tools to headbutt someone.