The Medical Science and Biophysics Behind Knockouts

Was the possibility of exercises to strengthen this set of muscles in a way that “hardens your chin”. I’m not entirely sure if it works that way, but that’s the first thing that comes to mind.

This was an awesome article, I’m glad to see it on BE.

In short, though, the aim of the piece is to dispel the myth that cranial thickness is somehow beneficial to preventing knockouts. While perhaps handy for other protective purposes, a thick skull (and how much variance is actually there in terms of thickness?) will not protect you from a vicious punch as much as essentially have a strong, sturdy neck and jaw will.

Ooooh…..jeeez.

Some better break the news to Japan.

Also a good video from NGC’s Fight Science.

There is a near linear correlation between cranial thickness of diploic bone in relation to age and BMI, and while cranial thickness seems to be a sexually dimorphic trait, we’re talking in fractions of a millimeter to a couple of millimeters at maximum. Statistically speaking, individuals in the same weight class (and of adult age) would have such a negligible difference in cranial vault thickness that it would be statistically insignificant. This is of course, assuming no pathological conditions that would either thicken or weaken the diploic bone.

guess its time to start training.

but the MASS does. A heavier, thicker skull will resist the sudden acceleration from being struck better than a light, moveable skull will.

If Tito’s Ortiz’ skull is (X) kilograms, and the average person’s skull is 0.5(X) kilograms, Tito should be twice as resistant as the normal person to sudden acceleration from strikes.

Not all the guys I see with good chins have big necks, BJ comes to mind for example, he does not have a huge neck. Also the article said something about people with cro-magnon type jaw lines make things worse, Arlovski comes to mind…

There’s another variable in why a thick strong neck wont save you. For one, as you get rocked, your neck muscles tighten out of reflex, which causes a delay in blood flow to the brain straight from your carotid artery.

There’s also the nerve endings in your jaw.. but those aren’t affected in combat sports do to gloves.

Some of what he says here is really vague and in parts I don’t think makes a lot of sense. Correct me if you think I’m wrong in what I’m about to say

When a punch of sufficient force strikes the face, it accelerates the front of the cranium back into the frontal lobes of the brain. This is the irreducible sweet science of brain injury. A gentle blow to the frontal lobes causes various degrees of central nervous system sedation — it stuns the brain — and a blow of sufficient force simply shuts the brain off. Seizures are not uncommon. bq.

He mentions the frontal lobe striking the inside of the skull, and how he does so leads you to believe that it would be his initial blow that would KO you immediately. But, what happens is that the brain will continue to move backwards and then will also bounce off the interior posterior of the cranium. The force of this blow would then also be increased because of the reflex of the SCMs to engage and flex the head forward, according to what he suggests.

He doesn’t mention that though. How he mentions the frontal lobe makes it seem to have a large role in the CNS. The frontal lobe is known to deal more with voluntary actions. I don’t think that impact with the frontal lobe alone would cause a person to be KOed.

 From what I remember from other studies, is what causes the knockout is theorized to be the evolution of a defense mechanism. Most animals and people stop attacking something when it ceases moving. What triggers a person to be KOed is that the brain becomes over stimulated and quite literally shorts out (impacts = nerve response = electrical conduction, too much at once is a power overload).

In addition, the 2nd impact of the brain on the cranium would probably be with either the occipital or parietal lobes, or both. The parietal lobe deals with spatial awareness. So when you see a fighter get rocked by a punch and seem disoriented, its probably from the parietal lobe having a collision. The occipital lobe deals with vision.

Point being that it is the second, stronger impact of the parietal lobe in addition to the initial impact that causes the KO. Thus, the stronger the SCMs then the stronger they will flex after being punched in the face, thus the harder the collision of the parietal lobe to the cranium. IMHO.