# Slap-fighting and brain damage: how could we have known? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2024, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742 "2024-09-26T10:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/1 "2024-09-26T10:01:35Z")
If you’ve never seen slap fighting, well, it’s pretty much like it sounds: two opponents stand face to face and take turns slapping each other in the face as hard as they can until someone just can’t take it any more. It’s not two drunks spontaneously going at it in a bar, these are organized, televised tournaments with sponsors and fan bases. Search YouTube for “slap fighting”, and you’ll see what it’s all about. And now that you understand what slap fighting is, the following probably won’t surprise you one bit: > **[Study of 'Slap Fighting' Reveals Signs of Brain Injury in 78% of Participants](https://www.sciencealert.com/study-of-slap-fighting-reveals-signs-of-brain-injury-in-78-of-participants)** > > There's no protection. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/2 "2024-09-26T10:05:49Z")
word is, that 86% of those people taking part had Brain Injury before getting into this sport. So, if you do it long enough, it’s actually healing you … /s (just in case) ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/3 "2024-09-26T10:54:55Z")
The trick is to make sure you get slapped an even number of times, with alternate hands. That way the left and right slaps cancel out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/4 "2024-09-26T11:18:38Z")
Did they check for brain damage before? It seems to me here correlation does not equal causation. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/5 "2024-09-26T11:25:46Z")
I would never enter into a slap fighting competition partly because I do not _have_ brain damage. I’ve watched bare knuckle fights, both men and women. I assume that the participants are experiencing brain damage. At least in the NFL players are helmeted, and we know they experience brain damage. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/6 "2024-09-26T11:33:30Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Did they check for brain damage before? > It seems to me here correlation does not equal causation. The assessments were based on the behaviors of contestants observed immediately after having received a slap: > Analyzing footage from the first season, neurologists from the University of Pittsburgh and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System noticed several visible signs of concussion among the contestants, including blank or vacant stares, slowness in standing back up, coordination issues, vomiting, amnesia, or impact seizures. > > If just one of these signs was observed and agreed upon, the team of doctors concluded that a concussion had been sustained. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/7 "2024-09-26T11:38:49Z")
This reminds me of signs at an amusement park that read **“THIS IS A WATER RIDE. YOU WILL GET WET”.**. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/8 "2024-09-26T11:41:58Z")
It’s been many since the NFL outlawed head slaps. Rushing defensive linemen were actually allowed to slap offensive linemen in the head in an effort to get past them. The amnesia, dementia, and depression former Steelers’ center Mike Webster suffered after football has been attributed to a career’s worth of head blows received from defensive linemen. He was only 50 years old when he died. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/9 "2024-09-26T11:52:35Z")
Durn neurologists take the fun out of _everything_. 😡 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/10 "2024-09-26T12:23:52Z")
My husband was watching _Rocky_ this weekend, and once again, I was trying to figure out what was the “sport” in beating the crap out of each other. Surely there are better ways to determine who punches harder or faster without causing bodily harm or worse. I’ll put MMA and this slap-fighting in the same category. Maybe it’s a macho guy thing. I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/11 "2024-09-26T14:28:25Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Maybe it’s a macho guy thing. There are plenty of women that like watching boxing. Probably touches the cave man part of us deep in our brains. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/12 "2024-09-26T14:45:41Z")
So somehow agreeing to participate did not qualify as “brain damaged”? That kind of behaviour seems highly erratic. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/13 "2024-09-26T16:44:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve watched bare knuckle fights, both men and women. I assume that the participants are experiencing brain damage. I’ve watched some, too. Not very entertaining and not the scene for me. Sometimes, they wear … um, gstrings on fingers, I guess a figleaf of a glove. I’ve only seen clips of the slapping but it looks similarly dumb. But it’s understood that _closed fist_ strikes made with boxing or mma gloves do more damage. Fighters can hit without much fear of hand and finger damage. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/14 "2024-09-26T16:48:08Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > So somehow agreeing to participate did not qualify as “brain damaged”? According to the [“rules”](https://slapfight.com/leagues/power-slap/rules) It’s a technical knockout if: > [@](#): > > The referee stops the Match after a determination (including in consultation with the supervising physician) that the Participant is not **intelligently** participating or does not have the ability to **intelligently** participate in the continuation of the Match Bolding mine. Yeah, these should all end in a pre-match mutual TKO. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/15 "2024-09-26T16:55:12Z")
Next you’ll be telling me the Pope is Catholic. I’ve been meaning to start a thread about this sport. It is the funniest, dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a martial art for people who don’t want to work too hard at it but don’t mind - or already have - CTE. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My husband was watching _Rocky_ this weekend, and once again, I was trying to figure out what was the “sport” in beating the crap out of each other Well, you can see how the sport would have evolved from, you know, the fact people fight like that. As brutal as it is, boxing IS a sport, one that involves a lot more than just the punching; punching hard is not remotely enough skill to win a bout. Footwork, cardiovascular conditioning, tactics and defense are all critical. I often tell people that if they want to understand a real boxing match (“Rocky” isn’t at all realistic. Great movie for other reasons though) you start by watching their FEET, not their hands. As much as I enjoy the sport of it, though, what it does to people’s brains makes one question whether it’s moral. Football’s just as bad, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/16 "2024-09-26T21:07:09Z")
It’s a waste of words to say anything to the idiots but just for information purposes, probably the easiest way to concuss a person is to hit them in the jaw. the impact transfers to the skull and jostles everything. The inside of the skull is not smooth so the ridges can tear at the brain. Brain bleeds can easily be fatal if not treated immediately. Sometimes a person thinks (no pun intended) that they have a simple concussion when they are also experiencing a brain bleed. I plead with all of you. Do not take injuries or impact to the head lightly. Dementia is no way to lead a life. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/17 "2024-09-27T13:05:34Z")
Yeah, which came first, the chicken or the slap-fighting? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/18 "2024-09-27T13:26:39Z")
I recall seeing a film clip of slap fighting for the first time and thinking “This can’t be a real thing; nobody is that stupid.” Not the first time I’ve been wrong. I used to be a boxing fan long ago, but lost interest somewhere along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/19 "2024-09-27T13:57:36Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Sometimes a person thinks (no pun intended) that they have a simple concussion when they are also experiencing a brain bleed. > > I plead with all of you. Do not take injuries or impact to the head lightly. Called **[“talk-and-die” syndrome](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talk-and-die-richardson/)**, this is how Liam Neeson’s wife died. You thump your head, and you feel fine at first - at least until a little while, when the bleeding finally starts compressing your brain. > **[Natasha Richardson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#Death)** > > Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English and American actress. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Richardson met future husband, Liam Neeson, in 1991 while filming Shining Through. > Early in her career, Richardson portrayed Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's Gothic (1986) and Patty Hearst in the eponymous 1988 biopic f... > On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the [Mont Tremblant Resort](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Tremblant_Resort), about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from [Montreal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal).[[21]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#cite_note-21) At first, she refused any medical help but complained of a severe headache about two hours after the accident.[[22]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#cite_note-22) Richardson was flown to [Lenox Hill Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenox_Hill_Hospital) in New York City, where she died two days later from an [epidural hematoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidural_hematoma).[[23]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#cite_note-23) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742/20 "2024-09-27T20:12:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yeah, which came first, the chicken or the slap-fighting? and when you say chicken, you mean sloshing, right? > [@Chefguy](#): > > I recall seeing a film clip of slap fighting for the first time and thinking “This can’t be a real thing; nobody is that stupid.” Not the first time I’ve been wrong. I used to be a boxing fan long ago, but lost interest somewhere along the way. right, I also had some “Jackass 3” type of sensation when seeing it first… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slap-fighting-and-brain-damage-how-could-we-have-known/1007742.md?page=2)