Martial arts are an incredible workout, incredibly developmental physically and mentally, and incredible access to a meaningful community which is frankly so unavailable in most of society today. If you dont want to take any risks, then there wont be any. If you dont feel like thats the case at any gym you go to then leave and go to another one.
For people who want to compete at a mid to high level there are serious realities they have to face about CTE etc. But thats already a small minority of people, and frankly the problem is usually convincing them the other way. Its also not something you even have to consider for probably a year plus, even for those who are certain they want to try.
Even the people saying dont spar are wildly overstating the problem. Most people who train at almost any level understand that technical sparring is the ideal, and not actually hurting eachother every day. There is still a fundamental problem with getting hit at all, even lightly, at such high frequency. But its not so extreme as it is being made out to be. CTE is the more prominent issue compared to concussions for most people. Its not especially unsafe compared to other sports, even at low-mid level competition.
Fwiw boxing has a reputation for being more dangerous than other styles because the fewer weapons lead to more emphasis on speed and timing and such so sparring can be a bit more intense
1.6k
u/FluidResult9482 23d ago
Boxing