10 Most Dangerous Combat Sports
Training in martial arts has many physical and mental health benefits and it is certainly a life-changing experience. However, no one can deny that this type of activity carries a certain risk of injuries, both minor and severe ones that can have an impact on your overall health in the long run.
Still, some combat systems are more dangerous than others. In this article, we will rank the most dangerous combat sports so that you can get a comprehensive look into what type of danger comes with training in each of these martial arts. You will also learn more about the concept of each of these systems, what makes them so dangerous, and the most common injuries.
Also, you need to accept the fact that people who stay committed to martial arts all experience some type of injury on their journey. That’s the reality of sports in general.
10. Kickboxing
In terms of injuries, kickboxing carries around the same risk as other full-contact striking sports such as Muay Thai. The 16-year study of injuries in kickboxing discovered that the rate of injuries was 25.6 per 1,000 fight participants.
This makes kickboxing, regardless of its Dutch style, American, or Japanese, one of the most dangerous combat sports out there.
Unlike Thai boxing, kickboxing involves striking with your hands and legs and there is only limited clinch fighting. One of the key reasons why there are so many injuries is the rules, especially the match duration.
Each match includes between 3 and 5 rounds with each round being 3 minutes long. This forces the fighters to compete at a high pace, and use a lot of power in each strike without worrying too much about gassing out and pacing themselves. As a result, brutal KOs are seen in just about every match, as well as severe injuries.
Fighters also wear full-padded boxing gloves so their hands are well-protected which means they can throw each shot with full force. In styles like K-1, fighters are also allowed to strike the opponent with knees which further increases the risks.
The most common injuries in kickboxing are concussions, shoulder dislocations, finger and wrist fractures, knee ligament sprain, ankle sprains, foot injuries, and lower back pain.
9. Judo
Judo is a grappling-based martial art that heavily emphasizes powerful throwing techniques. It primarily focuses on standup grappling where the main objective is to out-position and manipulate the opponent’s weight and balance to take them down.
Once on the ground, the focus switches to subduing them with different holds, pins, chokes, and joint locks. Although Judo doesn’t include any striking, the injury rate is listed at 11.2 per 1000 exposures which is quite high.
One of the primary reasons Judo can be dangerous is the nature of its techniques. Each training session includes forceful throws, slams, intense grabbing, and pulling on the joints which can often result in minor or severe injuries. Most of the time, students spar with full force and the dynamic and physical nature of Judo can put a strain on various parts of the body, particularly the joints and spine.
The most common injuries in Judo are joint injuries, such as dislocated shoulders, fingers, sprained wrists, and hyperextended elbows. These injuries are common due to the quick and forceful motions involved in throws and groundwork. Muscle strains and tears can occur as judokas engage their muscles intensely while attempting throws or resisting opponents.
Next, the impact of throws can result in bruises, contusions, and even bone fractures, especially if breakfalls are not executed properly.
8. Taekwondo
Taekwondo is widely recognized for its emphasis on powerful kicking techniques and dynamic movements. Although it may not look too dangerous at first sight, Taekwondo has a reputation for being among the most dangerous combat sports. It has an astonishing injury rate of 38.55 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures, more than most other martial arts.
Taekwondo is dangerous because of its emphasis on kicking techniques and full-contact sparring. Skilled athletes can generate a force in a kick equal to hitting someone with a baseball bat, and when timed and placed well, these kicks can easily cause minor or severe injuries. Combine that with the fact that the learning curriculum emphasizes sparring as the best method of learning, and you will get why Taekwondo is so dangerous.
As a result, foot and leg injuries are almost inevitable if you enroll in Taekwondo. No matter how careful you are and pay attention to staying healthy, you will get hurt at some point. The most common injuries are related to ankles, knees, neck, and back pain. Other severe injuries like concussions and fractures are also present to a high degree.
7. Combat Sambo
Combat Sambo is a Russian self-defense system developed by the military in the 1920s. It later became a very popular sport all across Eastern Europe, and there are two main variations: Sports and Combat Sambo.
While sport sambo is grappling-based, Combat variation is more versatile as it is a hybrid mix of striking and grappling. The concept resembles modern MMA fighting and the two sports share similar techniques and even rules. Fighters are allowed to strike with full force using all limbs, grapple in the clinch, and fight on the ground.
However, Combat Sambo is a bit more aggressive. The matches are much shorter than in MMA so athletes tend to be more aggressive and explosive because they do not have to worry too much about getting tired. Second, the emphasis is on finishing the opponent so each strike they throw or takedown they go for is executed in an explosive manner with the goal of hurting the opponent as much as possible. As a result of this approach, the risk of injuries is quite high and there are so many ways athletes can hurt themselves or others.
Full-blown punches and kicks to the head, powerful slams and throws, intense pulling on the joints, all of this makes Combat Sambo one of the most dangerous combat sports out there. The types of injuries fighters sustain are very similar to the ones in MMA. This includes concussions, joint dislocations and fractures, back and neck pain, lacerations, etc.
6. Kyokushin Karate
Karate has dozens of different styles and forms with the majority focusing on semi-contact or light-contact. One exception is Kyokushin karate which is widely regarded as the most brutal karate style, and one of the most dangerous combat sports overall. The average injury rate stands at 16.18 injuries per 100 athletes, but there are also other studies suggesting that this number is much higher 44.6 per 100.
What makes Kyokushin so dangerous is a mix of hard striking and a lack of protective gear. Unlike most other styles, Kyokushin is full-contact where athletes are allowed to strike each other with full-blown punches and kicks. They can throw both high and low kicks while punches are allowed only to the upper body area below the neck. However, Kyokushin Karatekas do not wear any type of gear during sparring or matches in competition.
In some cases, they don’t even wrap their hands in gauze, and this is the biggest reason why there are so many injuries. And why this effective form of karate is dropping in popularity as many people consider it too dangerous for themselves or their kids.
As a result, a lot of dojos have started embracing a much safer approach by introducing the gear because the new generation doesn’t want to get involved in a sport that carries such a high risk of injuries.
To make matters worse, the predominant are head injuries, followed by foot and thigh.
5. Muay Thai
Also known as the “Art of Eight Limbs”, Muay Thai is a national sport in Thailand, and a very brutal one too when it comes to injuries. If you focus solely on Muay Thai fight-related injuries, athletes suffer 55 injuries per 100 exposures, which is really high.
The rate is lower among beginners who, on average, suffer 13.5 injuries per 1000 exposures. In other words, you will suffer some type of damage if you stick with Thai boxing long enough, that’s just the nature of this sport.
Why is Muay Thai so Dangerous?
One of the main reasons why Thai boxing is so dangerous is the concept of striking and the emphasis on hard sparring and power. From the first day, athletes are trained to throw each shot with full power and the goal is to finish the fight with each strike landed. The ones who are serious about their training tend to spar almost on a daily basis, which makes injuries of any type inevitable.
On top of that, a lot of fighters do not wear protective gear which further increases the risks.
Training outside the ring is equally brutal. Students do a lot of grueling cardio workouts that put a lot of stress on the body.
Some of the most common injuries in Muay Thai are lacerations from elbow strikes, concussions from blows to the head, rib/nose/jaw, and other bone fractures. Light injuries such as bruises, contusions, and muscle tears are considered a part of training. And since there is a lot of clinching, grabbing, and pulling, neck, shoulder, and arm injuries are also quite common.
4. Boxing
Boxing is widely recognized as one of the most popular and most dangerous combat sports. Based on the injury reports, a professional boxer suffers between 17.1 and 23.6 injuries per 100 fight exposures while that number is significantly lower in training, especially among amateurs who don’t compete.
Why is Boxing So Dangerous?
The simplicity of the concept is what makes boxing so dangerous. It all revolves around 5–6 different punching techniques, and hitting the opponent in the upper body area to do damage. As a result, professional boxers absorb anywhere between 300 and 500 punches per 12-round match with the majority of these strikes landing to the head and rib-cage. It’s made worst knowing that there is little people can do to minimize the damage.
As a result, the most common injuries in boxing also happen to be the worst ones such as concussions and various other types of brain injuries that can develop into CTE, or even be lethal. Broken noses, jaws, and ribs are also quite common as well as broken wrists and fingers. Even in training, the emphasis is on full-contact sparring where, despite wearing protective gear, students are exposed to injuries.
Overall, there is a safe approach to boxing. You can train without sparring or competing, and focus on improving your fitness and developing proper technique. But the problem with this is that you won’t learn how to fight.
3. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
Statistically, mixed martial arts is the combat sport with the highest rate of injuries. On average, MMA fighters sustain 228.8 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures, which is incredibly high compared with most other sports. Each athlete who trains and competes almost certainly has to go through a certain minor or severe injury.
Pro fighters, for instance, often carry injuries into the fight because they don’t have much time to recover.
Why is MMA so dangerous?
MMA is the most versatile combat sport that involves grappling, ground fighting, and full-contact striking using all eight points of contact. In order to prepare, each athlete must train in at least three separate martial arts to cover all the aspects of the game. The workload is quite big as each week of training includes grappling sessions, striking, wrestling, and cardio and strength workouts. As a result, many athletes who train 6 times a week have a hard time staying healthy because they don’t have enough time to recover.
Some of the most common injuries in MMA are lacerations caused by elbow strikes and punching with 4oz open-fingered gloves. Next are bumps and bruises, torn knee ligaments, hand injuries, and concussions which are inevitable. Muscle tears and arm injuries are also quite common due to intense pulling on the joints.
2. Lethwei
Lethwei events are not legal in most of countries outside of Myanmar. And you don’t need any advanced studies or statistics related to injuries to realize just how dangerous this sport actually is. Due to its violent nature, it might be even more dangerous than bare-knuckle boxing, which is crazy to even think of.
Lethwei is also known as the “Art Of Nine Limbs”. As a concept, it is very similar to Muay Thai as the rules as well as the techniques used are quite similar. However, Lethwei brings the brutality to another level by introducing dirty moves such as the infamous headbutts. Although this may sound crazy, headbutts proved to be a very effective technique in fighting if you know how to use it right. A lot of Lethwei matches actually end with headbutt KOs.
And as if that’s not brutal enough, Lethwei fighters compete bare-knuckle. They do not wear any type of boxing or open-fingered gloves; they only wrap their hands with gauze and that’s it.
The use of brutal knees, elbows, punches, kicks, dirty fighting inside the clinch, and powerful throws, all make Lethwei one of the, if not THE most dangerous combat sport on the planet. From deep cuts, severe bleeding, and people going to sleep in just about every fight to broken fingers and noses, each Lethwei bout is as chaotic and violent as it gets.
1. Bare-Knuckle Boxing
When Bare-Knuckle boxing first appeared, no one really thought it would become as legal and popular as it is. As said earlier, boxing is probably the most dangerous combat sport considering the severity of injuries and long-term damage. And bare-knuckle boxing, which is conceptually the same as boxing, is bringing the dangers to an extra level.
The problem with bare-knuckle boxing is quite obvious — the lack of gloves. The rules are very much the same as in regular boxing, but here athletes do not wear full-padded boxing gloves. Due to the lack of gloves, fighters can no longer take the punches on the guard and cover their faces to defend as efficiently as they could in boxing with gloves.
As a result, these matches visually look brutal, barbaric, and very, very dangerous. For sure, there is a sporting element and these are real athletes and skilled fighters. But the overall brutality is too much for most people. And since this is a new sport, the world is yet to find out more about the rate of injuries.
Broken fingers and wrists are guaranteed in just about every match. The same stands for deep cuts and lacerations that almost instantly happen when the knuckles come in contact with the skin. Other injuries like broken bones, teeth, and concussions are also common.
What makes certain combat sports more dangerous than others?
Why some martial arts are more dangerous than others is based on different factors, primarily on the concept itself, teaching methods, and emphasis.
Some martial arts are oriented toward grappling and ground fighting, while some focus on striking. Since striking hands and legs causes the most injuries, especially the ones to the head, the majority of these martial arts actually have the highest injury rate. Some of the notable ones are boxing and Muay Thai for example.
The concept of grappling is different because there is no striking. Athletes still get hurt with takedowns and all the intense pulling on the joints and wrestling, but the overall injury rate is much lower. And the types of injuries are different as concussions, for example, are not that common.
Teaching methods are also important as some martial arts embrace full-contact sparring while others focus more on technique. For instance, most karate styles are light-contact and you are not allowed to strike the opponent with full force. Combined with protective gear, this makes karate much safer than other striking arts like Lethwei or Boxing including full-contact sparring.
The same is true for grappling. For example, BJJ embraces a strategic and technical approach over the usage of sheer force. Judo is also very technical, but it heavily relies on physical strength and power during the execution of techniques.
