What do you think?
With elbows allowed, pads could allow the damage of the strike to be maintained with some of the cutting factor removed.
I'm not convinced either way, and honestly, I'm more of a "no holds barred" kind of guy, but I wanted to hear some thoughts on the subject.
no pads.
they should just wear full body suits, that way no one can get hurt.
lol
TT
Sorry, I guess I only said I wanted some thoughts.
Apparently I should have said to put some thought into it. :)
Anyone for or against care to elaborate?
it's a pretty good idea, but i have yet to find a practical elbow pad. cut stoppages suck, so until we get rid of them (which will be a while), elbow pads would actually allow more fight realism. there is a pretty good chance that UFC will ban elbows like pride did, because of the cut stoppages. i like spiked elbows to, and we might get them back with pads :)
I think it is a good idea..in Pride, there is no elbow and it is much better. so i think in the UFC, elbow with pad would be great. like that you can have the impact of the strike without all the cutting damage bullshitt.
Good idea!!
it would probably make it much harder to slip out of an armbar with pads on tho.
'A' effort for effort, but dumb idea.
For the record, I'm not trying to sell the idea. I'm putting it up for debate, looking for pros and cons.
I just saw a muay thai poster where all the guys had elbow pads, and it got me wondering.
As I said, I'm not a big fan of more rules and limitations. I just saw the elbow pads as a way to allow the fight to continue without a superficial blow opening a cut near the eye and ending it.
And certainly if I had the choice of elbows with pads vs. Pride's no elbows at all, then I'm 100% for the pads.
The problem with wearing elbow pads is that it becomes another thing to get in the way of grappling. If someone has an overhook, it would make it more difficult for the other guy to slip his arm out. I imagine it might complicate some submissions as well (like armbars).
I'd prefer to not allow elbows to the face. To the body is perfectly fine.
They are not really practical for MMA. There would be many stoppages to adjust the pads back in place.
ryan, you would completely ban elbows to face, on the chance that pads might interfere with grappling? i'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that you're a grappler.
what about the NFL elbow pads, they look pretty good.
"They are not really practical for MMA. There would be many stoppages to adjust the pads back in place. "
you're correct as far as standard elbow pads go, but they could probably make something workable.
ryan, you would completely ban elbows to face, on the chance that pads might interfere with grappling?
Along with the reason stevekt posted.
RINGS used elbow pads. They were optional. Whenever someone had elbow pads, there were frequent stoppages to fix the pads. And because elbows weren't allowed on the ground, if the pad was messed up while they were on the mat, they wouldn't stop to fix it (only when the fighters were standing). In the UFC, there would be even MORE stoppages to fix the pad.
Good point about trapping the arms with aid from the pads.
On a semi-related note, Charuto needs to START wearing knee pads. Maybe then, everyone won't escape his triangles as easily. :)
It would be good for stopping so many cuts but harder for guys to avoid the armbar.
Maybe it could just be like a neoprene sleeve or something. Those stay in place pretty well when you are sweaty.
that would probably lead to more cuts do to the seems. Also, subs would be an issue not to mention the would cut circulation and tire the fighter quicker.
i just can't see why it would be so difficult to make a practical no slip elbow pad. you don't need an acual "pad" like one for sparring to protect from damage, just something to reduce the # of cuts. we're probably going to lose our elbows someday otherwise, and lose another piece of combat reality
rhodges, please re read what i posted, and edit your post accordingly. elbow strikes with a very thin pad are MUCH more realistic than no elbow strikes at all. which is where we're heading. it's also much more realistic than declaring one man a loser from a cut that would have had little effect in a real fight. it's really cheating the fighter.
cut stoppages make even less sense in MMA than they do in boxing. even if i was blind from blood in my eyes, i could keep fighting on the ground.
unfortunately, we're hostage to people who know nothing about what we do, and know nothing of how cut damage compares to a crippling heel hook or neck crank.