It's always fun to hear Joe Rogan drop tidbits of information about interesting conversations he's had with fighters. And, most recently during episode #311 of the JRE Podcast, Rogan shared a little about a conversation he had with the legendary Chuck "the Ice-Man" Liddell in regards to his thought about getting KO'ed, and his inability to take punishment towards the latter part of his career.
Rogan: "And what he (Chuck) said was that his body recognized that his mind was going to make it take more damage. So, his body would shut off. His consciousness would actually shut itself off, because it had known that this, this leads to damage. When you get hit like this, if you let this guy drive you, he's going to keep going until the fucking wheels fall off, and he'll take a hundred shots to the head to just deliver one. And then, you gotta deal with the consequences of that."
It's a cute explanation but doesn't really make any sense biologically. From what I understand, there isn't a very strong scientific understanding of what actually causes a knockout. There is a lot of ideas, but it is hard to actually test experimentally. I think the idea of it being a protective mechanism (what Chuck thinks, or there being a "nerve behind the jaw") is nonsense, however. I cannot believe going completely unconscious from trauma would be an advantage ever; let alone often enough to be an evolved trait.
I was talking some with a neurologist about it recently and he thinks it may be an issue of blood flow getting cut off, which can be caused by certain neurological reflexes. I personally think it is just a centrifugal rearrangement of neurotransmitters to the point where your neurons get shut down, and this also causes damage to/loss of brain cells. If it happens enough, you lose your reserve neurons and get KO'd more easily.
Wu Massacre - there is a nerve in your jaw its called the trigeminal nerve and hooks like extremely directly into your brain
All your nerves hook 'extremely directly' into your brain, but the trigeminal nerve really just controls what you feel on your face. if you over load it your face should go numb not you going unconscious. that said... it does contribute to a lot of the tingly sensation & proprioceptive loss you recieve when you get rocked like guys that get hit then seconds later lose their mouth guard because they can't control their mandible (jaw)
PirateJax - It's a cute explanation but doesn't really make any sense biologically. From what I understand, there isn't a very strong scientific understanding of what actually causes a knockout. There is a lot of ideas, but it is hard to actually test experimentally. I think the idea of it being a protective mechanism (what Chuck thinks, or there being a "nerve behind the jaw") is nonsense, however. I cannot believe going completely unconscious from trauma would be an advantage ever; let alone often enough to be an evolved trait.
I was talking some with a neurologist about it recently and he thinks it may be an issue of blood flow getting cut off, which can be caused by certain neurological reflexes. I personally think it is just a centrifugal rearrangement of neurotransmitters to the point where your neurons get shut down, and this also causes damage to/loss of brain cells. If it happens enough, you lose your reserve neurons and get KO'd more easily.
I never understood the logic behind the 'protective mechanism' explanation either.
(Not that I have to in order for it to be true but you know what I'm saying.)
I read once that getting knocked out is a defence mechanism, so the more you get knocked out, the quicker you get knocked out as the brain recognises being punched and you go unconscious so you don't take further damage. I think the article was in Fighters Only a few years ago
Flannerz - I read once that getting knocked out is a defence mechanism, so the more you get knocked out, the quicker you get knocked out as the brain recognises being punched and you go unconscious so you don't take further damage. I think the article was in Fighters Only a few years ago
I think that's exactly what he is trying to say.
It's kinda like those goats that "faint" when they get scared. Their body and mind freeze up to save them from danger.
Chuck is basically saying the human body/mind will "go to sleep" quicker after a repeated history of knock outs as a way to prevent more physical damage to itself.
It doesn't make sense. By being KOed one does not have the option of fight or flight. They are rendered helpless before their attacker. It isn't a defense mechanism for those goats either. It is a disorder we created when breeding them into domestic stock.
