eye gouges-training?

[Ghost]

I've popped a lot of people in the eyeballs. I usually rake with a thumb in close, but I've actually reached right out and stabbed a guy in the eyeball with my pointer finger on one occasion. It was the most humane thing I could have done. He'd been knocked out cold already, and had gotten up for three more knockdowns by me. He kept getting up, and I was worried about rupturing something serious if I hit him ballistically again. He already had one eye swollen shut, so I reached out and poked him in the other eye. It ended the fight and kept me from giving the guy an aneurysm.

Anytime you knock someone out, you're giving them a concussion. It may be minor, but that's what's happening. In cases of people who like to brawl and have been knocked out before, you're giving them a repeated concussion. That can kill a guy. Eyeballs, on the other hand, are very hard to damage with things like fingers. They're too soft, and they have a tremendous level of give. I had a coat hanger whipped at me once, and it sunk right down into my eye socket and rolled around so the hook part was up behind my eyeball tugging on the inside of my forehead. It hurt like the beejeezus, but when I managed to get it out, there was nothing wrong. This was with my kid brother tugging on the other end.

Getting poked in the eyeball hurts, but you aren't going to pluck someone's eye out like in the movies. For the most part, it's just going to make them tuck their head down and turn away, which is awesome, because it gives you the chance to either run away or attack without worrying about counters.

that made me cringe, sounds agonising. your eyesight is ok though?

I always thought the eye was quite delicate. Never had the need to poke anyone in the eye thankfully.

What was the fight over with the guy you had to poke in the eye?

[Ghost]

bloody hell man, what was that guy on, is it possible he was on drugss, thats one hell of a beating to take and keep getting back up from. he must have been pretty motivated or high on something i guess. nutcase. at least it stopped the fight.
I always thought eye strikes were a lot more damaging than that.
Learnt something new today. I will be walking around poking people in the eye left right and center now

[migo]

Eyeballs, on the other hand, are very hard to damage with things like fingers. They're too soft, and they have a tremendous level of give. I had a coat hanger whipped at me once, and it sunk right down into my eye socket and rolled around so the hook part was up behind my eyeball tugging on the inside of my forehead. It hurt like the beejeezus, but when I managed to get it out, there was nothing wrong. This was with my kid brother tugging on the other end.

o_0

Not even a scratch? Pretty cool about the resiliency of the human body.

Are there anecdotes on the other end? I've actually only heard them (and my experience getting poked as well, though it wasn't even knuckle deep) along the same lines, that there wasn't any lasting damage. That would seem to suggest that a hard hit has more potential of damaging the eye by causing a detached retina.

[corwin137]

There's a lot of thoughts diminishing either the usefulness or um... "trainability" of eye gouges. Would suggest a couple things. First, that this idea, as all, relies on context in terms of its usefulness. For instance, knockouts are great. Sometimes getting to one though requires bridging and/or "softening" of one's "opponent", and I'd argue that eye gouges are sometimes a great means of doing so.

We do train them. Either by "indicating" the jab by placing a palm in front of BGs face, close enough that if we had pointed our fingers at him/her, it'd be a jab. Yes, I know, it's not perfect because we're not actually gouging out someone's eye with the jab. There's only one way to do that of course, and keeping training partners is rough enough. We've also indicated the gouge at clinch/close range by thumbing the eyebrow. Again subject to imperfection, and might be improved with goggles or somesuch, but a fairly sufficient means of maintaining the idea when working that range, focusing specifically on foul tactics and such.

[bassruttin]

I gouged a guy's eye out in high school once. This was far before I ever took any mma training (and I had a karate class for a few weeks when I was like, seven).

I was a freshman, and there was this guy that would steal my hat, and then play keep away with it, or if it wasn't a hat then a folder, etc. He'd play keep away for a few minutes then get right in my face, literally inches, and I guess dare me to do something.

Well, one day I did. I put my first two fingers inside the outer rim of the eye (near the eye socket) of his right eye, and then got him in kind of a headlock. I pushed my fingers in as deep as they could go, and then manage to put my thumb in. I tried my best to get my two fingers behind his eye, and then pull forward.

There was no flinching or blinking like people here say, since I guess he was expecting a punch. His eyes were locked on mine anyway, and he might have seen my arm swinging like in a roundhouse punch, but my hand went straight forward. After it happened, I got sent to juvy hall, and then a mental hospital for a brief while. It kinda ruined my freshman year.

[Joe Hubbard]

Oh yeah and what happened next, did you wtite the screen play for Steven Segal's first film while banged up? Please sapre me the troll!

[Joe Hubbard]

Yes Mike, I smelled it big time. The internet handle gave it away as well. The know Michael Wright also got a big whiff!

Out

Joe