Ill give my honest opinion here...i don't agree with kids doing heel hooks and those that know me and have rolled with me know that its one of my favorite submissions. I even teach my own kids heel hooks (and more importantly heel hook escapes) but they are only allowed to do them when rolling with me (except for Gabby obviously).
I have 2 reasons for this:
A.) The pain indicator for a heel hook is not like other submissions. With an arm bar, a shoulder lock etc. you can feel the pain right off the bat and know your breaking point. With a heel hook you do not immediately feel the pain, you feel tightness in the knee and a little pain and then pop...a lot of pain and its gone. So they may think they are ok...or feel some pain and think ahh I'm not going to tap to this and then bam...its gone.
B.) The second reason is I don't think kids are responsible enough to make the decision to tap or not when it comes to a major injury that a heel hook can cause (acl, mcl or meniscus tears are no joke...i've had them all). I don't know any kids that have a lot of experience with them and most have little to none. Its hard at that age to weigh winning and making everyone proud of you vs. tapping and losing. I'm sure none of them has actually ever experienced a ACL, MCL or Meniscus tear so they dont actually knows whats involved when it tears (the consequence of not tapping), the surgery, the pain, the after effects (I was never athletically the same after mine). It's a nightmare that still keeps me up some nights.
That being said I do not blame sophie, riley or EBI. If the coaches agreed then it is their responsibility to make sure their fighters are prepared for those submissions, how to escape and when to tap to those submissions. Also, I thought the production of the event was first class, the fighter are first class, everything about the event is first class...so can we get some damn medics to make this officially a first class event!! Dragging fighter offstage after injuries (Kim and Sophie) looks bad and its just a safer overall environment for the competitors.
I have 2 reasons for this:
A.) The pain indicator for a heel hook is not like other submissions. With an arm bar, a shoulder lock etc. you can feel the pain right off the bat and know your breaking point. With a heel hook you do not immediately feel the pain, you feel tightness in the knee and a little pain and then pop...a lot of pain and its gone. So they may think they are ok...or feel some pain and think ahh I'm not going to tap to this and then bam...its gone.
B.) The second reason is I don't think kids are responsible enough to make the decision to tap or not when it comes to a major injury that a heel hook can cause (acl, mcl or meniscus tears are no joke...i've had them all). I don't know any kids that have a lot of experience with them and most have little to none. Its hard at that age to weigh winning and making everyone proud of you vs. tapping and losing. I'm sure none of them has actually ever experienced a ACL, MCL or Meniscus tear so they dont actually knows whats involved when it tears (the consequence of not tapping), the surgery, the pain, the after effects (I was never athletically the same after mine). It's a nightmare that still keeps me up some nights.
That being said I do not blame sophie, riley or EBI. If the coaches agreed then it is their responsibility to make sure their fighters are prepared for those submissions, how to escape and when to tap to those submissions. Also, I thought the production of the event was first class, the fighter are first class, everything about the event is first class...so can we get some damn medics to make this officially a first class event!! Dragging fighter offstage after injuries (Kim and Sophie) looks bad and its just a safer overall environment for the competitors.
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