Would you’d rather look fashionable than keep your earlobe attached?
It never fails to amaze me. After years of teaching martial arts I still encounter people who step into class with jewelry on. Rings. Necklaces. Earrings. Belly-button studs. Toe rings.
I don’t know if it’s stubbornness, laziness, or just not giving a fuck about the safety of their training partners.
Jewelry and MMA training don’t mix. There is no upside. The only justification I’ve ever heard are, “It’s inconvenient to take off,” or “I just paid for this and my piercing will close if I remove it.” Newsflash: neither of those excuses are worth your partner leaving with cuts –or you leaving with a mangled hand.
I’ve seen what happens when people ignore this. Around age 13, I watched a horrific injury in a dojo; someone forgot to take off a ring before sparring, and what followed was a disfiguring, self-inflicted accident. The person blocked incorrectly and a finger bone was kicked out the backside of their hand. The worst part was they had on a wedding ring. Paramedics had to cut off the ring. There wouldn’t have been as much accidental damage if there wasn’t a metal band wrapped around it. That memory is burned into my head, and it’s why my stance on jewelry is crystal clear.
Need help picturing other risks? Consider these:
- Imagine performing a rear naked choke on someone with earrings or a thick, chain around their neck, then having your fingers either pulling on an earring or getting caught under metal as your opponent defends, moves and turns in the process. It’s the analogous of grabbing the collar of a rambunctious dog while the animal twists.
- Imagine your finger accidently slipping under an undetected string bracelet during grappling and then getting yanked; harming your hand to the point you can’t type the next day.
- Imagine throwing a Muay Thai teep, only for your partner’s shirt to slowly seep a bloodstain because they didn’t bother to remove a belly-button ring you unknowingly tore off their navel with your foot.
This isn’t theoretical. This is the real, predictable consequence of ignoring common sense. Anyone who has sparred or rolled comprehends this. The people who tune out are the ones who’ve not yet sparred with real-world combative resistance, perhaps only having practiced solo kata and fighting imaginary attackers, or perhaps they are just hobbyists trying the activity out and not stopping to consider that their classmates’ wellbeing is in their hands.
Martial arts training means facing a live human being. This should involve respect: for themselves, for the art, and for their training partners. Wearing jewelry into practice is a selfish, inconsiderate act.
My policy is simple and non-negotiable:
- No necklaces or bracelets (metal or string).
- No earrings, studs, or dangling jewelry.
- No facial piercings –nose, lip, eyebrow, etc.
- No body jewelry –belly-button rings, toe rings, whatever.
- Always remove your watch.
- Do not wear workout clothing with metal snaps or zippers or drawstrings that hang.
If any of this is too much trouble for a student, I refuse to teach them and I discourage students from working with them.