How To Protect Your Nose In Boxing?

The intensity of any boxing match is among the most interesting features making this game so attractive. And when you are a boxer, finding how to protect your nose in boxing must be the first thing you should know. 

Even if you are a professional boxer or have boxing as an exercise to keep fit, the following rules must be followed to protect yourself from any severe injuries.

How To Protect Your Nose In Boxing

Equip With Sparring Gloves

In case the normal bag, training, or gloves are still your choice, for now, the sparring gloves must be a great thing to keep not only your head but also the body and your nose safe. Unlike the normal one, the Sparring gloves contain more padding with 16 oz or 14 oz gloves.

The cushioning inside these gloves might have an outstanding performance in protecting the boxers’ noses without being banged up with some sparring rounds. When you do not wear or cannot find any headgear going with protection for the nose, the sparring glove perhaps is one of the best choices.

Regarding the look, sparring gloves seem to be identical to the usual gloves. You can only notice the difference between these gloves at their time touching the padding. They are incredibly soft, which can reduce a punch’s impact in a fight to your nose. This solution will indeed protect your body, but if you do not like the soft in boxing and are searching for a real hitting feeling, you can find some other solutions. 

Wear Headgear With Nose Bar

To make sure your nose never gets broken or major hurt, a special headgear might be a great help. Even though the standard headgear targets to keep your ears, cheek, and forehead from getting hurt, it doesn’t work for nose protection. With that, many manufacturers have introduced many completed Headgear.

This tool will do an excellent job in protecting your nose, cartilage, and bones. One thing that might make you Heritage about using headwear with the nose protection part is the vision suffering. 

While a headwear with a nose bar protects your face from any hit, its bulky feature probably affects your view in a match. But wearing this type of protection is still the top option for those who want to protect the nose area.

Keep Tucking The Chin

During the match, keeping the chin up will increase the chance of being knocked down dramatically. Also, the act of up chin unintentionally puts your nose at higher risk of getting broken as your chin is in the way of any angle punches. By tucking your chin, you can protect the brain and make your nose harder to reach.

Tucking the chin does not mean reaching your chin to the chest; it just means tilt your head forward a little to make the forehead turn into the shield. The sound of your forehead can even break your opponent’s hand if he does not have gloves on.

Never Dip The Head During The Exchange

If you notice, you can find that the most dangerous punch that breaks or hurt the boxer’s nose must be the uppercut. Especially when a boxer dips the head to stay away from the hit and their opponents find a space for an uppercut. In that case, dropping your head will double the punch power as you are just moving forward to the hit.

Hence, other than dipping your head, you should try to slip or block the punch. Otherwise, you can use footwork to disengage or move to another angle to feel suitable to take the lead in the game. Never forget to use the strength or keep the hands up to make the distance in disengaging.

Watch Any Punch

Next up, another thing you should note to avoid any strikes or any hit at any time soon is to watch any punches. With this tip, you can have enough time for moving away or slipping and blocking the hit. That will not only keep your nose safe but also make your natural reflexes function and protect your body. Indeed, with your neck and jaw muscles ready for a punch, they tighten and reduce the force leading to less hurt.

If you are new to boxing, the instructor might tell you to keep the two hands up during the match. However, if you always keep guard and up the hands, gloves will limit your opponent’s punch, leading to losing the match or getting hurt.  So, you can keep your guard by looking at the punch and the rear hand at the jaw high, and the lead hand moving forward. This move will create a space for you to see any upcoming punches. 

Some Conditioning Method For The Nose

Other than the protective gear, some other conditioning methods have been used for years by many boxers.

First is some exercise in softening the nose cartilage, making it flexible and reducing the chance of continuously blowing injury. This does not mean you are free from any nose injury or any other similar hurt; however, it reduces the risk of getting hurt in the game.  

You first need to grab your nose tip for this exercise, then stretch and massage its bottom part. As the cartilage builds up the bottom part, it is more pliable and softer than the top part (formed by bone). With the manipulating act, your nose cartilage softens up, decreasing the possibility of breaking your nose bone at the top.

Another brilliant way to protect your nose is to apply a thin cover of vaseline all over your nose. This method usually applies to professional boxers before any spar. You might find vaseline a great help to raise the slipping of your opponent’s punch and lessen the major laceration. A small amount of petroleum jelly on your nose will be an effective way to avoid a bloody nose.

It would be best if you also remembered to keep your nose from injury to avoid blowing the nose during a match. This quite a common tip recommended by trainers for the fighters before getting into the ring is excellent help. 

The reason for that is when your face gets hit many times, the blood vessels of your nose might break. And at that time, blowing the nose just makes your situation worsen and can even make you unable to continue the fight. 

Other than that, the blowing act can damage blood vessels within the eye areas. So it is best to avoid that blowing act for some hours after fighting.

Things To Do Right Away After Getting Nose Injury

If you think your nose gets hurt, the following method is what you should do right away to limit the damage-causing to your nose.

At first, you must apply ice on the hurt location. This might increase your pain initially, but it will reduce the situation of swelling, making you have a clear view of the damage. Next, to stop your nose from bleeding, you need to sit down, pinch the nose, and lean to the forward.

Keep that situation for about 15 minutes with your nose breathing softly. However, after that you still feel pain, you should go and check with a doctor.

>Read more: Does boxing sparring cause brain damage?

In Conclusion

You must now have all the information needed on how to protect your nose in boxing. Applying all the recommended methods above will be of great help for keeping you safe in every match. Prepare yourself and be ready for any upcoming games. Stay safe and enjoy the game. Cheer!