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Chin (combat sports)

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In combat sports such as boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts, a fighter's chin is the figurative ability to tolerate physical trauma to the chin or jaw without being knocked unconscious. The fictional Rocky Balboa character of the Rocky franchise epitomizes the concept of a boxer with a granite chin.

Overview

A fighter with a "good chin" refers to a fighter with the ability to absorb blows to the chin or jaw without being struck unconscious, which can also be called a "granite chin", an "iron chin", or similar. Generally, the jaw portion of the skull, and specifically the point of the chin, is the area most vulnerable to a knock-out blow and therefore having an exceptional tolerance to punishment in this area is a great advantage to a fighter.

A "bad chin", "suspect chin", or "glass jaw" refers to fighters with limited ability to absorb punishment to the chin or jaw. Some boxing experts, such as Teddy Atlas, believe it to be a mindset.

The "chin" of a fighter is widely considered genetic, but is affected by the amount of blows the fighter takes throughout his/her career. Many instances of athletes with a 'good chin' have ended in the athlete relying too much on the attribute, thus slowly building up brain damage. Brain damage affects the brain's ability to recover from trauma, weakening the person’s ability to take a punch.

Certain factors are speculated to be the size and shape of the skull, strength of the neck as well as overall strength and weight. Other factors could be less visible, such as the brain being more efficient at replenishing the electrolyte balance after trauma, or more cerebrospinal fluid to protect the brain.

A fighter's chin could be affected by weight cutting (excessive water weight loss, malnutrition), or repeated blows to the head that cause brain damage (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy).

Notable chins

Some of the people known for having strong chins in different sports are listed below:

Boxing

Kickboxing

Mixed martial arts

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The Fight City - An independent boxing websiteThe Fight City". Bestboxingblog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  2. ^ "Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez ends in a split draw". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  3. ^ a b c Houston, Graham (2008-01-08). "The Ten Best Chins in Boxing History". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  4. ^ "Best I've Faced: Nigel Benn - Ring TV". Ringtv.craveonline.com. 2013-08-15. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  5. ^ "Top ten chins in heavyweight history". Livefight.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  6. ^ Slater, James (13 March 2020). "The Fight That Showed Floyd Mayweather Really Has Got A Chin Source: The Fight That Showed Floyd Mayweather Really Has Got A Chin". www.boxing247.com. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "Heavyweight Kickboxing Hardest Heads". Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  8. ^ "LiverKick". LiverKick.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  9. ^ "UFC on ESPN 44 pre-event facts: Will Arnold Allen crack Max Holloway's historic chin?". MMAJunkie. April 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "5 fighters with the strongest chins in recent UFC history". sportskeeda. April 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "Marvin Vettori overcomes a massive Paulo Costa who blamed an injury for weight issue". Yahoo Sports. 23 October 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. ^ "UFC 116 Preview: Chris Lytle Eyeballing Another Bonus Check Against Matt Brown". Bloody Elbow. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  13. ^ Riley Kontek (2013-05-07). "Best Chins by UFC Division". Bleacher Report.
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