Headgear and beards

[Rocep 44]

It's a stupid look. Lose the head gear.

[scribe 1,655]

David Taylor’s ears have gotten really effed up since post collegiate. Not sure if it means a lot.

[BigTenFanboy 1,710]

David Taylor’s ears have gotten really effed up since post collegiate. Not sure if it means a lot.

I blame Jordan Burroughs. He used to wear headgear all the time until Burroughs made him take it off.

[Rocep 44]

I guess I should have said lose one or the other. I wore my headgear in college (one of the few to do so in practice). Never had any issues with hurting my ears until about my eighth year coaching. My thing is the combo just looks weird. Not sure if the hobo beard or well groomed look is worse.

[TobusRex 1,864]

I always wore headgear in matches, even when not required. Still, we all did more wrestling in the room than in matches, so my ears got just a little chewed up (never wore headgear in the practice room...too damned hot). Nothing as bad as the cauliflower ear guys, though. 

[Zebra 545]

I always wore HG except in freestyle matches later in my career. Have only a little damage on the back side of both but nothing visible. SSSSOOOO glad I wore it all the time,. 

Edited March 2, 2018 by Zebra

[Medicine_Man 875]

It's a stupid look. Lose the head gear.

DF ??  New username?

[gowrestle 636]

Cauliflower ear looks ridiculous. I’m seeing more of the top guys protecting their ears all the time. Most guys today don’t like the look of mangled ears.

[rpbobcat 53]

My first practice,as a freshman in high school, the coach showed us pictures of guys with cauliflower ears.

 

After seeing that,I wore headgear every time I stepped on the mat.

 

A couple of years ago, one of my friend's sons said that he and his teammates  viewed cauliflower ears as a "right of passage" in wrestling.

Then he got it really bad in one ear.

He doesn't feel that way anymore.

[treep2000 905]

Always wore headgear.  Have zero incidence of ear damage, and that's after 12 years of competitive wrestling.  The concept of cauli-ear being a rite of passage for wrestling is just plain stupid.  It's like jumping off a tower with only vines strapped to your ankles and bouncing your forehead off the ground, or using metal plates/springs to elongate your neck.  This "tribal" concept has got to go. 

 

Kiddos:  Wear your headgear.  Just because others look like a pitbull from a dog fighting ring doesn't mean you have to... and oh yeah, those who have it wish they would have worn their headgear.

 

EDIT:  Beards on the other hand... if you can rock it... do it!  I'm in my late 30's, and my body is still rejecting the concept of growing a full beard.  I'm jealous.

Edited March 2, 2018 by treep2000

[ThatLogSchuteWasCarrying 179]

Cauliflower ear looks ridiculous. I’m seeing more of the top guys protecting their ears all the time. Most guys today don’t like the look of mangled ears.

 

A little cauliflower ear is one thing and can still be a "mark of honor" type situation. Guys like Gable and Sanderson have that level of it. But guys whose ears are just huge balloons that are almost perpendicular to their heads look ridiculous. 

[Toss4Five 6]

One the biggest misnomers in all wrestling is cauliflower ears equals a tough wrestler, nothing could be further from the truth. I've known wrestlers with mangled, rawhide looking appendages hanging from the side of their head that couldn't wrestle their way out of a wet paper bag, while pretty boy with pristine looking ears could rip your arms off and beat you half to death.

 

Just some general observations....Take care.

[Plasmodium 1,603]

I have never seen someone with truly mangled ears that couldn't hold their own on a wrestling mat.

[Zebra 545]

I have never seen someone with truly mangled ears that couldn't hold their own on a wrestling mat.

I have. Not on TV mind you but I assure you they're out there. 

[steamboat_charlie 727]

Guys that want cauliflower ear are pathetic.  That said, forcing college wrestlers to wear headgear is about as dumb as the old facial hair rules. 

[jeffr_ideal 216]

Without cauliflower ear, how can you tell who the wrestlers are.  I have visited this guy twice at the Namdaemun Street Market in Seoul, South Korea.  Once I saw his ears, I automatically asked if he was a wrestler.  He was a freestyler.  He runs a little toy shop in the market.  I get my son Korean Poke Mon cards from him. 

 



[Buckeyebison 87]

In 80s. I was informed by my teammates that they had seen several Iranians missing upper ears. They asked them about these. They had the upper ears cut off after cauliflower developed. No joke. They either didn’t want recurring cauliflower ears or medical attention. I do wonder if they still do it this decade.

[TobusRex 1,864]

In 80s. I was informed by my teammates that they had seen several Iranians missing upper ears. They asked them about these. They had the upper ears cut off after cauliflower developed. No joke. They either didn’t want recurring cauliflower ears or medical attention. I do wonder if they still do it this decade.

 

Damn. But from what I've heard cauliflower ears are very painful. I could see why somebody would have it done, being in pain all the time sucks.

[powershouse 84]

I've reached a point in life where I need hearing aids. When I see mangled ears that an aid would never fit in I hope that guy doesn't lose hearing as he gets older.

[gowrestle 636]

I've reached a point in life where I need hearing aids. When I see mangled ears that an aid would never fit in I hope that guy doesn't lose hearing as he gets older.

I heard a story where a guy was denied entry into Special Forces because the ear piece they used wouldn’t fit on his ear.

[xander 346]

I heard a story where a guy was denied entry into Special Forces because the ear piece they used wouldn’t fit on his ear.

. Yep. I heard that too

[Zebra 545]

Know a guy in the Air Force who was denied a particular job for this too. He had to pay for reconstructive surgery out of his own pocket.