Last Updated on October 11, 2021 by
No! As a matter of fact, you’re not allowed to wear contact lenses while boxing. You can only wear contacts while you train or during the drills. It is not a smart idea to get into a real fight with contacts because you’ll be going to lose them when getting a hard hit in the face. A boxer with bad vision is at a clear disadvantage. Wearing contact lenses to training and light sparring is still safe and effective for a boxer with bad vision, but it’s a bad idea to get into a real fight with lenses. In a situation that your opponent doesn’t hold back any of his punching power, there will be a greater concern about getting into really hard sparring or a fight. Let’s have a deeper look at the alternatives to contact lenses in boxing. There are three main alternatives to using contact lenses as a boxer and they include: training your eyesight without lenses, using sports glasses, corrective eye surgery.
Training Your Eyesight Without Lenses
There are two main strategies that people with bad vision can use to develop their boxing skills and techniques. They include;
1. Engaging In A Lot Of Bag Work: knowing that a punching bag will not fight you back, is a good way to practice your moves and develop your boxing skills.
2. Engage In Some Shadowboxing: Without the use of your eyesight, engaging in shadowboxing gives you the alternative to train your muscle memory.
Using Sports Glasses
Boxing is one of those combat sports you can’t practice with regular glasses. This is because boxing involves a lot of hits in the face, and it won’t just end well if you’re wearing regular fashion glasses. It would be smashed into pieces when you receive a hard hit in the face and the pieces can get in your eyes or the skin of your face which could cause serious injuries. So, the best thing to do is buy a pair of prescription glasses that are designed for combat sports. A pair of prescription glasses should be certified as safe to use for boxers. It is normally built with a polycarbonate frame a unique type of plastic that is designed to resist hard hits and bend rather than break into pieces.
Corrective Eye Surgery – Lasik
Lasik corrective eye surgery has been an effective method used to correct eye problems. It is quite expensive but you’ll be assured of 100% vision correction. It will be cheaper for you to do your corrective eye surgery in Thailand. They have has an excellent reputation for successful Lasik eye surgery at a reduced cost in Western Europe or North America.
Risks Of Wearing Contact Lenses While Sparring
There are going to be risks for you as a boxer when you get into the ring for a serious fight or just for sparring. The risk is likely going to be heightened if you’re planning to wear a contact. We’ve composed a list of the most common dangers of wearing contact lenses during sparing or a real fight. Let’s check them out!
Losing A Contact Completely
Losing contact lenses after receiving a hard hit to the face is one of the most common risks of wearing contact lenses during sparring or competitive boxing match. You might think the chance of losing the contact is slim, it still does happen. If you ask around ex-boxers with eyes issues, they will tell you the risks of boxing with a contact.
Losing Your Contact In Your Eye
You can lose your contact lenses in two ways. Firstly, it can get off your face and hits the ground. Secondly, it can just fly into your eyes after receiving a hard hit, which is even more complicated and problematic. You can lose your eyes completely if a broken glasses gets into it.
Eye Swelling
Boxing involves getting hard hits in the face and other body parts above the waist. If you’ve been watching boxing mat he’s, you’ll see some fighters with swollen eyes and fractured faces. Just imagine the kind of hit that can displace the contact lenses from your face and cause more complications and severe injuries. It is just not a smart move to wear contact lenses while sparring or competing in competitive boxing.
FAQs
Can I Box At All With Bad Vision?
It’ll be a bad move for someone with bad vision to start boxing because the game is a combat sport that requires envisioning punches before reacting to them. You can’t defend yourself in boxing if you can’t see the punches coming. So, it’s a bad idea to box with legally bad vision. However, having a bad vision doesn’t stop you from learning other martial arts. There’s a variation of Kung Fu that is organized for people with bad vision.
Why Is It A Bad Idea To Box With Contact Lenses?
Practicing boxing with contact lenses is not a good idea for people who wants to go far in the sport. As a matter of fact, you are not allowed to fight with contact lenses in competitions. It is prohibited because the boxing associations believe that boxers who fight with contact will delay the time to finish bouts by asking the ref to allow you to adjust your lenses after getting slight hits in the face
In Conclusion
It isn’t advisable to spar with contact lenses on, but you can still train with it without any hassle. Even though the protective headgear minimizes the risk of displacing the lens, it’s still risky. Just like we said earlier, you won’t be able to participate in competitive boxing with contact lenses because it’s exclusively prohibited. If you’re having issues with your eyes, there are better ways to maximize your chances of competing in boxing.
You can go for Lasik surgery which corrects your vision for good or go for prescription sports glasses which protect your eyes and allow you to fight. We’ve reached the closing chapter of this informative article. We hope you were able to find good resources in your quest to know if you can wear contact lenses while boxing. If you have any questions or comments about the article topic, don’t hesitate to contact us. Thanks!
