Tournament accidents

[sanjuro_ronin]

A solid punch across the bridge of the nose is devastating.
It can literally suck the will to fight out of a man when he receives one of those.

for one thing, he can't see, his face feels like it is exploding with pain and lack of seeing is also disorienting.

It's a great place to punch someone if you wanna sit em down.

It's also a great reason for keeping your hands up and learn to slip, bob and weave instead of skip, jump and leave. lol

Once saw a fellow bouncer ( karate) reverse punch a guy right between the eyes- picture perfect.
The guy was a good 6" taller and because of the upward angle, the guy was lifted off the floor.
Thing of beauty really.

[GeneChing]

Here's the verdict on our earlier post.

Black belt gets 8 months for brutal kick at San Jose match
By Sean Webby
swebby@mercurynews.com
Posted: 08/26/2011 08:16:11 PM PDT
Updated: 08/26/2011 10:51:47 PM PDT

After apologizing via a Skype video feed, a 16-year-old black belt who had savagely kicked a victorious martial arts opponent in the face after their match was sentenced Friday to serve up to eight months in the Santa Clara County boys' ranch.

Joshua Pena, of Florida, admitted to a felony charge of aggravated assault, according to prosecutors.

After he completes his sentence, Pena is expected to return home to Southern Florida, where the juvenile system there will supervise his probation.

"This was the best chance for this young man to get proper punishment, hopefully change his life around and produce justice for a really terrible crime he committed,'' said Chris Arriola, who supervises the Santa Clara County juvenile prosecution unit.

The victim, identified only as Dino M., spoke over the video feed from his Long Island home about the devastating and unprovoked attack. Although he is expected to recover completely, he still suffers form post-concussion headaches and doctors say he may lose all of his remaining teeth.

Reached at home, the victim's father said the family is still deeply upset. Of the sentence, he said, "We just have to rest with the decision. I don't think we are ever going to know why he did this.''

At Pena's court hearing, Arriola said, Pena tried to explain that "something inside of him snapped and that he needs to understand why that would happen and that he didn't want it to happen again.''

Friday's sentence closed a case that gained national notoriety as one of the worst incidents of bad sportsmanship within the youth arena of competitive taekwondo.

The July 2 attack came after Pena lost a closely fought match with his 16-year-old opponent in a featherweight quarterfinal match at the San Jose Convention Center. The winner had a chance to go on and fight in the World Class division and perhaps get a chance to fight for the national team.

About 20 minutes after the match, the boy was sitting down watching another match. Pena walked by, let out a martial arts yell and delivered a roundhouse kicked to Dino's mouth, shattering his teeth, smashing his jaw and sending him into surgery.

Doctors later told the victim's parents and coach that the kick could have killed him.

Adrienne Dell, Pena's lawyer, said that he was extremely remorseful.

"He and his family have been devastated about what he has done,'' Dell said. "He is aware that this boy will never be the same."

Pena was a straight-A student in a Miami-area public school heading into his junior year in high school, Dell said.

He had studied taekwondo for eight years and eventually wanted to be a doctor who specialized in sports medicine. As a result of his actions, Pena will stop practicing martial arts for at least a year and may be banned from taekwondo.

"Josh is a really unusual child and this is an unusual case,'' Dell said. "He has never had any trouble, he has lots of friends, a loving, supportive family. This is opposite to his entire character.''

[GeneChing]

Mom alleges injury at unsanctioned B.C. martial arts tournament put son in vegetative state
Police confirm investigation into what happened at 2023 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship
Liam Britten · CBC News · Posted: Feb 29, 2024 5:00 AM PST | Last Updated: 5 hours ago


Zhenhuan Lei sits in a wheelchair at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster as his mother, Ying Li, holds a photo of her son before his hospitalization. Li has filed a lawsuit alleging people and groups connected to an October 2023 martial arts tournament are responsible for an injury that led to her son's vegetative state. (Liam Britten/CBC)
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Zhenhuan Lei had dreams of becoming a scientist, his mother said. He'd even conduct experiments late into the night. He once told her "life only affords a few chances."

But now Lei, a 26-year-old University of British Columbia chemistry grad student, is in a vegetative state and doctors say it is unlikely his condition will improve.

In a statement translated from Chinese and provided by her lawyer, Lei's mother Ying Li wrote she feels "as if I have experienced a death."

"A promising life of a future scientist, an ambitious young man, has now turned into lying in a hospital bed every day and staring at the ceiling," the statement read.


Zhenhuan Lei spent months in hospital before being flown back to China this week. Doctors have said it is unlikely he will recover. (Ying Li)

Li lays blame for her son's state at the feet of a number of people and groups involved with the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship (WCMAC), which took place in October 2023.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Li alleges organizers of the martial arts tournament failed to take steps to adequately protect fighters like her son.

She alleges the tournament referees and first aid attendant were unqualified and failed to keep him safe.

She also alleges the World Kickboxing and Karate Union Canada (WKUC) had no standing to sanction the event as B.C. law requires, making the event legally unsanctioned. And Simon Fraser University, the site of the tournament, did not ensure their facility was being used appropriately, the lawsuit alleges.


An undated photo of Zhenhuan Lei prior to his accident. Lei was a chemistry grad student at the University of British Columbia. (Ying Li)

The allegations have not yet been tested in court. No statements of defence have been filed.

Burnaby RCMP have confirmed they are investigating but would offer no further details.

Li now holds a committeeship — which allows someone to make decisions on behalf of a vulnerable person — to manage her son's affairs. She is seeking damages including the costs of her son's past and future care.

Her lawyer, Erik Magraken, says the lawsuit is seeking accountability and answers about tournament matchmaking, rules enforcement and medical response.

"We're hoping to get answers to all of those questions," Magraken said.

'Very little likelihood' of improvement

In her statement of claim, Li alleges her son fought three bouts at the October 2023 tournament at SFU.

The lawsuit says he was competing in an event called "continuous kick light." Li's lawsuit claims that, in fact, Lei was in a kickboxing tournament. Video of one of Lei's bouts shows him and his opponent wearing boxing headgear, shin guards and gloves.

The event, according to the claim, was advertised as having "light" and "controlled" contact, and athletes with prior pro fighting experience were forbidden from entering.


Zhenhuan Lei appears in a still from a YouTube video showing one of his fights at the 2023 Western Canadian Martial Arts Tournament. Lei is at left, the fighter with yellow trim and black-and-white headgear. The bout shown here is not the one that the lawsuit alleges included an ineligible opponent. The lawsuit does not allege any wrongdoing by this opponent, at right with the black and white shirt. The faces of spectators have been blurred. (Celly Entertainment/YouTube)

However, one of Lei's opponents allegedly had competed in Thailand in "what would be classified as a professional bout in British Columbia," and organizers did not stop him from taking part in the tournament.

That opponent allegedly struck Lei multiple times beyond the force allowed and referees failed to enforce the rules. The lawsuit accuses him of battering Lei. It also claims Lei displayed "signs of injury" yet organizers and promoters did not review his condition, and he was allowed to fight again.

After his final match, according to the statement, Lei showed signs of "profound" injury.

"He vomited multiple times," Li's statement reads. "He fell in and out of consciousness."

The statement of claim alleges proper medical care was not ready at the scene. It alleges organizers didn't call an ambulance quickly or communicate with the emergency dispatcher effectively and it took paramedics 90 minutes to arrive.

Lei allegedly suffered an acute subdural hematoma, a type of brain bleeding.

"Every passing minute was critical in treating this condition," Li's statement said.

Identical sworn affidavits from two doctors at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster assert "there is very little likelihood that the condition of Zhenhuan Lei will improve or that he will be able to care for himself in the future."

Defendants offer little comment

The statement of claim alleges tournament organizers tried to skirt provincial safety rules for kickboxing events as a cost-cutting measure by calling the event "continuous kick light." But it was, in fact, a kickboxing competition, the claim alleges, so the WKUC was not legally able to sanction the event.

The World Kickboxing and Karate Union Canada and several people named as operators of that organization did not respond to CBC News requests for comment.

A person named as an organizer of the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship wrote in an email, speaking on background, "Our hearts go out to this young man and his family and understandably, as this is now a judicial matter, we are unable to comment."

SFU says it is "assessing next steps but cannot comment further as this matter is before the courts."

Li spent four months in Canada with her son in hospital. They flew home to China on a medical flight Sunday. An online fundraiser has been launched to help cover what are described as onerous medical costs, including their flight.

"Now, I have to embark on another journey, caring for him in the latter part of his life," she wrote.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Liam Britten
Digital journalist
Liam Britten is an award-winning journalist for CBC Vancouver. You can contact him at liam.britten@cbc.ca or follow him on Twitter: @liam_britten.

How absolutely tragic.