Concussed: The Elephant in the Room

---

For Joslin, the decision to stop fighting after his UFC debut in 2006 was one made for his own well-being, and he has since built a life around the sport in other capacities as a trainer and coach. After his seventh concussion, which occurred in 2007, the effects lasted 18 months -- like having a full-time hangover all day, every day, he says. He decided to retire.

Joslin, with a record of 5-3, fought Josh Koscheck in the UFC and Jon Fitch in 2005 in Freedom Fight, a Canadian promotion, dropping hard-fought decisions to both. A lifelong martial artist who started in karate as a youth and studied jiu-jitsu, earning black belts in both arts, he constructed his life around MMA. His history with concussions altered his plans.

“It was probably after my fifth one, and I felt sick for two weeks and didn’t feel totally focused,” he says.

With the next one, sustained after he took a knee to the head while grappling, the recovery window increased considerably.

“I felt the same symptoms for three months. I was fighting for the King of the Cage welterweight title and had to pull out,” Joslin says. “It’s one of the worst injuries possible. Imagine the worst hangover you’ve ever had. You don’t want to look at lights or talk to people. It was that every single moment, and if I trained, it got worse.”

Joslin eventually recovered, losing a decision to Koscheck in December 2006. In preparation for his second UFC bout, against Chris Lytle in 2007, he sustained another concussion, his seventh. He suffered its effects for more than a year.

“It was the worst time of my life. I couldn’t train. I’d just gotten to the UFC and was training for Lytle,” Joslin says. “I was wrestling and just bumped my head. After my sixth, I saw a doctor, and he said, ‘Wait until it gets better.’ They say, ‘Are you sure you’re not just sick?’ But unless you’ve felt it, you cannot explain it.”

Joslin researched the topic on his own, even attending a summit in London, Ontario, Canada, where NHL players addressed the issue.

“One [player], six years later, can’t even walk without feeling sick,” Joslin says. “From the research I did on my own post-concussion problems, it was my own choice to stop fighting. It was my business and my family.”

Married and with children, ages 12 and 7, Joslin has since adapted to a life every bit as busy as his fighting career. He runs a gym in Hamilton, Ontario, and offers an extensive video series on training at his Website, www.jeffjoslinmma.com. He also was contacted by UFC lightweight Spencer Fisher to help “The King” with his jiu-jitsu for his bout against Curt Warburton in October.

Joslin, like many athletes in contact sports, had also suffered concussions along the way, with effects that seemed minor at first but increased exponentially as the injuries in sparring, grappling and training recurred. The first started in his early teens, with no effects.

For athletes used to the cyclic rigors and relief of training, the impacts of a concussion are mentally taxing, as well. They gain weight because they cannot go to the gym and feel less and less like the fine-tuned machine they were used to being.

“It was definitely the worst time of my life -- for that year and a half, having to come down off the high of fighting in the UFC and doing well, being there and not being able to [train],” Joslin says. “Plus, you get depressed when you have the concussions. It was a bad time.”

Joslin feels 100 percent these days, he says. Though his fighting career ended after just eight matches, in the process he created a post-fighting business for himself, training people and delivering quality instruction on jiu-jitsu that simply did not exist in Canada, or much of anywhere else, when he fell in love with it as a kid.

“I can do everything, do jiu-jitsu and my head’s clearer than ever. I feel totally back to normal. I’m just not pushing it and not boxing,” Joslin says. “What I’ve also been doing is my goal to be the best coach I can be. I’ve been teaching since I was 17 and developed those skills, too.

“I really want to help the people around the world that don’t have quality MMA instruction,” he adds. “It’s 18 workouts, 120 videos, all the basics. They can do it by themselves and get a good start. I know when I started in Canada it took me 14 years to get my black belt. It was a rougher road back then. Then it became an obsession.”

Joslin, who turns 36 in April, seems happy and content as a retired MMA fighter, with more time available to spend with his family then when he was training to compete. He counts himself as fortunate in being able to make the transition.

“I think when you’re younger you feel invincible. Concussions are so subtle, and you don’t feel bad until after your fourth or fifth. You just think you can jump back in there. It’s not really an injury that’s obvious, especially at first,” Joslin says. “I’ve received e-mails from people who are dealing with the same situation. They are now where I was in the one-and-a-half-year phase. They’re reaching out and asking, ‘Will this get better?’”

Continue » Discussion