8 Hand-To-Hand Combat Myths You Probably Believe

MYTH: Getting knocked out is nothing huge.

TRUTH: While most action movie guys “come to” and deliver a goofy one-liner after being decked in the faceparts, real concussions aren’t something you can shake off. Punches to the noggin can cause everything from detached retinas to brain hemorrhages to permanent neurological failure.

Also: 20 awesome haymakers and sucker punches in movies

Approximately one in every five boxers suffers from dementia pugilistica — an affliction characterized by slurred speech and deteriorating posture — as the result of being a professional speedbag. And, according to some experts, boxing has killed at least 650 fighters from 1918-1997. Luckily, not King Hippo.