Busting the ball myths (part four) – the delay in reaction

 A couple of weeks ago one commenter submitted a very interesting video about some crazy accident that happened in Peru. It was not that clear what was going on, but apparently, it was some kind of bet or rock-paper-scissors game between a young guy and a lady. The guy lost, and the lady immediately kicked him in the testicles with a perfectly placed and strong front kick. The reporter mentioned she was an expert in karate. The guy went down instantly and was in great pain; a nice example of proper kicking BTW. From what I understood he ended up in urology ER and one testicle had to be removed. It was just plain stupid to take such a bet. Apparently, he is a YouTuber and did it to get more views; did not earn any likes from me though. Ultimately he learned his lesson the hard way, but I hope he is fine known and will be much more careful with the remaining nut.

Looking at the video, I realize that there is an interesting topic to discuss as a continuation of the series about ball myths. When reading discussions and pieces of advice from ‘experts’ about female self defense online, from time to time there is a very weird claim popping up. It often goes like this ‘You should not try to kick a man in the groin because there is a significant delay in reaction, and during this period, he can keep fighting and do anything to the woman.’  Again, it would be interesting to know the origin of this myth. Well to me it is just one of all the myriad stupid excuses for some men (unfortunately often self defense instructors) to shy away from the reality of their vulnerability down there and rather go on with some laughable but non-controversial techniques (kick him in the shin instead, probably no delay in reaction with this one LOL). I have seen and experienced plenty of substantial evidence this is simply not true.

They all go down surely and swiftly

Training with Bob and Peter and having their, often unprotected testicles at our disposal was a very good opportunity provided by Linda to bust such misconceptions once and for all. Trying by ourselves was worth the thousands of words. On numerous occasions, the moment I felt the squishy soft tissue of a boy's little bag with my fingertips, the palm of my hand, the knee, toes, or the top of the foot, the desired reaction basically instantly kicked in. Just a mild disturbance of the glands and what was a fit strong young muscular body in the blink of an eye just crumbles down and writhes in pain. Sure, a brief delay is there but can be a fraction of a second or maybe a second max. Not a convenient time frame for him to fix his tie and just keep fighting as some delusional men imagine. I understand that many women do not have the possibility to test things by themselves as we did in the course. Luckily, numerous videos posted online of some real-time accidents (or intentions :) such as funny home videos, MMA matches, or TikTok ‘Hit-him-in-the-ball challenge’ (apparently there was indeed such a couple of years ago, look it up) are a good resource to see the true physiological dynamics of a man being hit the testicles. Notice how the response comes immediately and is associated with the common protection reflex. If you are still eager to try it out, and you have a boyfriend or husband, just find the right moment and unexpectedly strike the area with a gentle slap. You can play it out as an accident if you do not want to reveal the reason for your experiment 😊.

Typical male reaction and protective reflex
after being hit in the testicles

It is logical as the testes are unprotected glands hanging outside formed by highly innervated tissue with thousands of pain receptors (nociceptors). When agitated they fire the signal which travels up to the spinal cord and brain. It has been established that the speed of the pain signal is around 1 m/s so it gets there in no time. The reason for this is to prompt the owner quickly: ‘Look your precious family jewels are in danger if you do not want to lose them, which can happen easily, just back off and take care of them.’ As Linda used to say, ‘Balls and brain talk fast, use it!’

To be honest from the neurological point of view the situation is not that simple and there is a bit of truth in the myth. In a medical article I read some time ago there are actually two pain responses, one is fast, and another is a slow effect which indeed comes after and is much stronger. The spermatic nerves are directly connected to the nerve system of the abdomen (testicles originated there and descended into the scrotum during development). That’s why the effect is also called the referred pain, and the typical reaction is bending over due to the cramps in the stomach area (vagal reflex). In conclusion, do not be discouraged by the myth perpetrated by those who often feel embarrassed or even threatened by the capabilities women have, to fight back. We should not submit ourselves to some pathetic bogus claims and rather follow the evidence.