For all You Dirty Bastards.... (小心生癬)

Here's some information from Lawrence's HKGrapplers newsgroup by a "jin_yung88" (not sure who you are, but thanks a lot for the info!), on the subject of "ringworm" (癬) or Tinea, which I thought you guys might find interesting and should be aware of. Read on:

Subject: The Worm (癬)

Felt like spreading some info to all the hk grapplers in case people do not already know about the almighty worm...

Ringworm (癬): As the grappling community in HK develops, the chances will increase of someone getting infected by the Worm (ringworm, scientific name prefix = Tinea ...). Ringworm is closely related to atheletes foot and jock rash or itch.

Contrary to what most people would think the worm is a fungus and not a virus or disease. Oh my is it funky.

Symptoms usually include a red ring like spot on your body with a lighter colored center and distinctly red outer edge. It is usuallyaccompanied by itchiness. These are just the most common symptoms, different people will develop different symptoms.



Ringworm thrives in wet humid environments and is extremely contagious. This is why it spreads extremely rapidly through sports such a rugby, wrestling, and bjiujitsu.

So to treat the badboy you need some find something like Lamotrin, Tinactin, Antifungal creams or things used to treatatheletes foot might work check it out first. I do not know the availabilty of lamotrin and tinactin in Hk so try to find other brands of antifungus stuff if possible. If the store bought stuff fails go see your neighborhood friendly doctor or dermatologist.

Worse comes to worse for the people too cheap or too crazy touse medication I heard you can use bleach to burn it off it(not recomended) or invent someway yourself to get rid of the fungus.
Prevention: Shower asap after every training session. Or get some disinfectent wipes. Wipe down the mats with a bleach solution if youcan. Dry off properly after showering. Keep dirty clothes in a separate bag. Basically be clean and don't be a dirty bastard.

Oh and try not to train if you suspect you have the worm. Respect your training partners.

If it is life or death situation that forces you to train then bandage it up and then cover up with tape and tell your training partners so they can choose not to train with you if they so wish. End of a long long long message. I personally hate the worm it is annoying as hell and kinda nasty looking too.

However it is a part of training and eventually you will come in contact with it.

By the way I saw those matches that were uploaded sweet stuff...props to Thomas, Lw and hk grappling crew.