Talkin' 'Bout (the Circle of) Willis

Let's talk about the back of the head.

The Circle of Willis is a series of arteries connecting critical feeds of blood to the brain. When a connection like this is created in the body--whether it developed that way or was created--it is called an anastomosis. An example of a synthetic anastomosis would be if someone had a section of intestine removed, and the two remaining sections were joined together.

In the Circle of Willis there are smaller arterial sections that would allow certain sections of the brain to be fed at least a little bit by arteries that wouldn't normally be tasked with doing the job, in the event of a failure like a stroke or other trauma. Smaller segments within the Circle of Willis are fed by the internal carotid arteries and the vertebral arteries. The internal carotid arteries are split off from the carotid arteries.

Here's a video. If anatomical terms aren't your thing, just watch as the video highlights where the blood goes.


We always talk in martial arts about protecting your face. Keep your hands up. Protect your jaw. Keep your chin slightly tucked. But all we say about the back of the head is not to let anyone get behind you. We know it's important not to get hit in the back of the head, or in the spine. Perhaps a lot of us would get psyched out if we all knew how catastrophic any blow can be.

Some of the people I support at work have survived a traumatic brain injury. Knowing the science behind their situations may not be at the forefront of my work with them in rehabilitation, but it does help me to be compassionate about what they may be going through, because I know what is damaged and why. I also know more about what can be rehabilitated and what can't. Because I am not a neuroscientist I cannot allow my novice understanding of anatomy to impact the recommendations I make, but it can help me ask better questions of those who are qualified to provide better information, and /that/ can improve my outcomes.

In karate, I use my knowledge of anatomy and physiology--and my knowledge about how my body breaks so many of those rules--to learn, grow, and adapt. When I know how serious a consequence can be, I know to sit out. Knowledge is power, and as Uncle Ben said in "Spider Man," "With great power comes great responsibility."

Last night I made it to karate and I'm glad I did! I did my first successful groundwork. It feels good to have studied anatomy and physiology. It feels incredible to see it in action. Best of all, it feels sublime to watch my lawless body doing what other bodies can do.

There are so many factors involved in success as a martial artist: how my body is built; how bodies are supposed to work; how bodies don't work; how bodies can be improved; how bodies can degenerate; how adaptions can be made; how practices can be improved; and so on, that it makes sense to say that karate is a cradle-to-grave activity.

The body has a lot of little fail-safes like the Circle of Willis. I enjoy learning about those redundancies, and I think it's a worthwhile use of study time because it also reveals the vulnerabilities.