re: What does it feel like to get knocked out

your tongue feels fat when you wake up.

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Gotta keep your head on swivel

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yeah well.

I’ve been knocked out by a horse pawing at me
Hit me right in the temple

I remember the impact and thinking damn this is going to hurt

Then waking up in the dirt extremely confused and in a fog
The pos horse was just standing there tied up staring at me

Got crow-hopped outside of a bar one time. Didn’t see it coming. Didn’t feel anything either, but realized I was on my back. I popped back up and kept fighting. It didn’t hurt at all...guy must have just hit me right on the button.

Maybe this isn’t a true knock out, but just a “drop”.

Anyway, that’s all I got.

You space out for a second. Can only hear, teally.

I got a concussion from a helmet-to-helmet hit one night. Thought they carried me off the field, but they said I walked off with the trainer. While I stood on the sidelines watching the other team drive on the defense I'd just abandoned, I looked down, and my arms, that had been crossed, had fallen down by my sides. I crossed them again and noticed they had fallen again. It seemed like it happened at least five or six times, but I never felt them fall. It was like taking the gas at the dentist office, when he'd ask me a question, and I'd answer it, but I didn't feel like I'd really answered him myself. It was really strange.

After they scored on us, and kicked off to us, someone yelled something like "First team Offense", and I ran back onto the field. I played the rest of the game, and was pretty efficient blocking and tackling. The only problem was when we were on on defense. I couldn't call my side of the defense like I was supposed to, so one of our DL called it for us the rest of the game.

This was in the mid 70's, when we knew about concussions, but we didn't know enough. I got to miss practice, and went to the doctor the following Monday. I was told I had a concussion, but they didn't do anything more than ask me how I felt, before letting me back on the field for practice Tuesday.

My senior year (1977) was the first year they called spearing penalties on us. I'm lucky I didn't start playing football until the 7th grade, because before 1977, we were taught to put our head between the ball carrier's numbers. I cracked an old Ridell suspension helmet in my sophomore and junior years.

What's your excuse?

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You go from being fully awake to instant dreamland. While you may only be unconscious for a few seconds, it feels like your waking up from a 10 hour sleep. When you finally come to, you wonder where you are, why you are lying down, what time it is, what day it is, what year it is, why am I bleeding, etc.

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My 1st knockout was more of a choke out and was similar to what you describe. One minute fighting the neck hold, the next waking up face down in the grass feeling like a 10 hour nap. Full of energy and refreshed and jumped up looking to continue the fight. That was like 3 minutes after it ended though, opponent nowhere to be found.

The 2nd time was sucker punched at a bar. Never hit the floor due to my buddies. Was only out a couple seconds. Just long enough for some other buddies to drop the assailant and split his skull open. Pretty sure that guy never regained full use of his faculties again to this day. Brain tissue was on the floor of the bar. That group of buddies were all semi pro and pro kickboxers including former light heavyweight world champ.

The 3rd time was same group of friends while drinking B-29's and we decided to bare knuckle spar each a bit. Got 3 broken ribs and my head bounced off the ceiling fan. And we really were just all playing around laughing while beating the crap out of each other. Good times till the booze wore off and the pains set in.

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You go from being fully awake to instant dreamland. While you may only be unconscious for a few seconds, it feels like your waking up from a 10 hour sleep. When you finally come to, you wonder where you are, why you are lying down, what time it is, what day it is, what year it is, why am I bleeding, etc.

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Yep. This deep sleep part has happened a few times after getting choked out in BJJ. Eventually, you learn when that black circle is closing in to tap.

Also, when I get hit hard, but not enough to knock me out, all I see is a big white and yellow checkerboard.

I have two memories I can combine that I think would effectively demonstrate it.

1. When me and my buddies were like 14, we did that thing where you take ten deep breathes and then squat down with your arms around your knees, then slowly stand up. Usually the participant would pass out and his friends would catch him, laying him on the ground as he came to.

That combined with:

2. In high school, I'd just put another 45lb plate on the bench bar, and somehow stood up quickly and hit the very back of my skull on the bar not yet covered by weights. It knocked me silly and I stumbled before regaining my balance.

I'd bet it's something between those...

In HS playing football I got "cracked" on by a WR while playing OLB. It was a toss sweep to my side and that little fricker got about a 15 yard head start and ear holed me running full sprint. I was only out for maybe a second, everything went black, then I got up and tried to line up with the other team for the next play. That was concussion protocol in the late 90s.