Child scared to spar again in karate

My 7 yr. old boy recently had his tooth knocked (already Loose) out while sparring in Karate class and 2 weeks after that he had the ohter one knocked out the same way (it was loose also). Before this happend he was probably the best in his class (winning trophies and such), he would go after bigger kids in the Dojo when sparring and have no reservations about it. Now he is only willing to go against kids his size and smaller. He'll hide in the bathroom and fake injuries at the dojo to make sure he doesn't get paired with a larger boy/girl(he is small for his age). I have asked him if maybe he would like to discontinue the classes and he firmly states, NO. The problem is that he has carried this over to everything and cries at every little bump and bruise. I have never spanked him (neither has my wife/mother) and wonder if maybe that is the reason he is so scared of small pain, because he has never been inflicted with something that really hurts. I just want him to get his confidense back, not just for karate, but life in general. I have a hard time dealing with this. I get frustrated with him but feel bad when I see that fear in his eyes when he thinks he is out matched. Could you give me some insight on how to help my boy thru this troublesome time. Thanks.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Probably the most beneficial thing for now is for you to focus on how this is affecting you. Try to relax about it, and not allow the situation to frustrate you. There really is nothing to be frustrated about. Your son has had two episodes that bothered him. It's understandable. Let him continue his sessions, and leave it to the instructors to manage. Outside of his karate, try to be supportive and patient. Had you employed spanking or other physical punishment, you would not have been helping him. He's only seven. You'll find that if you're reasonable, thoughtful and patient, he'll be fine.

[nurse12hr]

I had a similar problem with my oldest son years ago.  After a relatively minor scare at the swimming pool  (he just choked on a mouthful of pool water), he became deathly afraid of water.  When he was 8, I decided he needed swimming lessons to try to get over this.  
What a nightmare.  (This was a program especially for children frightened of water BTW).  He would scream uncontrollably, kick, fight, everything under the sun at the classes.  Finally one day, I was just trying to get him out of the car and he was literally hanging onto the car sobbing, and I was crying, too.  I turned to the swim counselor who had come to help and said that maybe this was just too much for him.  He looked at me firmly and said (I will never forget it) "if you let him give up on this, he will always be ruled by fear.  Stand firm and lets help him reach this goal".  

Happy ending.  He did not learn to swim by the end of the course, but the counselors, at no cost, kept working with him every day privately after that.  He learned to swim!  And, by the next summer enjoyed it so much he joined our local swim team.  He gained so much confidence from achieving this goal.

I would say to keep on encouraging your son.  Explain that everybody gets hurt from time to time, but that sometimes, this makes us stronger.  Don't let him back out of competitions if you know he has the skills necessary.  Always finish what you start.  
Sorry to babble on.  Just wanted to share our story.