In a sport where the goal is to hit your opponent until he can’t fight anymore, it is very important to train properly. Today, the quality of protective gear lets many people enjoy fighting safely and with much less impact than they would have in the past. Whether you’re a weekend warrior, a beginner, or even a professional fighter, there are a few important pieces of boxing gear you need to have in your gym bag.
Boxing Gloves
Boxing gloves are the first piece of gear you must have if you want to train in the sport. They are the most important part of boxing because they change the way you punch and protect against punches compared to using your bare hands or other types of fighting gloves.
The different kinds, sizes, and features of boxing gloves could be the subject of a whole piece on their own, but if you’re just starting out, you need at least one pair of good gloves, and the bigger you are, the bigger gloves you need. For training and heavy bag work, it’s often best to have two different pairs of boxing gloves. This is because gloves made for each have different features and are generally not good for the other.
Groin Guards
Both men and women can get very painful cuts in the groyne area, but men have it worse. Wearing lightweight and breathable groin guards is the best way to keep this sensitive area safe. Using a protective cup with a jockstrap, which is popular in many sports, is the most cost-effective way to do this.
But in boxing, there is a special type that isn’t used in other fighting sports. The full front cup and belly protector is the one you will see most often. As the name suggests, these models only cover the upper part of the abdominals and the groyne with padding.
They normally involve an elastic leg wrap and a waist belt that can be adjusted according to the needs of each boxer. This type of groin protector provides more protection without inhibiting movement, with a rear lace-fastening system for extra support.
Then there are full kidney and groin protectors, which are typically only used in competitions. They cover everything below the waist, involving the hips, and hold the boxing trunks in place. They also mark the line of contact for the judges in case of a low blow. The inside is normally made from soft, breathable materials to prevent excessive sweating as much as possible. The outside is usually made from leather, which is stronger and more durable than synthetic materials.
If you don’t need that much protection, then you can opt for a cup and supporter with adjustable straps. They’re not as common but can be very useful for beginners and those with less experience. They’re not as bulky and will still provide a good level of protection.
Hand Wraps
Hand wraps are also important for fighting training because they make it less likely that the hands and wrists will break or get sprained. The hand is a delicate work of art that can do complicated things because it is made up of many small bones, tendons, and tissues.
This also makes it not strong enough to be hit hard against a human head. Boxing gloves absorb most of the force of punches and protect your fingers. However, if you punch at an angle that isn’t quite right, you could seriously hurt many of the bones and tissues in your hand and wrist.
Because of this, people use hand wraps to keep everything in their hands together. Hand wraps protect the whole hand, from the tips of the fingers to the wrist. If the hand is well covered, sprains and breaks are much less likely to happen.
Before a fight, boxers have their hands wrapped by professionals, but for the gym, you need nice, long hand wraps that you have to put on yourself. There are many right ways to wrap your hands, and once you know how to do it right, you will be much more confident when you hit.
Mouthguards
The mouth guard is an important piece of protection that you must wear in the gym or during a fight. It protects your mouth in more than one way.
First, it takes the force into its whole surface, which keeps teeth from falling out. Then it keeps the teeth from moving against each other, which is not only annoying but can easily break a piece. Mouthguards also almost fully fix cuts on the lips and damage to the tongue.
Since mouthguards worked so well in boxing in the first half of the 20th century, many other contact sports with a high risk of dental injuries, such as football, basketball, rugby, soccer, and many others, as well as all martial arts, started using them. Aside from the ones made by dentists, consumer mouthguards are put in hot water and then shaped to fit each person’s mouth. This makes them very effective because they are made just for that person. This means that the mouthguard can only be used by one person.
Head Guard
Even though head guards aren’t as important as gloves or mouthguards, you should still wear them when fighting hard. Contrary to what most people think, the head guard doesn’t do much to protect the brain, but it’s essential for avoiding cuts and bruises on the face.
People have used head guards when practising in boxing for many years, and most people still do. Head guards were used in amateur boxing for a long time, but they are no longer used in tournaments. Recent studies have shown that head guards don’t protect against concussions. This has led some martial artists to stop wearing protection altogether, but it still has many protective effects.
Most of the time, protection keeps cuts and bruises from being caused by punches or headbutts. This is reason enough to always wear a head guard when sparring, even if it’s not too hard. And if you are training for a battle, you should always wear a helmet during your hard sessions to prevent cuts that could get worse during the fight.
