A lot of people, when first start practicing combat sports, just jump on the cheapest piece of fighting gear they see. This is somehow understandable because you don’t really know what to look for if you are a beginner.
However, choosing quality fighting equipment is very important if you want to have productive workouts.
That’s why in this article we are going to present the most important aspects of choosing martial arts equipment. We are going to look carefully at the following qualities:
- Comfort
- Protection
- Support
- Durability
- Price
Of course, don’t get us wrong. We are not saying that you should spend hundreds of dollars and only train with the best gear available. Instead, we are advising that you make sure to do your research, read some fighting equipment reviews, and try some gear in your local shops.
Comfort
It is obvious but we will say it – the comfort of the equipment you use is one of the things you can’t neglect. The reason for that is because when you are uncomfortable you just can’t focus on your training. Therefore, the quality of your workouts drops drastically.
You don’t want to adjust your shinguards everytime you kick or your headgear every time you get hit. Trust us.
However, even the most expensive equipment can be uncomfortable for some people. That is why it’s always good to try on the products at some local shops.
Protection
There is no need to say that the protection is number one priority when choosing products for your training. In fact, the reason we buy equipment is to protect ourselves, right?
Doesn’t matter if you are competing or you are training just to be fit. The truth is combat sports are dangerous.
That being said, you always need to think about your protection when choosing gear for your martial arts training.
Make sure to always wear headgear when sparring, mouthguard, hand wraps, and well-padded boxing gloves(at least 12oz.) to protect your hands and your partner, as well. Of course, if you are training some martial art that includes kicks – a good pair of shinguards and a groin protector is a must.
Support
Although this comes under the protection part we decided to give it a separate section.
This part is mainly for boxing gloves. Bad wrist support can lead to a lot of injuries that can put you away from the gym for weeks.
Especially, if you are a beginner. When a beginner is punching with gloves that have bad wrist support it can lead to a few things – punching wrong, bending wrists, and therefore – injury. Also, always wear hand wraps to protect yourself from wrist injuries.
Really, it can take only one powerful and wrong hit to the punching bag and you will feel pain in your wrist for weeks. A good pair of boxing gloves will always have a stable and strong wrist support.
Durability & Price
These two comes hand to hand. The reason for this is because often when you are trying to save money you buy cheaper products.
However, a lot of the cheaper equipment can cost you more in the long run. There is nothing worse than your gear starting to fall apart after only a few weeks of use.
Most cheap items usually are made in bulk with a little attention to the detail, often with bad stitching and poor quality materials. This is one of the reasons they wear out quickly.
As a conclusion, we would like to say that whether you are training MMA, Kick-boxing, Muay Thai, Boxing or other combat sport, choosing the right equipment can have a huge impact on your training. Of course, you can borrow some gym gloves for your first few classes.
However, if you are serious about this it’s better to have your own fighting gear.
Also, as we already pointed out, by making your research, trying different products in shops, and spending a little bit more money at once, can really save you a lot of money and pain in the long run. For example, a good quality pair of boxing gloves can last you for years, if you take care of them.
Hopefully, we helped you choose the best fighting equipment and achieving the perfect workout.
