Individual Safety Gear

Individual Safety Gear

i-safety
Training in any sport can have it share of bumps and bruises.  This is why it is important to take the precautions to train safely.  One way to train safely is to wear the proper attire during your training sessions.
Before we get into how individual fighters should equip themselves, we should know the type of equipment will be different for each type of training session.  The type of gear you will need for hitting the bag will vary slightly if you are sparring with another fighter.
Training Focus Mitts / Shields
When training with a partner using focus mitts, body shields, or other hand held equipment, it is important to have boxing gloves and wrist wraps.  If you use MMA gloves, most of them will have wrist wrap type of protection where you will not need wrist wraps.
The boxing gloves and wrist wraps should be worn by the fighter who is hitting the mitts.  Gloves are important not only for the obvious, but to protect against abrasions to the knuckles and to protect the hands.  The wrist wraps are used to protect the fighter’s wrists from any type of unnatural movements to prevent injury.
The trainer holding the mitts should be equipped with a chest/rib protector and shin guards.  These are not required depending on the type of training being conducted.  However, if you are going to work on leg kicks or any type of body kicking, it is advised this equipment be used.
Heavy Bags
Training on the heavy bag or a free standing bag will require the same gear as working on the focus mitts.  You will need to use boxing gloves and wrist wraps, or just MMA gloves with wrist support already built in.
Sparring
Sparring can produce the most opportunity for injury.  The level of intensity is much greater in sparring than any type of pad or bag work.  It does not matter how little or heavy your intensity is in sparring, more gear is required to protect yourself and your opponent.  Sparring without this gear can result in some extensive injury, so equip with the following gear:

  • Head Gear
  • Boxing Gloves or MMA Gloves
  • Wrist Wraps
  • Groin Cup
  • Shin and Instep Pads
  • Mouth Guard

Injuries can happen at any type of training to anyone. It is best to take the appropriate measures before you train to protect yourself from potential injury so that you may “live” to fight another day.