How to Buy Good Mixed Martial Arts Gloves
July 13, 2008
If you’re on the market for mixed martial arts gloves and don’t know what to look for, don’t feel bad. Unlike boxing gloves, MMA gloves are a relatively new product to hit the market, and were only popularized after the UFC craze made a big splash after The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 aired.
Once people started entering mixed martial arts schools in droves, and programs started cropping up all over, every martial arts supplier and equipment manufacturer started cranking out their version of mixed martial arts sparring gear.
The problem with this is that the MMA gloves you typically find in stores can be of a very poor quality. At the very least, they don’t last very long under hard training, and at the worst they can lead to injuries that can put a damper on your or your partners training.
So, let’s look at what fight and sparring gloves are supposed to do, then we can take a look at what you need to look for when choosing a good glove for training or competition.
And The Purpose of the Glove Is…
Mixed martial arts fight gloves are designed to protect the user first, and their opponent second. MMA sparring gloves have the same purpose, but generally have quite a bit more padding than fight gloves, to allow for sustained sparring with as little injury as possible.
Note that I say, “…as little injury as possible” – not “prevent injury”. MMA is a contact sport that involves hitting another person. You will get injured if you participate in hard sparring for any length of time. Get that through your head, and don’t expect the glove to protect you from every little scrape and bruise; they’re not designed for that.
What they are designed for is to:
- Protect your hands and wrists from injury when striking –
- Protect your sparring partner or opponent from sustaining serious cuts during a fight, or to reduce trauma during sparring.
So, there are two types of MMA gloves:
- Fight gloves (which are lighter and thinner)
- and Training/Sparring gloves (which come with a bit more padding over the knuckles).
So, a word of caution… if you spar with fight gloves, you’re more likely to get injured. That’s why you’ll want to have a pair of the lighter fight gloves to hit the pads and drill with (simulating fighting conditions) and a thicker pair of sparring gloves for – you guessed it – sparring.
And, if you plan to compete chances are good that the promoter (if they are sanctioned) will provide brand new fight gloves for the event. This is generally a requirement for safety (because, no matter how good a glove is, the padding wears out over time) and hygiene (because, the cleaner the glove, the less likely you are to get an infection from a scrape or cut).
Choosing Mixed Martial Arts Gloves
The first thing to consider when choosing which MMA gloves to buy is the material. If they’re made of “man-made” or “synthetic” or “simulated cowhide” materials, skip them. Ditto if they have any nylon straps that are integral to the construction.
These types of materials tend to leave nasty scrapes and cuts, even during light sparring. Also, unlike leather, synthetic materials tend to harden over time, losing their pliability and increasing the risk of injury.
So, only buy gloves that are made with 100% soft cowhide or calfskin leather. This is the same stuff that boxing gloves have been made from for years, and for good reason. It’s durable, and it tends to soften over time… the more you use it, the more comfortable it gets.
Another thing to look for is whether the wrist straps cover any Velcro on the glove. The strap should wrap completely over the Velcro and secure snugly while covering the Velcro material.
Why? Being a synthetic material, Velcro is abrasive, leading to additional scrapes and cuts. But, it’s also the most appropriate material for fastening the gloves, so you’ll have to live with it. A quick tip: look for gloves that have the soft side of the Velcro on the wrist, and the abrasive side (with the little nylon “hooks”) on the strap.
Manufacturers and Suppliers – Choose One That’s Knows What They’re Doing
There are a few manufacturers that have been making fight gloves for years that you can trust.
They are:
- Ringside
- Title
- Combat Sports (a division of Ringside)
All of the above brands of gloves and be found here at very reasonable prices:
Click Here to Buy Mixed Martial Arts Gloves
A relative newcomer but one that is also worth mentioning is RevGear. I use their equipment, and I’m especially fond of their MMA training glove. The leather is soft and supple, and even with the added padding you can still open and close your hand fairly easily.
I hope this article has helped you understand the difference between a cheap glove and a good mixed martial arts glove, as well as the reasons to avoid buying cheap equipment.
Now, go buy some good mixed martial arts gloves… your hands will thank you, and your training partners will likely appreciate it as well.
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About the Author: Mike Massie has been teaching the martial arts for over twenty years, and is a well-known and outspoken advocate on the topic of ethical martial arts business practices. He resides in Austin, Texas.
The Top 7 Things to Consider When Selecting a Martial Arts School
April 19, 2008
Congratulations on choosing to enroll yourself or your child in a martial arts program! As a 10 year practitioner of martial arts, I enrolled in 4 schools in different parts of the country before launching my own school in upstate
Below, I’ve outlined what I believe to be the key questions to ask yourself and your prospective school instructor. I often tell people that choosing a martial arts school is like choosing a college. You need to do your research on the curriculum being taught, the quality of the schools graduates, the cost, and then you need to visit the school to see if it “feels” right.
Traditional or Modern
Some schools are very traditional while others take a modern approach. Traditional schools often emphasize the discipline and uniformity that people associate with the martial arts. Modern schools may blend a variety of styles and have looser standards of behavior.
Children, Adults, or Both
Are you looking for a school for a child or for yourself or both of you? What does the school offer? If the school is solely focused on teaching children and you are seeking aggressive full-contact martial arts training, this might not be the school for you. The class schedule should reflect dedicated classes for adults and children.
Contact – light, medium, full
How hard do you want to hit or be hit? Most martial arts involve contact sparring after a certain period of training. Some schools believe pain and contact are to begin on the first class while others permit no contact until black belt level. It is important to match your expectations and ask the instructor what type of contact the school permits and at what level.
Style – Taekwon-do, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo, Wing-chun, Aikido…
The differences in martial arts styles are too varied to describe in a single article. Do your own research on this website or YouTube to get a sense for the different martial arts styles and their philosophies.
Instructor
Ultimately, the quality of the school rests upon the decision making of the instructor. When you meet him or her in person, you should be able to get a sense of the character traits and physical ability. Some schools are run by an instructor who owns several schools. The classes in other schools are only taught by the head instructor. Before enrolling yourself or your child, you should know who the instructors are and their teaching philosophy.
The students
Look around – are the students like you or your child? Are they your age and ability level? Are the exercises they perform in your range of ability? Do they greet you with a smile and encourage you to join? Try to talk to a few of them and find out why they chose the school and see if their answers are in alignment with your goals.
Pricing and commitment
Most martial arts schools ask for a 6-12 month commitment up f
As an instructor, I know that the first 3 months with a new student requires a lot of additional time and effort on my part that needs to be taken into consideration. I have to alter my classes to permit time for the new student to learn basic skills and routines. I also have to dedicate time to review the new student’s progress, physical wellness, and emotional contentedness with the school. This is my commitment to new students.
Phone calls and private conversations are part of the curriculum to keep the student coming to class. New uniforms, student journals, certificates, belts, federation dues and training equipment are all costs to the school and may or may not be included in your tuition.
To summarize, making a commitment to a martial arts school is something to take seriously. Only by researching the style, the level of contact, the age and ability of the students and by meeting the instructor can you really predict how well you will adapt to the training.
If you think of it like choosing a college, you will surely know that you have chosen the right school for you or your child. It should just “feel” right. Congratulations on taking the first step. You may have heard that interviews with senior citizens reveal a simple fact time and time again: as we age, we regret the things we failed to try more than the things we have tried and failed.
So, start your research on the internet right now and make appointments to visit the schools in your area as soon as possible!
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Martial Arts Belts, Ranks, and Promotion
April 16, 2008
When people think of the martial arts, they usually think of people wearing belt ranks, or more specifically, the Black Belt. What is not common knowledge is the fact that the belt rank systems modern martial arts styles use are a fairly new addition to the ancient traditions of the martial arts.
Martial arts historians agree that the founder of Judo (means “the gentle way”), Jigoro Kano, was the first instructor to use colored belt ranks sometime around the turn of the century. Soon after Kano sensei started using colored belts for his students, many other instructors from other martial arts styles and systems began using them as well. Now, virtually every martial arts style uses some sort of colored belt rank system as an easy way for the instructors and students to tell how long a student has been training, and how much they have learned.
The standards for what a student should know and the techniques they should be able to demonstrate to earn a particular rank vary from school to school. As a new student in the martial arts, you should be aware that students in some schools may move through the ranks at a faster or slower pace than other schools do.
Does not mean that their school is “better” or “not as good” as yours? Although you should respect students from other styles and schools, be wary of schools that turn out black belts and instructors very rapidly. Generally speaking, it should take an average student at least four years to earn a legitimate black belt in a striking style. And, in some grappling styles (like Brazilian jiu jitsu) 8-10 years to black belt is the norm.
My suggestion is that you forget about earning rank and instead focus on learning skills. It is important that you focus on learning first, and advancing in the belt ranks second. A good student knows that they earn their rank by living up to it… working hard in training, paying attention in class, listening to the instructors, and practicing at home. Worrying about how long it will take to get the next belt will not get you to the next rank any faster. Just keep working hard and that martial arts belt display rack on your wall will fill up before you know it.
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About the Author: Mike Massie has been teaching the martial arts for over twenty years, and is a well-known and outspoken advocate on the topic of ethical martial arts school management. He resides in Austin, Texas and runs a full-time martial arts studio in nearby Hutto, TX.
How to Buy a Whole Set of Kettlebells for Under $200
March 24, 2008
If you haven’t heard of kettlebells by now, you’ve probably been living under a rock somewhere in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Kettlebells have been around for a long time, and they were a standard piece of training equipment for old-time strongmen. In addition, Okinawan and Chinese martial artists have been using similar equipment for years to develop core power and grip strength.
More recently, they’ve come into popularity with martial artists and fighters, probably due to the fact that you can get a heck of a workout with them in much less time. Also, they are great for functional resistance training, a mainstay of any good martial arts conditioning program. (If you want to know more about kettlebells, check out the following links: Pavel Tsatsouline’s website and Steve Maxwell kettlebell info.)
Now, the main problem most people have with using kettlebells for strength training is the fact that you have to drop some serious cash on kettelbells to get a decent set. Why? Because traditional kettlebell designs don’t allow for weight adjustment, so once you outgrow your first kettlebell you either increase your reps or buy a new pair.
Well, not anymore. This Christmas the wife bought me my new favorite piece of training equipment - adjustable kettlebells.
Now, hang on because I know what you’re thinking. Adjustable kettlebells are shaped all wrong, the balance is off, they use awkward plate-loading systems, and so on.
That’s what I thought too until I set my eyes on this piece of equipment. They’re a major improvement over any adjustable kettlebell design I’ve seen, because they look, feel, and swing just like a regular kettlebell… except you can adjust the weight from 30 to 70 lbs.
So, you basically get a complete set of quality standard kettlebells that don’t take up half your gym floor, and for about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost.
Here’s the link where you can check them out for yourself:
How to Choose a Martial Arts School
March 21, 2008
When you’re looking for a good martial arts school, it can be a little overwhelming. For one, there are a ton of martial arts styles to choose from, so if you live in a big city, you may have more choices than you know what to do with.
If you live in a smaller town, you might not have as many choices where style is concerned, but that still doesn’t rule out the fact that you need to try as many schools as possible before you make a final decision where you’ll train.
So, here are some tips to follow on how to shop for a martial arts school:
- Start with the end in mind. In other words, decide what your goal is for taking martial arts, so you’ll be able to pick a style and school that offers what you’re looking for. Do you want to get in better shape, to learn self-defense, to compete, or to earn a black belt someday? Do you want to learn how to high-kick and do cool-looking stunts, or to fight like an ultimate fighter? Do you want to learn weapons or to use your hands and feet? Do you want to grapple, to strike, or both? All these things will have a major influence on your decisions as you go about choosing a school. Write them down and keep taking notes as you go through the entire process.
- Before you shop, do your research. Browsing through the “Styles” section of this website is a good place to start. And, if you have friends who train, ask them about the styles they practice, and find out what they like and don’t like about their style and school.
- Remember, choosing a school is like buying shoes; that is, you never just buy the first pair that looks good. Instead, you try them on first to see if they even fit. Then, you look at a few more pairs to compare all your options. Once you’ve tried several different shoes on for size, you settle on the ones you like best. Same goes for choosing a martial arts school - never choose until you’ve checked out all your options!
- Make sure you get a “return policy”. That means if they don’t offer a trial period that allows you to back out of your membership, then go to another school.
- Never join a school that pressures you to sign a contract on the first day. If a school uses “hard-sell” tactics, that’s a good indication they are more focused on recruiting new students than taking care of the ones they already have. Try to find a school that allows you plenty of time to decide whether you like what they offer before they ask for a commitment of time and money.
- Never join for more than 6 months on your initial membership. Why? Because you might change your mind about what you want after a few months of training, and you need to keep your options open in case that happens. Most schools offer a six-month membership for beginners, and while it may be tempting to sign up for a longer term to get a discount, you’re probably better off paying a little extra at first in case you decide you want to train somewhere else.
So, there you have it - simple guidelines to help you when you’re choosing a martial arts school. Good luck with your search, and happy shopping!
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About the Author: Mike Massie has been teaching the martial arts for over twenty years, and is a well-known and outspoken advocate on the topic of ethical martial arts school management. He resides in Austin, Texas and runs a full-time martial arts studio in nearby Hutto, TX.
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