Boxing Clever With MMA Gloves
Mixed martial arts – often referred to simply as MMA – combines a series of martial arts styles, as you might expect from the name. Elements of western boxing, Thai boxing, muay thai and Brazilian jujitsu are fused into a single, and frequently fairly brutal, sport which is played out in a ring surrounded by a cage. Because of this, MMA is sometimes called cage fighting.
In the early days of mixed martial art fighting, very little safety equipment was used, since the sport was conceived in order to pitch exponents of different martial arts against each other, to determine which were most effective in real-life street fight situations. As the sport developed, more and more safety rules were added and equipment such as MMA gloves were introduced, leading to more widespread public acceptance. Nowadays it has a similar following to other combat sports like western boxing and wrestling.
When you watch MMA competitions on the television, you will see that the competitors wear fingerless gloves. These are called MMA fight gloves. They have very little or no padding, and just offer a minimum amount of protection to both the hands of the competitor doing the punching, and the opponent who is on the receiving end. MMA gloves are fingerless to accommodate the grappling techniques that are part and parcel of a cage fight. Like the gloves used in western boxing, MMA fight gloves tend to be worn over the top of hand wraps, which also serve to protect the hands of the opponents.
The training and equipment behind the scenes is very different to that used in competitive bouts however. Sparring gloves are used for training purposes with a partner, and have padding to prevent injuries to both partners. Some brands look like boxing gloves but are less padded; others have open palms and protect just the back of the hands and fingers.
The other type of training gloves for MMA are bag gloves. These have very dense padding and should only be used for bag work, since the density of the padding can cause injuries to an opponent if the gloves are used for partner practice. So if you enjoy mixed martial arts and want to get involved yourself, get advice and make sure you buy the correct gloves for the type of practice you will be doing.