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'You don’t have to be in a boxing ring to be a great fighter. As long as you are true to yourself, you will succeed in your fight for that in which you believe.'― Muhammad Ali
As any boxing enthusiast will know, selecting boxing equipment according to the type of combat sport or martial arts that you are about to undertake is like covering oneself in an emergency foil blanket after an accident. Choosing boxing training gloves, inner gloves, a boxing helmet and boxing accessories (a mouthguard, shin guards, elbow guards and ankle supports) are all ultimately a way of encasing oneself in a protective layer pre-match.
According to scientific research carried out by Sahlgrenska Academy of the University Göteborg in Sweden, so-termed ‘English boxing’ (standard boxing with no kicking involved as opposed to American or Thai kickboxing) undertaken by boxing professionals can cause cerebral lesions that are similar in nature to lesions in those with Alzheimer’s.
Are you looking to do some amateur boxing or basic boxing fitness training? Even beginner level boxing enthusiasts require basic boxing gear and will need to compare the prices of different boxing training sports items.
This is our mini guide to sports equipment for boxers.
French Kickboxing: Accessories to Get Your Hands on!
Firstly, remember that most combat sports are practised as hand-to-hand combat, which is, unfortunately, a major reason why such a large number of injuries occur. Too many fighters box with unprotected hands, when wearing protective padded gear should really be obligatory before jumping into the boxing ring.
Conditioning the body for fighting by lifting weights, using jump rope and doing aerobic exercise that builds strength and endurance is important, but using appropriate boxing gym equipment and protective sportswear is just as vital.
If you're looking to do Savate (otherwise known as French boxing) training and you want to save a bit of dollar, you could always join a local boxing club before you decide whether or not to fully invest in amateur boxing. You won't have to make costly purchases to get all kitted out and can try out all the equipment you need for sparring boxing (training gloves, headgear, shin guards, boxing mitts, fight shorts, boxing punch bag, boxing ring, etc.).
Savate (French kickboxing) is a sport with its roots in fencing – here’s how to choose appropriate training equipment!
What to Wear for French Boxing Training
The purpose of French boxing attire is above all to protect oneself when hit by an opponent. Sportswear and protective equipment specially designed for boxing aids boxers in striking to the best of their ability, but also stops you sustaining any serious injuries should you find yourself on the receiving end of a hefty punch or powerful kick. Should someone strike a particularly sensitive area or hit a fragile body part as they throw you, padded training gear will help to absorb shock.
But what many people don’t realise, is that boxing equipment is also ultimately designed to protect one’s adversary.
Boxing gloves cushion the impact of a punch, boxing headgear protects the skull and shin pads limit damage and bruising (to both parties) caused as a result of leg on leg combat.
Sports accessories made from padded material soften the impact of a blow and aim to reduce the number of open wounds inflicted during a boxing match or practice session. As one would expect, taking pride of place at the top of any boxer’s sportswear shopping list are, of course, boxing gloves.
In order to best choose your boxing accessories, it would be wise to take into consideration a set of crucial criteria:
- Your body mass
- Your height
- Your budget
- The item material (leather gloves, synthetic leather gloves or other synthetic gloves)
- The closing/fastening mechanism (elastic grip or velcro)
- Your own personal taste
Woah there! Before getting kitted out to the nines in protective boxing gear to rival even Robocop – how much is all this going to cost?!
French Boxing Accessories: Brands and Prices
Some of the most well-known boxing equipment brands are Everlast, Venum, Adidas boxing, Fairtex, Hayabusa, Reyes, Ringhorns and Twins.
For reliable equipment for beginners that doesn't come with an eye-watering price tag, we suggest going for the brand, Domyos by Decathlon. However, if you’re thinking about doing regular boxing or combat sports training, it would be better to go for a more specialised manufacturer.
The complete set of equipment items needed for French boxing is:
- Boxing gloves (from £14.99 to £1,995)
- Boxing hand wraps and inner gloves or boxing mitts (£3.49 to £19.99)
- Mouthguards (£2.49 for a single or double mouthguard with thermoform moulding),
- Anatomically shaped ankle supports (£5.99 to £69.99)
- Body/chest protector (ideal for female boxing, from £30.99 to £119.75)
- Full contact headgear (£14.99 to £149.00)
- Shin-pads (£8.99 to £69.95)
- French boxing shoes (£17.99 to £55.00)
Where to Find French Boxing Accessories
Most protective boxing items are sold by a handful of service providers or vendors, almost as if they have a monopoly on the boxing equipment market. Everlast, Lonsdale, Adidas boxing, Reyes, Fairtex, Grant Boxing, Nike, Ringside, Rival, Sting, Title Boxing Club, Top King Boxing, Twins Special, Venum, Winning and Windy are all well-known boxing kit brands, to name a few.
Where to find boxing classes? Instead of googling boxing classes near me, why not find a Superprof boxing master?
Standard Boxing: How to Choose your Boxing Kit
In English boxing – sometimes also known as Noble Art, or just simply, boxing – punches are aimed to land on the opponent’s face and chest. They should never land below the waist or on another fighter’s shorts and kicking is strictly forbidden. Standard boxing equipment is therefore generally less extensive than French kickboxing equipment as things like shin pads are not an absolute must.
As for all combat sports, you should buy a pair of gloves with foam padding to get good protection, inner gloves (a boxing wrist strap and inner gloves/boxing mitts are a great combo), padded headgear, a protective cup, a mouthguard and a pair of standard boxing shoes.
Obligatory in combat, boxing gloves are just as important for boxing training as they are for proper boxing matches and fights. During training, they can be used for hitting punchbags, boxing mitts and boxing shields. Boxing gloves are selected according to the weight and height of the boxer, which is calculated in ounces (one ounce = 28.3495g) from 6 to 18 ounces.
To preserve your pair of boxing gloves and ensure they remain durable, you should also cover your hands in boxing wrap. Boxing wrist wraps and hand wraps are multifunctional and apart from guaranteeing the durability of your boxing gloves, will also let air circulate when sweating and protect your phalanx (middle finger) and metacarpal bones.
Face punches can be quite aggressive during fights and hitting your head on boxing ring mats does not cushion the blow as much as you would think, therefore you should also choose durable and reliable headgear. The choice of headgear depends mainly on your head size, the amount of inner padding that is used, the tightness of the chin piece and the visibility it offers.
Next, you will need to grab a mouthpiece to prevent your teeth banging together or biting/perforating your tongue when your opponent aims uppercut and hook punches at your jaw. Shock Doctor is a good affordable brand to go for if you want to save your teeth and some money!
Finally, as boxing is a sport where you will be constantly bouncing on the balls of your feet and hopping from one foot to the other, a good pair of boxing shoes with soft soles and strong ankle support are required.
In order to choose your boxing kit for standard boxing, it is always best to first ask yourself the following questions:
- What is my budget?
- What level of boxer am I?
- What is my aim (to try out the sport, do some intensive boxing training or compete in boxing matches)?
- How often do I plan to go to the gym to box?
- What extra protection will this or that product offer me?
- Which item best suits my needs and taste?
You should budget for approximately £50 to £150 for your initial set of beginner’s boxing equipment, then £250 to £300 for better quality boxing gear suited more to intermediate level boxers and finally, about £400 to £500 for a complete high-quality boxing kit once you have reached a more advanced level of boxing.
And yes, those bargain boxing accessories by Domyos available for £30 or so definitely won’t offer the same quality and finish as Venum, Fairtex or Everlast with their range of very professional products!
American Boxing: Essential Boxing Accessories!
'In boxing, it is about the obsession of getting the most from yourself: wanting to dominate the world like a hungry young lion.' – Anthony Joshua
American boxing – otherwise known as full contact boxing or kickboxing – is a type of boxing that involves leg kicks without hitting the opponent’s legs.
It is probably fair to say that American boxing is a fusion of standard boxing and Savate.
Like standard boxing and martial arts, punches can reach the opponent’s head or chest, which is why kickboxing necessitates good full-contact boxing gear to prevent injury,
Boxing gloves, protective headgear, a mouthguard, chest protector, shin-pads and boxing trainers should be top of your shopping list when considering what kind of boxing kit would be best to fill your gym bag with.
Even if there is not really a lot of physical contact between boxers during training, protective boxing equipment is there to prevent possible accidents, such as bruises, contusions or fractures. What you might think was a gentle blow could be perceived as quite a powerful and violent strike by your boxing opponent
I mean, who would really want to box with bare hands as if hitting a brick wall and risk breaking bones?
Boxing gloves (brands like Title, Venum, Montana, Fairtex, Twin and, Adidas boxing) increase the power of punches all whilst spreading the impact across a larger surface area of skin – the thicker and heavier the padding, the more the impact is spread.
The price of full contact boxing gloves ranges from £7.99 (trust old Decathlon, of course!) to £169 (Title).
To know what size to pick, apart from one’s weight, you should think about what kind of an impact you want to have. Make a preference for heavier gloves (10 to 12 ounces) if you want to do some light sparring matches with your sparring partner. Prioritise thinner gloves if you are looking to harden your hands as part of a fight or boxing match practice where you need to be pulling punches at great speed, for example, when training with a punch bag or punching ball.
As you are allowed to use your feet in kickboxing, you will also need to wear a boxing cup or groin protector (£9.99 to £49.75) to cover your genitals. You want to protect them at all costs, as everyone knows they are one of the most sensitive areas of the human body and a kick in the balls is not something to which you readily want to expose yourself!
It is worth noting that while standard boxing requires only a pair of boxing shorts (usually made of nylon), full-contact kickboxers should wear kickboxing trousers similar to the tracksuit bottoms worn in Savate. Boxing trousers are more modestly priced and (£10 to £30 approx.) and the flexible fabric used allows for large, loose and roomy movements. Nylon and polyester sportswear is great for kickboxing as it is lightweight and durable.
To equip yourself with a complete boxing kit, you should budget for approximately £200 for basic boxing accessories and around £350-£450 for more sophisticated high-quality equipment.
The price-tag is not that pretty, but remind yourself that good quality boxing accessories only needs to be replaced every five to ten years
To know what’s what when making a purchase, here is a comparative table of prices and brands for the different boxing accessories available on the net that are needed for American. Superprof dons its hat as a rational economic man!
Find out more about American boxing equipment.
Thai Boxing: Best Boxing Gear!
Are you dreaming of becoming a pro in Thai boxing?
This impressive unrestrained sport is a cross between military training and martial arts, moulding the physical skills of a Muay Thai boxer that are really rather athletic.
Check for French boxing classes near me here.
A military sport formerly imposed by the ancient kings of Thailand, Muay Thai is kept alive today by the more than 200,000 people in the Land of Smiles who practice it today. What’s more, this type of boxing is such an all-around sport and workout that it is also practised by thousands of people outside of Thailand.
If you want to learn self-defence, there is no better physical preparation than Thai boxing.
Muay Thai training equipment also includes a handful of indispensable boxing accessories that no Thai boxer can do without.
First things first – Thai boxing gloves
Kickboxing gloves to a Thai boxer are like a bandsaw to a carpenter
Whilst people have been boxing with bare hands since the dawn of time, boxing gloves became an obligatory part of Thai boxing in 1920. The law was introduced to limit the risk of injury during sporting events. Thus, Thailand followed in suit of Savate and boxing in terms of boxing rules and regulations.
Next, somewhat of a technical novelty for kickboxing, Thai boxing requires a breastplate, elbow pads and ankle supports.
Don’t forget that in Muay Thai, kicks, punches and blows to the knee and elbow are all permitted. As the saying goes, anything goes in Thai boxing (almost); very few blows are prohibited. This is why it is one of the most dangerous forms of boxing.
The bones around the knees and elbows protrude away from the body and are particularly fragile and prone to injury during boxing matches, which is why it is necessary to wrap them in padded material that has been adjusted to one’s size. It’s important to wear protective sportswear even if your competitors don’t!
What type of equipment do you need forkickboxing? You could find out by signing up for kickboxing classes London or any big UK city!
To choose your equipment (boxing gloves, mouthguard, protective boxing headgear, groin protector, breastplate, Thai boxing shorts, elbow pads, knee pads, shin pads) you should bear in mind a number of factors:
- What price am I prepared to pay?
- What material will help best to soften any blows (synthetic polyester, leather, plastic, etc.)?
- Which boxing accessories will be most comfortable?
- For how long do I plan on keeping my boxing training equipment?
Fight outlet, Ringside Boxing, Sports Direct and Adidas boxing are going to be your new favourite places to shop!
Here's a comparison of fight gear
| Type of Boxing Accessory | Seller of Boxing Equipment (UK) | Boxing Equipment Brand | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxing Gloves | Blitz, Fitness Superstore, Selfridges, Active Instict UK, Yokkao, Made 4 Fighters | Adidas, Lamyland, Everlast, Blitz, Fairtex, Harlton, Twins, Ringside | £14.99 to £1,995 |
| Mouth Guard | Blitz, Made 4 Fighters, Valour Strike, Newitts, Selfridges | Blitz, Shock Doctor, Under Armour, Valour Strike, Lamyland | £3.49 to £19.99 |
| Protective Boxing Headgear | Decathlon UK, Fruugo, Amazon, RDX Sports, Flight Equipment UK, Olympia Fightwear, Made 4 Fighters | Domymos, Adidas, Rival Boxing, RDX Sports, Fairtex, Pro-Box, Lonsdale, | £14.99 to £149.00 |
| Elbow Pads | Blitz, Just Keepers, Tredz Bikes, Fruugo, | Blitz, Nike, Fairtex, Ion, Title, Adidas Boxing | £6.99 to £47.99 |
| Thai Boxing Breast Plate | Martial Arts Kit, Bytomic Martial Arts and Fitness, Boxfit UK | Tokaido, Bytomic, Cimac | £14.99 to £42.99 |
| Boxing Shorts | Adidas, Blitz, Reebok, eBay | Adidas Boxing, Blitz, Reebok, Fairtrex | £19.99 to £35.95 |
| Knee Pads | Amazon UK, RDX Sports, Fruugo, | Venum, RDX Sports, Fairtex, Cliff Keen | £7.99 to £29.99 |
| Shin Pads | Fruugo, RDX Sports | UFC, Twins, Fairtex, RDX Sports | £8.99 to £78.99 |
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