A punching bag and gloves are essential attributes of a boxer’s training. According to the requirements of the international boxing Association, it is impossible to box without protective equipment for hands. It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur, an amateur or a professional. Each of them, while training, protects the hands from bruises, dislocations and other injuries with this sports equipment. For a beginner or the uninitiated, buying boxing gloves is
a difficult task. After all, they all look almost the same, except that they differ in color. But this is far from the case. And today we will try to reveal the secrets of this boxer’s sports equipment.
This is interesting: The traditional colors for boxing gloves are red and blue. But it was often noticed that there is a white spot on the pair at the place of the bend of the fingers (the area of the knuckles). This is not just a decorative element, but an important detail. A noticeable light spot helps the referee to fix the blow and protect the boxer’s points. But now black colors are also used for training or amateur fights.
What are boxing gloves
Protective elements for the boxer ‘s brush are divided into types:
● Combat. They are used for professional and amateur fights. The angle of the thumb bend in such a model corresponds as much as possible to its anatomical position in the fist. This allows you to minimize injuries and strengthen the impact;
● training. Such boxing gloves of 10 or another size are fastened with Velcro or fixed with elastic bands. They are widely used not only for boxing of all levels, up to MMA, but also for other types of martial arts. The most popular models of boxing gloves for training from 12-16 oz. Such gloves are not used when practicing on paws or bags. Otherwise, the models wear out quickly, harden, which is fraught with injury for the sparring partner;
● Projectile. These are boxing gloves for working with paws, pears, bags and makivars. They are the lightest, exactly repeat the anatomy of the fist and are indispensable in honing movements. Projectile boxing gloves, the price of which depends on the brand, are available in the usual size grid from S to XL size;
● coaching. They combine the features of training gloves and paws for practicing blows.
It is important. The practice of hitting the pear and other projectiles occurs at high speed. For the safety of the athlete, choose adult or children’s boxing gloves projectile, which fit snugly to the hand, are securely fixed and slightly tight.
The clasp of boxing gloves
If you are going to buy children’s boxing gloves or equipment for an adult, then pay attention to the fixation. They are held on the athlete ‘s hand by 3 types of fasteners:
● Elastic bands. The most convenient and practical. Therefore, they are made on rigid, children’s models and shell variants;
● Velcro. They are so reliable that they are recommended by the Amateur boxing Association. Even in professional fights, you can notice models with Velcro on the hands of boxers.
Interestingly, the wider the Velcro on boxing gloves, the tighter and more reliable the fixation of the hand protection.
● Lacing. Boxing gloves of the highest class for famous athletes are sewn with lacing. They guarantee the fit of the equipment exactly according to the person’s hand, taking into account all the anatomical features of the hand, wrist. They are not very common among amateurs because of the difficulty of putting on. A person will not wear them on their own. Professionals for lacing gloves have a separate assistant in the team.
Boxing Glove Sizes
Traditionally, the dimensions of this sports equipment are indicated in the English unit of weight – ounces. In everyday use, the marking is two letters of the Latin alphabet – OZ. Translated into the usual metric system, 1 ounce is equal to 28.35 g. Boxing gloves are produced in sizes from 4 to 20 ounces.
The size is selected depending on the purpose of using the equipment and the weight of the athlete:
● children’s – 4 OZ for athletes up to 7 years old;
● for the school age category (up to 9 years) – 6;
● teenagers (up to 13 years old) -8;
● Women’s – 10 oz. This size is also used by teenagers;
● Up to 60 kg – 12 oz;
● up to 90 kg – 16;
● more than 90 kg – up to 20 ounces.
What does a boxing glove have inside?
The very first boxing gloves, which began to be widely used in the 20s of the XX century, were stuffed with horsehair. The natural material was cheap, affordable and ideal for shock absorption. Today you can buy boxing gloves with both natural and synthetic filler. Modern materials (foam rubber in plates, foam, foam rubber) are light, protect the athlete’s hand, do not affect the weight of the glove. Their main advantage over horsehair is the absence of deformation over time and a high ability to spring.
The cheapest children’s boxing gloves are stuffed with cotton. Low cost does not cover the disadvantages:
● collected in lumps;
● deforms the product;
● increases the risk of injury.
The gloves are covered with leather or synthetic materials on top. Despite the high cost, it is better to choose natural options. They breathe, bring sweat out during training and combat, protect from overheating, sit well on the arm.
Glove cut
In boxing gloves, all fingers, except the thumb, are together in the “mittens” part. The space for a large one is allocated separately in professional models. It is attached with an additional protective cushion. In a properly arranged glove, it rests on the phalanx between the middle and index fingers.
For lovers, the cut is different. In them, the thumb is sewn parallel to the brush. This is designed for a small impact force. If such gloves are used by a professional, the risk of dislocation or spraining of the ligaments of the thumb will increase significantly.