One more equipment thread if I may, I have got kit on the brain at the moment. Decided to buy myself some high quality sparring gloves to save for sparring only. This will mean I will be doing all my pad work, focus mitts and heavy bag work (ie 90% of my training!) with a pair of 14oz Ampro 55 sparring gloves that I am currently using for everything. These are leather and seem pretty well made, but it seems strange saving a pair of £60 gloves for infrequent sparring whilst using a pair of £25 gloves four times a week. Is there a reason (other than cost) to invest in a pair of proper bag gloves for every day training and retire my Ampros to spares? To clarify (because I know this gets asked a lot) I am not asking whether I can use the same gloves for sparring and pad work. I'm going to save my sparring gloves for sparring. This is about whether I can use my cheap leather 14oz sparring gloves for pads/mitts/bag without ill effects to my hands/joints etc.
I'd say the strange thing is shelling out £60 for a pair of gloves you're not going to use frequently.
Really? I thought it was quite common to invest in the best you can afford for your sparring gloves, which I would imagine most people use less than their bag/pads gloves.
Yeah, but those people spar several times a week. I see absolutely no point in spending a load of money on sparring gloves whilst using cheap nasty things for padwork, which is the bulk of your training and where you are most likely to need good gloves.
Ok so if I can rephrase my question slightly, do bag gloves/training gloves have advantages over sparring gloves when it comes to pads/bag work? Or are they simply cheaper?
Personally I don't see a difference. I got like 5 pairs of gloves though and as above, I use the same ones for everything...sparring, pads etc. The only time I change gloves is during boxing sparring where the club rules are 16oz.
I have a pair of 14 oz I've used for bag and padwork, they're fine, sparring used clubs 16, but got at least three pairs of 'bag gloves' generally find there is less padding on them, if you're hands are reasonably conditioned it shouldn't be a problem! (but why not use your sparring ones so you're training with the weight you'd use for sparring?)
That is the exact reason why I only use the one pair of 16oz gloves, so that it builds up strength in my shoulders and speed in my delivery, no matter whether I am sparring or working a bag. Been doing this for two years and never had any problems. Only time you may feel it is when breaking the gloves in. If you're looking for an advantage, or difference, this would be it.
I see no reason not to use the same gloves for both. For bag work, just use good wraps if you're going to be hitting hard. Trust me, you don't want to mess up your wrists. I did that once. :bang: ETA: My gloves (MMA style) are 4 oz, FWIW.
When I was training regularly I had to buy a pair of gloves for sparring and have a separate pair for bag work. In fact I had two separate pairs for bag work. A 10 oz, thumbless pair From Rival, and a 16 oz. pair for hard hitting bag work. The 16oz were my first pair and I used them for both bag work and sparring, and the two strong knuckles wore out so it wasn't fair to a sparring partner. You can get away with one pair of gloves for a while, but if you're seriously training (especially if you're competing) it's good to have separate gloves for separate training. I don't think it's worth doing unless you're training 6 days a week and logging in 30 rnds of sparring a week though. If you go cheap on any glove it should be the sparring gloves, because you'll use those a lot less. Bag/mitt work gloves are the ones that need to be your best quality because you're using them all the time.
they arent as well padded and easier to make and as such are cheaper, ive never used bag gloves always prefer to use my 14oz or 16oz gloves when boxing doing thai, and 7oz MMA gloves when doing that, you might as well get used to hitting with the gloves you are actually going to use in sparring And £60 on sparring gloves which you are only going to use occasionally seems exsessive to me to be honest But to answer your original question yes you can use your cheap 14oz for pad work without risk of injury, ive done this for over a decade with no ill effects
So the advice about one pair for sparring and one for everything else really only applies if you are training 6 days a week? I'm training twice a week at the club with only one night of sparring and then working my own heavy bag two or three times a week. We don't train the heavy bag at the club, all pads, drills and sparring. Maybe one pair of gloves for pads and sparring and one pair of bag mitts for heavy bag work at home?
No, lol, not really (to the bolded). I trained with one pair of gloves at a 6 day a week pace for a good 6 months before I decided I would like a pair of bag gloves that differed from my sparring gloves (and I had the money for it). Pros and top Ammys have "kits", where they use certain gloves for certain things. If you're really serious about competing and are training a lot it's a good idea, but it's not necessary.
You really only need the one pair of gloves. I would suggest to invest in a current range pair of Fairtex as they are a bit stiffer and tougher than other gloves I have tried and will last you a long time at the level you are training. However gloves from any of the following brands will do if you want them to last a long time. Twins, Sandee, Top King, Venum, Fairtex, Blitz, Bad Breed.
I wouldn't go with blitz.. I wouldn't even mention them in the same breath! Absolute rubbish, so is Lonsdale, reebok etc Sandee twins Fairtex yakkao windy king mtg are the ones to go with , the only cheap brand I'd recommend are M.A.R
Nothing wrong with Blitz. A few of our guys wear Blitz gloves and they're pretty solid. They don't wear easily like a lot of cheap gloves tend to and they're stitched fairly well. I've worn worse, Everlast and Lonsdale included. M.A.R are pretty decent, I will agree with that.
