After taking several blows on the elbow today, right in the same spot*, I've decided I need to invest in a few pairs of elbow pads for my school. What do you guys wear/recommend? I use ice hockey gloves, so was wondering if that, or roller skating shops would be a good place to look. *Why is it always the same bloody knuckle or spot on the elbow that gets hit? :cry:
I find the skate style ones a bit restrictive and they can "overprotect" if you get my meaning. I use wrestling pads (Trace are my brand but any will do) for knees and elbows. The added advantage is you can se them to strike without the worry of maiming the recipient any more than is absolutley necessary (something you cannot do with skate pads!)
Thank you, that seems the type of thing I'm after because I want my guys/girls to move away from competition style sparring and include the punches, elbows and knees they're used to, so that type of pad would do the job.
I use them for DB and DB "lite" style as well as the Blast/HKE drills and they take a damn good hiding!
I've found a site that sells them. http://www.amerchandise.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=1721
There are also generic brands out there that might be a bit cheaper - I bought Trace because they were on sale at Highspots.com
I only wear light padding when sparring full contact. Head gear light gloves if raw rattan. No gloves if padded rattan. Don't wear elbow pads. I find moving my hand and elbow helps The problem with ice hockey gloves is they are too protective and you become too reliant on them and you don't get that quick lesson of move your hand because it hurts. Too much padding give dull responses. Less padding = more pain = better reactions Padding is fine for beginners but the more experienced the less you should wear. That's what I believe.
I can see your point here Pat, but it's not where I'm at right now. It's a little bit of "been there done that", but I've has a few injuries over the last couple of years that have been slow to heal and I'm keen not to repeat that cycle. In addition I run a recreational class. I have some good students, but I'm not training fighters. They enjoy sparring and I am keep to ramp up their training, but we're not training dog brothers style. For us padding and safety equipment means harder trainng, less injuries. As with all training it's a balancing act.
I personally would go for the street hockey or lacrosse gloves as the ice hockey ones are also too cumbersome. As for elbow pads try some of the skateboard ones with the hard plastic outer shell. Any good skate shop should stock them.
Yes they probably would. They'd take the sting out, keep costs low but still allow some feeling and feedback.
I gave up elbow pads years ago, I find they get in the way too much. Some of my guys like to put some tubi-grip over their elbows to avoid the cheesegrater effect when elbowing against the mask. Personally I try to get the mask off of people before I elbow them But for noobs etc, I advocate skater elbow pads with hard plastic shells. Just be careful that some brands, the 'brand label' stitched over the strap can rub/grate against the inside of the elbow/body giving you a horrible friction wound. To avoid this, I cut the brand label off of the velcro strap.
Keep the pads light. That way you're forced to move your own "targets" away from the weapon. You feel the pain, you will learn. I may be wrong, or old, or both.
Move to a Western culture. Then the two will be synonymous. Keeps things much simpler. ap "aging and rather enjoying it" Oweyn
when my grandfather was training me, there was no pads in the "barrios". you either move or you get hit for real. i remember the time when my mom got into an argument with my grandfather because i can not curl my fingers because they were swollen. lol. he used to say, "you get hit because you're doing something wrong!" with pads you dont feel the pain and you take everything for granted (imo).
Have you ever had your jaw broken? Or your kneecap cracked? Because those are all trained targets in FMA, yes? So someone somewhere along the line was making concessions to training. Whether it's pulling a strike, avoiding certain targets, using lighter sticks, or putting on protective gear, there's a compromise being made. If there weren't, you could go through your basic twelve angles and figure out all the things you'd have been to the hospital trying to get fixed. Everyone screws up in training. And if the strikes are all "for real" and there's no armour on, each of those hits could be seriously injurious. If not life changing.
