Does anyone wear elbow protection while sparring? If so, do recommend a type and brand? Most of the folks at my dojo wear metal masks (as do I) for face protection. Hitting the mask with 5 ounce gloves is no problem. But without elbow protection of some sort, elbows to the face are not going to happen. Cheers
I have never heard of wearing metal masks for anything other than weapon related arts - that is a new one on me! BTW - I am in MD as well!
I don't spar with elbows - it aint worth the inevitable trip to the ER. I'll flick the elbow in the clinch to show my opponent I could have landed it, but I'd never throw one, even gently.
My face mask is plastic. http://store.titleboxing.com/title-universal-no-contact-headgear.html But like it has been said, we only flash an elbow with no contact. Sparring is for learning not fighting. Throwing elbows is a good way to get kicked out of training.
Hadn't heard of using a face mask but this sounds not too bad, sort of like wearing one in Ice Hockey to protect yourself (if a goalie, if previously injured etc). Interesting. It surprises me that elbows are not used/thrown much (or a way determined to allow them to be thrown safely). I was told that in Thai boxing kicks and punches didn't really mean much, that elbows and knees were the REAL scoring techniques. I would bet that if you talk to some thai guys you will find out some ways to train elbows safely. Worth a look! :' D LFD
If it helps we throw elbows and knees on thai pads but when sparring it is always very light contact. Cant afford to get cut or a concussion before a fight.
You can't throw an elbow safely because any elbow that lands has the potential to split the skin. I suppose you could wear face masks/helmets etc etc like they wear in the hardcore self defence schools, but you don't tend to see that in normal Muay Thai gyms in the UK.
We don't wear elbow protection, but then we do the elbows against the pads. Anything other than a massively pulled elbow to the face even when wearing headgear is a show stopper.
No, it's a terrible idea, shots that connect to the front part of the face cage are going to impart a lot more angular momentum to your brain than if you weren't wearing one.
Well, I guess if even the hardcore self defence folks wont spar with elbows, then you really shouldn't spar with elbows.
Only area we allow elbows in sparring is to the body. It's very easy to split someones face open with an elbow. It's happened once just from regular sparring with no elbows, just from accidents where people have clashed. Imagine going at it with elbows as well? Pads or not, to the face is not a good idea. People still have to go about their usual life routines of work etc.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgJlvgWCyO0"]Muay Thai Elbow and Knee Sparring with Chase "The Weapon" Walden at the HTC in High Gear- Warm up - YouTube[/ame] It seems that some people have tried to find ways to fit this in. Interesting that , from what I read sparring in MT is often light to avoid injuries and may even include the Thai equivalent of kata to allow more dangerous techniques to be worked. MT guys, can you confirm any/all of this? LFD
Sparring is as light at the two people agree it to be, but you can't spar light with elbows. Are you talking about shadow boxing?
Sorry, my sentence was a bit rambling there... :' P I meant to say that sparring is light in comparison to fighting for safety purposes. Training might include other things eg kata (as well as bag work etc) to help the fighter keep skilled at the dangerous moves. This was what I was told but I wanted someone who knows to correct me if it's not correct. The other thing was, and again I would be happy yo be told otherwise if incorrect, but punches/kicks aren't the real scoring techniques in MT as much as elbows and knees. True? False? Inquiring minds want to know ;' ) LFD
Thank you very much for that HHJ! Really clarified things and makes things make a lot more sense. Would recommend this to others!! The 'kata' bit might be just some sort of drill, Krabi Krabong or something related. I don't know, just passing on what was told to me. I will have to grab the guy who said this next time I see him and ask for clarification. :' D LFD
