Sparring Gear

kkennedy219 · Yellow Belt

Can someone recommend a good brand of sparring gear (gloves, shin pads etc) for a beginner? There seem to be tons out there...I'm looking for good quality that's not too crazy expensive.

Thanks, all!
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DWx · KF Sensei

Depends what you have to wear. The best person to ask would be your instructor, especially if he you can buy through him as he may receive discounts from buying in bulk and being an instructor.

For TKD which is light-semi contact, I have been wearing Macho gear. Its cheapish and lighweight but the foam tears after a while so you have to buy new ones. IMO quite good for learning to spar light contact but useless if you spar heavier:
http://www.bytomic.com/detail.asp?c_urn=11&show=Combat+Kits&urn=294&pg=1

My latest set for competition is made by Top Ten, I've only tried them once so far, they're heavier but seem to be a lot better quality. They also protect you a lot more so sparring in them can be a lot heavier:
http://www.bytomic.com/detail.asp?c_urn=11&show=pgno3&urn=376&pg=3

It will all depend on what you have to wear though so I should ask your instructor first

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AikiGuy · Orange Belt

I'm sure there are many great products but I will recommend the two I have seen to be very good: "C-Gear" by Century and "Gladiator" Pro-Force. I personally find that gloves tear up a lot faster than boots. And both of these brands have OK boots, but really great quality gloves. The first thing I look for is a glove that has more than a thin cord or strip of vinyl to attach it to your fingers. These tear very easily if you do anything more than very light or no contact sparring (and even then it's possible to ruin them). Both of these (and others I'm sure) have more of a finger "compartment" similar to a mitten or boxing glove.

I have the C-Gear and they have lasted for years. The gloves have double padding over the knuckle and normal padding everywhere else. They also have a more durable surface coating than the usual dipped foam gear that cracks after a while. In 6 years mine have never cracked. The only other thing I would like to see is a tied or covered thumb. Although it is padded. Other than that, they are excellent.
http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&categoryid=70437471-c50b-44f2-aaf5-483851413a85&subcategoryid=4a90a49c-cee5-4bd9-bc7e-09cce522cbe5&itemguid=3c100a34-2739-49e4-bf37-9d73a45f972a

A class mate had the Pro-Force gear and it seemed very good as well. It doesn't have the same shell coating as C-Gear so I'm not sure how durable the surface is. Slightly less knuckle pad than C-Gear too but probably about the same as your average dipped foam gloves so it should do fine. The great thing about these though is the protected thumb. I think it had little or no thumb padding but it was completely shielded. The finger compartment was like a boxing glove with a permanent curve to it. Also, it was oversized to be wider than your hand and it wrapped over the palm to cover the thumb. Great feature to have.
http://www.proforcema.com/cnt_show_product.cfm?product_id=10102

Happy shopping. Hope this proves useful.
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