Unexpectedly, I had lots of responses to my earlier post ‘That First Step to Greatness‘ where I offered advice on what you needed and what to expect at your first MMA session. The majority of the responses were in fact questions, most of them the same, “What do I need?”.
The reason I didn’t mention equipment and start jumping into detail is because what I use, other people may not. It will be 99% the same but some people may prefer the more expensive gear, the flashier coloured ones or even the plain, cheap equipment. But since you were all nice enough to ask… I might as well tell you what I carry in my kitbag, Fighters Only style. Hold tight, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride…
First thing’s first. I’ve trained for a while now and I have never found a kitbag big enough to fit all my stuff in yet small enough so I don’t look like an urban hiker. I went from drawstring bags to normal sports rucksacks (which were too small) to sports holdalls (which were too big). I ‘acquired’ from my older brother (who acquired from Karl), a Datsusara MMA backpack which quite possibly is the best thing I’ve ever owned training wise.
The one pictured above is the 1st version of the bag which I presume is no longer available but to give you a run down regardless; made from hemp which “is the strongest and most durable of all natural textile fibers (4X stronger than cotton). Hemp is a porous fiber which allows air to pass through easily helping to keep you or your gear aired out. Hemp is also anti-microbial so bacteria, fungus and mold can’t live in it. Hemp is also UV resistant.” A quick copy and paste job but it worked and it got your attention. Personally, I dont see the difference except my bag doesnt smell. Which probably means it’s done it’s job.
Datsusara have done a great job with this bag as it has 10 compartments, 6 of which are zip pockets, 2 are side pockets, an internal laptop compartment and a smaller pocket on the outside. Not to mention the various D rings attached to the bag (6 in total) just in case you need to clip anything to it. Oh and it can be expanded. And there’s also parachute like clips that go across your chest and round your waist to distribute the weight of the bag to make it a little more comfortable to carry.
Datsusara claim that their equipment “is designed by people that actually practice MMA and its related disciplines” but which manufacturers don’t nowadays? Most of them claim the same but Datsusara’s bags are the only ones I’ve seen which do what I need it to do. It has enough compartments for my shakers, gumshield, box, shinguards, boxing gloves, MMA gloves AND a couple of changes of clothes… all at once.
My ‘big gloves’ are 14 oz – the minimum size of gloves you should be using when sparring. People claim lighter guys can use gloves as low as 10 oz but that’s aload of gobbledeegook. If you care about your sparring partners, go to 14oz MINIMUM. It’s easy maths, the bigger/heavier the gloves, the more padding which means it takes the shock out of the punch. If you have heavy hands or you’re heavier than 85kgs, I’d probably say 16oz.
The ones I use, I bought from Thailand at the famous Lumpinee Muay Thai Stadium for £20. The brand isn’t a well known brand outside of Thailand but Muay Thai are very well known within Thailand for producing well made, quality equipment. Alot of people look at the branding before anything else, Sandee, Fairtex, Twins etc but the differences are slight. What people don’t know is that most of the major manufacturers are connected in some way and the lesser known brands such as Thaismai, who STILL produce top quality products, were actually the pinnacle of Muay Thai products before the rest came along.
My gloves fit well, the velcro is still strong after 9 months of constant use and the dragon design print is still holding firm with no evidence of budging. I own a pair of Sandee gloves and rate my Muay Thai gloves above Sandee which I find are too tight and not ‘long enough’ for people with bigger hands.
My MMA gloves I am proud of. I currently own 4 pairs of 4 oz MMA gloves and these Fairtex ones are the best 4 ouncers I have ever had the pleasure of slipping my hands into. Completely fitted, the velcro enclosure and the padding fits round your hands as if it is part of your DNA. Apparently an award winning gloves and it’s design used by Art of War Fighting Championships in China as well as Strikeforce, you can do no wrong in buying a pair of these. But be warned, you may be wasting your time in purchasing these if you’re quite new to the game as most gyms dont allow sparring with 4oz competition MMA gloves for risk of injury.
So you’re new to the game, don’t worry because Fairtex also have a pair of MMA sparring gloves on the market. Using more padding on the front of the gloves and the back of the fist, you’re able to spar at almost full pace knowing that you’re not going to hurt your training partners as much as if you were to wear a normal set of 4 ouncers. Newbies dont need to worry about walking into a shop and buying a pair thinkling it will scream ‘MMA NOOOOB’ as prosessional fighters use bigger MMA gloves too to spar with.
I’ve never owned another set of sparring gloves so have nothing to compare it too. In fact, I think I ‘acquired’ these from someone….
My Sandee shinguards I didn’t acquire. I bought these from CKA Martial Arts at full retail for £35 around 18 months ago and they’re still going with no problems whatsoever. The velcro enclosures still have lots of bite on them and they tend to slide due to them being all leather so when you sweat, the shinguard tends to slide round but these were meant for Muay Thai, not for grappling or MMA so expect some sort of flaw.
The padding feels like it’s been doubled up and the way it fits is great, it curves right round the shin so there isn’t any unnecessary padding flaring out the sides of your leg.
For my precious teeth, I use an Opro Silver gumshield. Opro gumshields are by far the best ‘boil and bite’ gumshields on the market. Literally rip the gumshield out of the packaging, throw it into a cup of boiling water for a minute or so then into your mouth to mould. This is where the similarities end between Opro and other ‘boil and bites’.
With ‘fins’ on the inside of the gumshield, your teeth bite through the fins which mould to the contours of your teeth as well as the shape of your mouth. Essentially a cheaper version of a custom gumshield, Opro is still used by athletes at professional level. Each Opro shield is rated through Bronze which has a low amount of fins which still means it’s better than a normal ‘boil and bite’ but not as good a fit as Silver which has more fins. Gold comes after Silver which had the most amount of fins but was then beaten by Platinum which is currently the best yet most expensive Opro shield in their range. The more fins, the better the fit.
Last but not least, for you guys…. the Shock Doctor Bioflex cup. Another thing I acquired… but it’s not what you think. It wasn’t used. One of the guys from the gym bought a pair of the compression shorts which included a cup and since he already had 3 cups – he gave me this one. 4 cups and 2 men! See what I did there?
The Bioflex cup is great. Not the best fitting as it’s a little tight(hello ladies) but the idea was one of a kind. Using a normal structure of a cup, they included a flexible rubber edge so when someone DOES hit you in the misters, the rubber absorbs MOST of it. Not all. Most. Which means you escape that pain of your cup digging into your groin. Mmmm. Pain.
So there you have it you little perverts. You saw what was in my bag. Next week – my medicine cupboard. Shelf. Thing.
