Understanding the anatomy of combat gloves puts you in the driving seat to leverage such equipment for stamina, shielding, punch power, and acceleration capabilities. With varying combat gloves, amateur MMA fighters are often confused regarding which glove type improves their combat skills.
To start with, let’s look at the factors that affect a glove’s quality:
First and foremost, all combat gloves are made of leather. What differs is the sewing quality and the durability of the leather. While higher-end gloves are sewed using microfiber leather, basic combat gloves are manufactured using PU leather, thus having lower durability and glove strength.
We recommend choosing gloves resistant to wear and tear. For this, opt for top-grain leather made of either goatskin or cowhide. If your budget is low and you can’t invest in such gloves, expect an amalgamation of low-quality leather that calls for a shorter glove lifespan.
Choose gloves that are stitched using premium nylon-centric thread. This reduces the probability of padding inconsistencies as you keep using the same pair of gloves.
For MMA aspirants using poorly stitched gloves, be mindful as the padding becomes highly susceptible to unwanted discrepancies. This not only plummets the glove performance but puts you at the risk of injuries through unstable gloves.
Good quality MMA gloves boost the fighter’s punching power and simultaneously dampen the vibrations in the hitter’s hand. This occurs due to the capability of shock absorption possessed by lightweight, moulded foam and pre-curved gloves.
Steer away from gloves made of bulkier padding. Such a built will exhaust you quicker and unsettle the effectiveness of what consecutive punches would offer. Even worse, you’ll sense a fair amount of the power invested in a punch retract into your arm.
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Ring-combat aspirants can opt for lace-up or hook loop gloves. Lace-ups bring more stability to your wrist since the lace allows a tighter and almost perfectly secure fit. We recommend using this only if you have a sparring partner who can assist in setting the glove up.
On the other hand, a wrap-around or hook loop glove will lock in your wrist and the added segmented cuff double downs on the wrist stability. Considering how well secured and in place the hook loop glove keeps the wrist, fighters are granted flexibility with the upper hinge of their wrist.
Let’s look at a few more glove types based on the purpose of usage:
As the name suggests, cardio gloves aren’t meant for combat or in-ring situations. They’re merely used for no-contact training and come equipped with lesser padding. Thus, if used for combat situations, expect them to shed quickly.
Made primarily to allow effective sparring for skill-building purposes, sparring gloves are infused with extra cushion. This cushioning helps soften your opponent's punches while blocking and protects your hand from the vibrations induced by your own punches.
Note: MMA aspirants weighing around 59 kilograms should use gloves weighing 14 to 16 ounces.
Punching bag workouts are best practised with bag-specific gloves. They’re designed to accustom your knuckles to consecutive impact punches. What’s more, the stiffness provided by bag gloves comes with a lower probability of getting exhausted too soon. Also, they’re usually the most affordable of all options.
Unless you're competing in professional MMA knockout tournaments or leagues, there’s no need to invest in combat gloves. They’re much smaller, compact and heavier at the same time. Such features make it simpler to generate more power and deal significant damage to the opponent.
Here are three primary differences between the two:
However, MMA gloves come with almost minimal padding and showcase a sleek built. This trains the fighters for a higher level of endurance as compared to boxing.
Pro Tip: Use hand-wraps with MMA gloves since they compress the tissues and bones in your hand. This provides not only extra protection while punching but proves effective in generating more power. Keep in mind that the hand-wrap distributes the shock across the hand, rather than making the wrist and palm region bear the struggle.
Now that you’re informed about the features and types of combat gloves ensure you keep them clean to avoid wear and tear.
Start by wearing wraps to prevent sweat from damaging the insides of the gloves. Further on, undo the straps and hang the gloves after usage to expose them to a decent amount of airflow. Finally, use a neutral PH leather cleaning solution on the insides and outsides of the gloves.
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