Ringside did a particularly good video on this, and it’s well worth watching the entire 16 minute video (and there’s a funny treat at the end). (more…)
If you are ready to make the leap from learning to box to actually sparring in the boxing ring, one of your first major decisions will have to do with finding the right headgear.
It can be daunting to figure out what, specifically, you need, especially since there are so many choices. And if you’re still fairly new to your gym, you may not know who to ask or whether to trust what someone tells you.
Since your decision about headgear can cost you more than a hundred bucks, here’s a little information that may help.
You’re scared. And with very good reason. You know you’re about to take straight, hard punches direct to your face and you are BRAND NEW at this. Holy shit, that’s enough to scare anyone. But here’s the deep dark (not really) secret that may help you: everyone — and there are NO exceptions — everyone begins here. Every single badass in that ring has faced this knowledge (I’m about to get punched in the face!) and had to do the serious soul-searching that it takes to suck it up and do it anyway.
However — and this is important — headgear is not going to help you avoid getting punched in the face. You’ll still get punched, and it will still be somewhat of a shock, and you’ll still freak out a little bit every time it happens for a while. Headgear is not a way to avoid the inevitable. You’re going to take a shot. A bunch of them, most likely. (I think you’re gonna do great, and I have some advice that may help, so hang in there with me.)
I’m saying all this because I was so fucking scared the first time I got in the ring I wanted to put on a suit of armor and a full-face motorcycle helmet. I was terrified of taking my first punches. But since there were not any suits of armor or motorcycle helmets handy, I looked for the next best thing: a face cage.
Sigh. Let me explain about face cages.
I call all of the headgear types pictured below face cages. But technically there are headgear styles with mouthbars (green Ring to Cage, below), nosebars (red Cleto Reyes, below),and actual wire cages (black Fight Club, below). Our gym had the nosebar variety, and I didn’t care how nasty that thing was, I was not getting in the sparring ring without it.
What I didn’t know then was that I would barely be able to see in the face cage. Even the best styles (and if I had to pick, the mouth bar style is probably the least horrible choice) significantly obstruct your vision, which is a very bad thing in the ring. In my opinion, it’s not worth the sacrifice.
However, there is one decent reason to wear a face cage. If you are a heavyweight, sparring hard multiple times a week with other heavyweights, you might consider it. I don’t think this is the best way to train, but I know at least one heavyweight guy who wears one, and this is why he does it. Those dudes are no joke; they throw power, and they aim to destroy. I recommend the Cleto Reyes above, because it has a lace-up top, but the Title version in the picture to the right has a chin buckle rather than velcro, which is good. More about these features below.
And be of good cheer, ye faint of heart: If you will do the things on the list below, you may find yourself feeling less desperate for a face cage than I was when I first got in…
This part is simple, and you can read more about each one of these items in the posts listed at the bottom of this article. But the gist is this:
Of course, I had ALL of these conditions, and still wanted my face cage like a baby wants her mommy. Sometimes you just gotta do what it takes to get your ass in the ring. Kudos to you, no matter what you decide about headgear.
Just remember that even if you DO wear a cage, it doesn’t lessen the shock of taking your first shots; it just makes it harder for your to see well enough to do anything about it. Mine left an enormous bruise on my chin from where the not-very-well-padded chin bar hooked under my face. I only ever wore that damned thing once.
And whether you decide to buy or borrow one, I’m betting you won’t wear it more than a time or two before you decide you’re ready for less sucky headgear. Which make me sooo glad I just wore the disgusting communal gym version and didn’t pay $130 for one of these suckers.
Read on, warrior.
First of all, if you’re not sure yet and just want to test things out, I would *borrow* headgear rather than buying it.
Most gyms have communal headgear that you can use, and they very frequently have face cage headgear, if you’re determined you want that. In some cases they have Masters headgear with extra padding and bigger cheekguards. More on that below.
Borrowed or communal headgear is a little bit disgusting, but if you’ve made it this far in boxing, you’re probably not a clean freak and you’re at least somewhat used to sweat, spit, stink, blood, snot, grime, and germs. (Sorry for reminding you of the disgust factor. Part of the deal, no?)
A slightly better borrowing tactic is to find someone at your gym with a similar build as you and ask if you can borrow their headgear. Most people don’t like to do this, but once in a while is not such a big deal. I’ve loaned mine out and borrowed other people’s a time or two.
Either way, you probably don’t want to borrow headgear for very long. And truthfully, you won’t have to. Once you start getting some experience in the ring, you’ll have a pretty good idea about whether you’re ready to lay out cash for some headgear of your own.
After my first time sparring in a face cage, I went straight to the Dick’s Sporting Goods and ponied up for the thin, cheapo version of headgear. That’s the Everlast headgear I had, in the picture, except mine was red.
Why cheapo headgear?
Because I’d been through my first sparring experience, and had learned that I was a fucking superhero. Didn’t know I had it in me! Which is NOT to say I looked awesome in the ring because I emphatically didn’t; my biggest revelation was that I could take a punch just fine. Holy shit, who knew??
So when I went to the local sporting goods store, I was plenty happy to shell out $30 and walk off with thin-ass, shiny new headgear that no one had sweated, bled, spit, or germed in. Yet.
And you know what? It was fine. Not great, but fine. And I used it for several months while I decided whether I wanted to get an actual amateur boxing fight.
The reason that this was my next decision point was that in order to fight, you have to wear USA Boxing certified headgear, and my cheap stuff was definitely not that.
I spent a lot of time researching, buying and returning, and finally purchasing my top-level headgear, and it’s served me incredibly well for several years. I ended up buying the same headgear that my trainer, who was a world-ranked pro fighter, wore. (And she even let me borrow hers once to try it out.)
My headgear is made by Fight Gear (I’d give you a link, but I don’t see it online anymore), and has all the features mentioned below.
Here’s what you want in the headgear you are going to pay $100 bucks or more for.
You want your headgear to fit pretty tightly when you’re cold, because as you warm up and start to sweat, you DON’T want it slipping around on you. Again, this is critical, because you need to be able to see, and you might find yourself taking a knockout punch while you’re busy futzing with your headgear in the ring (I pulled off a nice one once this way).
Be willing to order and return until you get the size right. Incidentally, mine is an Adult Medium. And yes, there are youth sizes in headgear.
“Masters” is the term used to denote the category of competitive amateur boxers over the age of 35. That’s me.
Don’t get Masters headgear if you can avoid it. Sadly, a few major boxing tournaments require it if you fight Masters, and in that case, you might try borrowing one because I’d sure hate for you to spend all that money for one of these things.
The reason Masters headgear sucks is the same reason the face cages suck. On Masters headgear they heavily pad everything so that the thing weighs a ton, feels incredibly stiff, and sticks out a lot. There are also ridiculously prominent cheek protectors that impede your vision.
You can see the red Fight Gear Masters headgear in the picture; I’ve tried it on but not sparred in it. How can anyone see through that thing??
If you skipped to here, this is what you want to know. Borrow headgear (face cage or otherwise) your first time in the ring. Or pop for cheap headgear until you’re sure you’re ready to level up. When you’re ready for really good headgear, expect to spend about a hundred bucks, and get a lace-up top, buckle-style chin strap, USA boxing certification, and a lace-up or velcro back. Don’t get Masters headgear if you can possibly avoid it.
All my opinion, of course, and I’d love to hear your experience and comments below.
And I want to give a special shout-out to Jackie Haidar, a boxer who is making that huge step into the sparring ring. She emailed me to ask about headgear, and said some really nice things that made me grin like an idiot.
I *LOVE* to hear from you guys, and it makes my entire week (month!) when you drop me a line. You can always reach me at Lisa [at] The Glowing Edge [dot] com.
Here’s some more advice about sparring for the first time (they all open in a new window):
What to Expect The First Time You Spar in Boxing
What You Should Know Before You Spar
First Time Sparring: Last Minute Advice
And, if you feel ready for this one (I promise you’ll be okay):
Sustaining Damage During Sparring
Now go do it! And be sure to check back in and let me know how it went, you ass-kicking superstar.
Image credit: The two pictures of me sparring were taken by my friend Melissa Eggleston, who was kind enough to show up one afternoon to Second Round where I train, and actually climbed into the ring with very expensive photo gear in order to get some of her own “shots” off… You rock, Melissa.
Even if you are only boxing for fitness, you will need a decent pair of boxing gloves. But before you buy the first pair you find in the local sporting goods store, here are a few things you should consider.
There are plenty of people who use the communal gym gloves all the time and have for years, but I had trouble with the stink factor. I know that sounds terribly rich kid, and it is. But this is the kind of stink that simply does not wash off easily. I would wash my hands several times and still be able to smell that stink on me all day long. So I spent $30 on my first pair of gloves (see below).
There’s also a padding issue, which may not matter to you if you are under 30 years old, but the older you get, the more of an issue good protection for your hands becomes. This is especially true if you are a heavyweight, throwing bomb shots.
If you plan to box for long, good gloves are definitely worth the investment.
The issue with the cheap gloves — in my case they were Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves (the exact pair in the picture on the left) — is that they don’t hold up very long. They are fine for starter gloves, but you can’t expect them to last.
If you go to the gym several times a week and use these gloves for a year they will begin to fail you. The padding will crush down, you’ll feel more pain, and you’ll start to see a difference in your performance because you’ll be holding back on your shots.
When my Everlasts wore out, I bought a pair of 14 ounce (many gyms will require 16 ounce) Pro Main Event gloves by FightGear (that’s what I’m wearing in the photo at the top of the post). They were $70 when I bought them, now they run about $85. These have held up much better than the Everlasts. You can order them online (although the LA Boxing website is not all that 
user-friendly) but I just purchased mine at an actual LA Boxing gym.
The gloves I really want are the Ringside Gel Shock Safety Sparring Gloves ($70), but last time I tried to order they were backordered so far that I never received them after waiting for months. Which is why I eventually bought the Main Events instead. But I’m pretty sure The Gel Shocks will be my next pair.
Most boxing gloves come in 12 ounce, 14 ounce, and 16 ounce weights. There are other sizes as well, but these are the three you’re likely to see most often.
The larger sizes offer more protection for your hands (as you land punches) and your face (as you defend against punches). To get used to working hard and fast with a pound of extra weight on each hand, you can purchase weighted gloves to wear when you aren’t sparring or on the bags. The sand-weighted gloves will not stand up to hard use, so use them for shadowboxing or other fitness exercises only.
If you compete in the amateurs you’ll usually wear 16 ounce gloves, which will often be provided by the promoter of the event. If you are competing professionally, you might wear lighter gloves. In both pro and amateur bouts, your wraps and gloves will be overseen and signed by an official.
Sometimes boxers will try to use their lighter-weight, worn-out gloves when they spar so that they can inflict more damage on their opponent.
If you are about to get in the ring with someone who has to stop and change gloves into some ancient, tiny boxing gloves, you know what’s coming. I’ve been in the ring with a pro boxer who used 8 ounce gloves and every shot felt like a brick. I barely made it through 4 rounds, and I needed a week to recover.
If you are used to MMA fighting, you may be fine with this, but you should definitely be aware of it.
Velcro, definitely, although lots of pro boxers will swear by lace-ups, which are much more classic and old school. But if you are boxing in the amateurs, or just training hard, you don’t want to have to ask someone else to make all your glove adjustments for you. Velcro enables you to put on, secure, adjust, and remove your own gloves.
The drawback to velcro is that the strips will often scratch your opponent’s face or arms as you spar. You’ll be scratched up from their gloves, too. But the solution to that is to get a pair of boxing glove cuff sleeves, which are simple elastic covers for the velcro. They run about $10.
Also, velcro does wear out eventually, and after a few years you may find that you are having to tape your straps down, which defeats the whole do-it-yourself thing. But by then it will probably be time for new gloves anyway.
The drawback to lace-ups, other than the fact that you can’t manage them on your own, is that if you have a loose lace, it can fly out and pop someone in the eye pretty good. The solution for that is usually to tape down the laces (although you can also use cuff sleves), which just means one more layer of stuff you can’t handle on your own.
You wrap your hands for basic protection in boxing. There are 27 little bones in your hands and they all need support. Boxers do break bones in their hands, although you’re more likely to suffer a sprain or general soreness.
Traditional boxing hand wraps are 15 feet or 180 inches long (don’t get the short wraps!) and slightly elastic. They usually close with velcro, and run about $6 per pair.
Hook the loop over your thumb and wrap your wrist and hand up to your knuckles. I go between my fingers and around the base of my thumb, too. It needs to be fairly tight because they will loosen slightly as you train. I’ve embedded a How to Wrap Your Hands video below, but everyone does it differently. Watch other boxers, try different styles. You’ll find your method.
For a competition, you’ll need gauze wraps. Your trainer will wrap your hands for you using multiple rolls of lightweight boxing gauze, and an official will sign them. This is to prevent any tampering or weighting of your hands inside the gloves.
As a woman boxing over the age of 40, I go to special lengths to protect my hands. I used to cut a foam beer cozy into strips and tape the strips over my knuckles before wrapping. Now I use these fabulous Everlast Evergel Classic Handwraps ($14) instead of traditional hand wraps inside my boxing gloves. You can see them in the photo to the right.
I love my Evergels, and they even go through the wash just fine.
Did I mention you should wash your wraps? Sigh. There are people who don’t. However, you can easily wash them in a lingerie bag. You need the bag because otherwise the velcro will stick to and potentially tear up other laundry, not to mention becoming wet, knotted hell unless they are contained.
Boxing gloves can work up a stink after years of hard use. One way to keep them dry and less of a breeding ground for bacteria is to fill a couple of long socks with cedar chips and stuff the socks into your gloves after you box.
They sell boxing glove dryers ($100!) but I’ve never invested in one. If you have the money, feel free, but the sock method works, too.
Although I have had people say my gloves smell like a gerbil cage. A fresh, clean gerbil cage, that is.
Image: Me at Decatur Boxing Gym in Atlanta, with my friend and sparring partner Justine.
Calm down, I’m not really posting about lingerie.
But you know those nifty little mesh lingerie bags that you are supposed to use in order to keep your delicate lacy whatevers from getting torn up and damaged by the big bad washing machine?
Yeah, I use them not for lingerie (I’ve been into “nots” today), but for my boxing hand wraps.
Wraps are about 15 feet long each. Throw two (or worse, four or six) of them in the washing machine with all your other laundry and you have a recipe for wet, irritating, knotted hell. Which I believe is why many boxers don’t wash them. Ever. Which is part of the reason boxing gyms have such an incredible, dog-you-in-your-dreams, worse-than-high-school stink. WASH your wraps, boys. But I digress.
This little conundrum is easily solved: when you get back from the gym, toss your nasty, stinky, smelly, sweaty hand wraps in a lingerie bag and leave said bag and its vile cargo in the laundry hamper. When your husband is moving clean wash from the washer to the dryer, he finds a tidy little lingerie bag (which gives him a warm feeling) and sees that you have thoughtfully made his job just that much easier. He removes the (not tangled! fresh-smelling!) wet wraps from the lingerie bag and hangs them over the pull-up bar where someone will find and roll them up for you later (your kids will like this job).
LeSigh. Housekeeping made painless. Boxing made fragrant!
And you thought it couldn’t be done.
Image by kizette on Flickr