# MMA Gear Guide



## SteSteez

Felt there was a need for a buyers guide on here, so I've put this together mainly for people thinking of starting out in the sport.

As some of you will know MMA can be an expensive sport, but with knowledge the cost can be vastly reduced.

Note: I stress - If you have anything to contribute to this guide, reply in the topic and I'll edit it in.

*NECESSITIES*

Groin Guard:

This is a protective piece of equipment for the groin region. The types of Groin Guards available are quite vast, here are the market standard:

Thai Traditional Groin Guard










These by far offer the most form of protection with their steel build however they are limited in areas such as ease of use and comfort in comparison with other groin guards.

Using a draw string to tie up once on there is a sense of protection however going to the toilet is an hassle.

This groin guard is less than adequate for Grappling/Rolling forms of Martial Arts and is best suited in its name sake: Muay Thai.

This groin guard is quite noticeable in public as well (erection look) and is quite heavy.

Classic Style Cotton Jock



This groin guard is generally the cheapest in price and is more disposable than the others. Offering a more comfort feel this provides an adequate level of protection and ease of use.

Quick to put on and take off, the downside is it can manouvere itself around more so than its competition and with the materials used its lifespan isn't the strongest.

Full on strikes to the groin will really test this groin guard but it is fine for general martial arts classes.

Compression Shorts W/ Cup Holder



Exactly like the compression shorts cyclists wear however they have a slot inside them where the groin is enabling the placement of a cup holder. Shock Doctor offer the most popular and retail a broad range of cups some offering light forms of protection, their latest cups offering high impact protection which arguably rivals the Thai Steel groin guards.

They are quite pricey but for ease of use they are highly recommended as the compression shorts are in tight to your thighs the cup has minimal room for movement. Quick to wash and remove as well.

Female Groin Protector










Well you'd have to ask the Bangkok lady boys about these guards because myself I haven't used one before, I swear... I'd presume they are the same as the poly-cotton jocks above.

*Summary:*

Now this can be quite confusing, all these different types of groin guards unless you are female then you just go ahead and pick the Female one. if money is no object then I'd recommend the compression short designs as I've never had a problem whatsoever with my Shock doctor ones, very comfortable, and never had to wince after somebody's hit me in that region.

if you are on a budget then I'd recommend the poly-cotton classic style jocks as their protection levels are more than adequate for Jiu-Jitsu classes.

If you are entering MMA competitions I'd again recommend the compression shorts except buy a better quality cup for them.

Recommended Products:

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/shock--doctor-compression-shorts--cup-95-p.asp

Thai Traditional Groin Guard - - - Take the string out of the cup and place in your compression shorts.

Mouth Guard:

Provides a layer of protection between your gums and teeth. Rubber/Plastic type materials are often used with guards being as separates' for the upper mouth and lower mouth regions, or sold as a pair.

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/shock-doctor-v15-gum-shield-917-p.asp

Ready Made










These are generally the cheapest form of mouth guard and offer minimal comfort and protection for majority of people. They are pre defined in shape and offer little if no form of customisation. Very inexpensive however are only slightly cheaper than their cousins. Avoid

Boil & Bite

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/shock-doctor-gel-max-v2-mouthguard-915-p.asp

The price is quite closer to the ready made mouth guards however the latest technological advancements in these have lead to them becoming more comfortable and providing an adequate level of protection.

Placing the guard in boiling water, the gel/plastic material softens allowing you to bite down hard on the gum shield, which then creates a somewhat adequate shape.

Complaints from people about these include the size as they can stimulate your brain to think you are choking on them this then leads to discomfort in your throat/breathing problems. If fitted correctly they are inexpensive and ok for the price.

Custom Made

These are the best on the market but are the priciest. Depending on where you shop some dentists will charge Â£50 some charge Â£500 custom mouth guards provide the most comfortable fit and generally the best form of protection.

*Summary:* if you can afford it sure buy the custom guards, but even if you can afford it do you really need one? if you where planning on competing then sure buy yourself one but for general sparring sessions a boil&Bite is more than adequate unless you have choke problems in which a custom guard may be for you.

I Highly disregard the ready made ones as they are just too generic.

Recommended Products:

Fight Dentist Custom Made - $195

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/shock-doctor-gel-max-v2-mouthguard-915-p.asp

Gloves:

Gloves offer protection both for yourself and your training partners during sparring. some gloves offer minimal protection, usually the lighter gloves. more than adequate protection comes from the heavier range of gloves.

Grapple Gloves



These gloves provide a minimal form of protection for both yourself and your opponent/training buddy.

They offer thin layers of padding over the top hand/knuckle and fingers region, with most designs offering no protection for the thumb region whatsoever. They are adequate for grappling, and that's about it.

Used in MMA competition, they weigh around 4oz.

Summary: You get what you pay and MMA gear is no exception, it is worth spending the extra Â£10 on a decent quality pair of MMA/grappling gloves that will last you for years to come and offer better protection.

Recommended Products:

Hayabusa MMA Gloves

Sparring Gloves

Hayabusa 16oz Sparring Gloves 

PRO MMA 16oz sparring gloves

Offering protection all over the hand region including the thumb/wrist these gloves sole purpose is to protect yourself and most importantly your sparring partner.

Weight is an issue with gloves with a large debate on which weight is correct for sparring and so on. My theory is better safe than sorry so with this in mind my opinion is buy 16oz gloves.

Price range varies, you can buy cheap lonsdale/reebok gloves that are adequate for Â£15-20 from Argos or buy yourself some quality Hayabusa / Punchtown gloves.

They retail at around Â£49.

So which gloves do you choose? Well just choose the correct weight really, if you can afford the price then buy some higher grade gloves that generally last longer than their cheaper relatives.

Sparring gloves offer either a Velcro strap form of protection or a laced up form of protection for the wrist. Now in MMA classes myself I'd rather be ready for action with the Velcro strap rather than lacing up the gloves every so often, so find a pair with Velcro strapping.

Recommended:

Hayabusa Sparring gloves

Hand Wraps

Hand wraps are a must particularly when throwing punches for prolonged time periods and if you have a history of breaks in the hand/wrist region.

Myself I don't bother wearing them during class time, even in sparring sessions my punches aren't powerful enough during sparring to warrant a break and with wearing 16oz gloves I feel safe.

However I always wear my wraps under my bag gloves during my punch bag sessions as throwing heavy punches for an hour highly increases the risk of damage.

There are regular cotton-weave wraps which take some effort to wrap around the wrist/hand region, gel wraps which slip on the hand almost like a glove, and other types such as Mexican style hand wraps.

Which ones do you choose? the prices for all types is relatively low so play around and find what's yours... myself I prefer the regular cotton-weave wraps.

Recommended Products:

Cheap MMA Gand wraps 

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/hayabusa-handwraps-red-93-p.asp

MMA/ Muay Thai mexican style hand wraps

Gel hand wraps 

Fist Aid Kit

Every week without fail there is always somebody who has a cut/graze of some sort, going to training well prepared decreases risk of infection and can in most cases enable you to continue training.

Don't necessarily have to go with your first aid certificate you got at school, just plasters/bandage/oxide tape.

Recommended Products:

Zinc Oxide Tape - Â£0.99 (one roll)

Plasters/Wipes Etc - Â£variable

*PART-NECCESSITY*

Rash Guard

Not everyone will have skin irritations during their MMA Classes which is why rash guards are part-necessity.

For me I never go to a class without one as I've had eczema since a very young age and anything can make my skin go into an itching frenzy.

They soak up the sweat which is good for hygiene purposes, and wearing one can arguably give you an advantage over your training partner who may be wearing a baggy T-shirt, as you could pull on his shit all day. And he will struggle getting a grip on you.

So do you buy one? Well the benefits outweigh the negatives, and I prefer rolling with guys wearing one, particularly out of shape guys who sweat like they're in a sauna.

Surfers' rash guards are cheaper and do the job fine just the way they are made will result in them becoming out of shape/dismantled rather quickly. MMA Rash guards are designed with fighting in mind, with double stitching in specified areas.

Some cheap MMA rash guards may not be double stitched however.

Recommended:



Shin Guards

Designed to protect your shin/foot region during sparring sessions Shin guards are not a full on necessity depending on how you train however if training stand-up techniques in MMA you will eventually need a pair if planning to attempt kicks.

Different types of shin Guards include:

Thai Style

Muay thai style shin guards 

Offering a strong form of protection for both yourself and your training partner Thai style guards are a necessity when training in Muay Thai. During MMA they can move around an awful lot and can be very irritating, having to move them back into place regularly. Shooting for takedowns with these on is quite a challenge as well.

Not recommended for MMA sparring.

Grappling/MMA Shin Guards



Similar in design to the Thai style guards however they are designed to stay on the calf/foot region, even during vigorous grappling/rolling they can stay in place.

Recommended:

Hayabusa Shin guards 

Anklets

Providing inexpensive ankle support, anklets are a necessity for those of us who have had previous injuries in and around the ankle region, history of going over on the ankle and so on. Even if you have never had any injuries around this region Anklets can add support to keep you ankles in position.

Recommended products:

Basics Anklets - Blue - Â£4.99

Bag Gloves

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/hayabusa-pro-10oz-bag-gloves-74-p.asp

Myself I see my bag gloves as a necessity as I'm regularly on my heavybag at home and they prolong the lifespan of my sparring/mma gloves as if I wasn't using the bag gloves I'd be using those.

Bag gloves are relatively cheap in comparison with other forms of fight gloves and are rather disposable. i've used many different brands including the cheap Reebok ones they sell in Argos and for me there isn't much difference, aslong as you make sure to wear handwraps under the bag gloves when hitting the bag.

Recommended Products:

Hayabusa 10oz Bag Gloves Â£49.99

Adidas Response - Â£14.99

BBE Bag Mitts - Â£7.98

Head Guards

Hard stand-up training sessions where your training partner is really planting his feet and catching you may require head guards for some of us. Myself I own a head guard but I never bother to use it. Not an essential item for myself where i train however your Gym may require you to wear one.

There are Velcro, laced up and head guards that mould onto your head, the differences are not major however Velcro for ease of use beats the others.

Do you buy one? Well not unless you really need one. Myself I'm comfortable with taking shots to my head, wearing head guards just seems to take away that realism element of sparring too much for me.

Recommended:

Hayabusa Head Guard 

Knee Pads

Shooting for takedowns does take its punishment on the knee region. Knee pads provide added protection to your knees, to avoid temporary/permanent knee damage, and avoid matting burns.

A necessity for those of us who suffer from the above.

Do you buy them? See if your knees become a discomfort whilst training.

Recommended products:

MMA/Grappling Knee Pads

Thai Training Pads

Great for kicks/knee/elbow work most gyms will have these on hand however some gyms may have old tired Thai pads which don't absorb the strikes as much...Buying yourself some isn't a necessity but is good to have around with you.

Recommended products:

Hayabusa Thai Pads 

Rogue Thai Pads

Grapple Sparring Gloves



Exactly like the normal MMA gloves however several inches of foam padding from the knuckle/finger region allowing for an increase in strike power towards your sparring partner if say in situations such as full mount. I see these gloves as part necessity due to the way I train. In sparring where a somewhat level of power is involved in punching I wear my 14oz Thai gloves, if I'm taken down its usually victory on their part for taking me down and we get back to our feet&#8230; full on sparring sessions where position improvement/submission attempts are occurring happens towards the end of the classes, whereby we then just wear our normal 4oz gloves.

If you can take someone down wearing 14oz boxing gloves it shows your talent.

Recommended Products:

http://www.mmafactory.co.uk/hayabusa-hybrid-mma-gloves-72-p.asp

Hayabusa Hybrid Gloves

Pro MMA 7oz Gloves

Ear Protection










Cauliflower ear is a wide known problem in MMA, if regularly wrestling you are more prone to getting this injury so highly recommend a professional form of ear protection.

You may look like the brain damaged kid in the playground but this head gear is perfect for protecting the ear region.

Recommended Products:

Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear - Â£24.99

Wrestling Shoes

Matt burns are very common particularly in the foot region. Wearing wrestling shoes can avoid shredding the skin off of your feet.

They can be quite pricey and hard to obtain a decent pair here in The UK.

Recommended Products: Asics Dan Gable's, Adidas Tyrint IV

Assorted US retailers - cannot find UK suppliers

Footgrips are another option if you are struggling to find wrestling boots, these will help with grip, foot protection and increasing take down speed

MMA Footgrips

*Other ITEMS*

Fight Shorts

A big emphasis particularly in MMA stores is on fight shorts, leading to them being deemed a necessity. This is not correct. Football/rugby shorts even your chavvy beach shorts you wore on holiday are more than adequate for MMA classes.

The way your fashion shorts are designed however will lead to them becoming dismantled rather quickly.

Fight shorts are designed with fighting in mind (obviously) and thus have double stitching throughout as wel as a more flexible build throughout allowing room for your legs to move around.

Are they worth the price though? Well fight shorts averagely retail at Â£35-Â£45 with some brands selling at Â£50, this is a big monopoly however it's one board game I'm willing to play as I like wearing fight shorts and have always bought them, but this is down to fashion rather than essentiality.

So do you buy them? Well again if you can afford them then buy a pair, support the MMA industry, and buy the shorts your favourite fighter wears you know.

Board shorts in places such as TK Maxx retail for around Â£5 and will last you an adequate amount of time, but if you want that "pro fighter look" then sure buy yourself a pair.

Just make sure the shorts you buy are spacious particularly on the thigh region allowing for flexibility.

Recommended:

Sprawl Board shorts 

Hayabusa MMA shorts 

Venum MMA Shorts 

T-shirts

Sure the look great, your favourite fighters are paid money to rock them and if you wear them random MMA Nerds such as me will approach you in the street to discuss The Ultimate Fighter but are they needed? Certainly not.

Sure they look cool and if the chick across the bar likes Cage Fighting you can probably pick her u in your Affliction t-shirt but they aren't needed in all honesty.

Recommended: if it looks good buy it.

*
RECOMMENDED STORES*

Now all this talk about spending your hard earned cash, but where do you spend it?

Well MMA is vastly popular now in comparison with five-ten years ago so finding stores UK Based is relatively easy with the advent of the internet.

Products such as Boxing gloves particularly the Thai brands can be passed off as being genuine products when they are in actual fact counterfeit goods.

Finding the right trustworthy stores can be through trial and error, or through knowing someone who has bought from these stores before and can vouch for them.

Here is a list of MMA Gear sites that are highly recommended.

MMA Factory MMA Factory supplies you with the latest lines in MMA Clothing and training gear - we are stockists of a wide range of brands including Hayabusa, TapouT, Silver Star

FightStuff - Supplies all products Muay Thai related directly from Thailand. Store is English owned supplying legit labels such as Sandee, Twins, King.

Made 4 Fighters - Large range of MMA gear and Fashion. Affliction, Clinch, Death Clutch

*GEAR CARE*

Now through reading this guide you've probably established the stuff you buy is rather disposable and will have to be replaced frequently depending on how much you use the equipment.

Here are some tips for prolonging the equipment.

Gloves/Head Guards/Shin Pads

Cleaning your gloves is essential to rid of the odours that arise from the build up of sweat. odours are caused by the bacteria and one of the best way to kill bacteria is to freeze them.

place your gloves in a plastic shopping bag, tie up the shopping bag and then place them into your freezer.

Leave overnight and the next day either put them out on the washing line (if nice weather) or onto the radiator to unfreeze.

Please try and do this straight after your use of the gloves, leaving them around the house for hours after your MMA classes will allow your glovesto soak up the sweat.

Same applies for other leather based products such as your head guard.if your shinpads are to big for the freezer leaving them out overnight in freezing fresh air will aid in odour removal. place your shins in a plastic bag as wel to stop rain from getting on them.

Shorts/RashGuards/Groin Guards

Most MMA Shorts from my experience require hand wash. simply fill your sink with warm water and pure fabric conditioner in the warm water soaking your shorts and tightly squeezing them for around 5-10min.

Dry-spin them in your washing machine (or rinse them with your hands) and either air them on your washing line or on the radiator (do not put in dryer).

Quite a few rashguards do require hand washing aswel so same process applies as the shorts, some brands such as sinister allow themto bemachine washed and dryed.

Groin Guards can be machine washed, however with compression shorts please wear them whilst they are still wet so they get back in shape properly before drying them on the radiator/washing line.

Just common sense with the actual cups really, take them out before washing your groin guard holders.

Please try to wash your gear as ASAP after your classes, the longer you leave the gear the more likely they are to odourise and the life period of your equipment will be shorter than Kimbo's.

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## RobbieMMA

This is wicked  What about bag gloves though?


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## marc

Excellent post Ste, im going to sticky this


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## SteSteez

Robbie said:


> This is wicked  What about bag gloves though?


Oh completely forgot to add bag gloves, i've added bag gloves and i've also added a gear care guide at the bottom.

and thanks marc


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## SanshouMatt

Can we make this a sticky? Great write up Ste.


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## glenntipton

Brilliant post mate very informative


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## Kunoichi

SteSteez said:


> You may look like the brain damaged kid in the playground


ha ha!


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## maddog21

nice post mate very usefull info


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## marc

SanshouMatt said:


> Can we make this a sticky? Great write up Ste.


Already done mate


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## daniel

cool; thanks v.much!


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## Chibi Sean

I'd suggest www.muaythaifactory.com as another place to shop. I get all of my muay thai gear custom made from there and they're pretty cheap.


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## SteSteez

Thanks Sean, I've added a link to the MTFactory website in the guide


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## Rush

Very nice write up thats helped me out a fair bit. I was planning on buying fight shorts, 1 or 2 rash guards and a decent cup before I start MMA training, then I read your post and realised I only actually really need the cup so you've potentially saved me Â£100+ so thanks for that.


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## woodscreative

One of my brothers friends is a dental technician. Maybe I can get hooked up on the mouth guard!


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## PrideNeverDies

I would defo go for it, I tried 3-4 mouth guards first, and non were right, so I went to the dentist, and got one made, and it feels perfect


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## Silverblade

Fantastic post.

Thanks Ste, I'll definitely be checking out the links of the manufacturer.


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## Mandirigma

jeevan said:


> I would defo go for it, I tried 3-4 mouth guards first, and non were right, so I went to the dentist, and got one made, and it feels perfect


How much did you pay?


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## Hellfire

great thread Ste, 1 x knee pads purchased to stop my ****in bad knees gettin worse!


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## rsp84

Mandirigma said:


> How much did you pay?


my dentist one cost Â£60, but i lost it at my last fight


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## Mandirigma

rsp84 said:


> my dentist one cost Â£60, but i lost it at my last fight


That sucks.

I ordered one the other day from opro.com.

I got a 'heavy' style one, for use with contact sports but not to the full degree of say 100% all out Class A fights.

Costs 35 quid delivered for a plain coloured one (I got clear).


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## rsp84

yea it was pricey and tbh i wont be getting another one like that. they made a mould of my upper teeth and sent it away (had mine in purple to match fight colours) and when it came back it was a perfect fit, except that coz its only the top moulded, the bottom teeth kinda dont sit right against the underneath of it, unlike the boil n bite type that mould to allow the jaw to tightly close.

still got my orginal boil n bite from like forever ago, perhaps ill get a shock doc one in the new year, as the old ones pretty manky.

Also had a double jaw one with a breather hole, that allows you to keep the jaws locked tight, used it for two fights, first time was brilliant, second time however, as i opened my mouth to get more air in, the guard stayed stuck to the bottom jaw, and i took a couple knees to the jaw, and as it happened the mouth piece smashed my front top 2 teeth loose, so that when i sat down after the 2nd round, they took my gum shield out and my teeth dropped halfway out of my gums.....not good. Had to conceed, cost me the fight and almost my teeth,


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## Mandirigma

rsp84 said:


> yea it was pricey and tbh i wont be getting another one like that. they made a mould of my upper teeth and sent it away (had mine in purple to match fight colours) and when it came back it was a perfect fit, except that coz its only the top moulded, the bottom teeth kinda dont sit right against the underneath of it, unlike the boil n bite type that mould to allow the jaw to tightly close.
> 
> still got my orginal boil n bite from like forever ago, perhaps ill get a shock doc one in the new year, as the old ones pretty manky.
> 
> Also had a double jaw one with a breather hole, that allows you to keep the jaws locked tight, used it for two fights, first time was brilliant, second time however, as i opened my mouth to get more air in, the guard stayed stuck to the bottom jaw, and i took a couple knees to the jaw, and as it happened the mouth piece smashed my front top 2 teeth loose, so that when i sat down after the 2nd round, they took my gum shield out and my teeth dropped halfway out of my gums.....not good. Had to conceed, cost me the fight and almost my teeth,


Damn sounds so damn harsh! The sight of your teeth almost falling out lol, crazy.

The double ones with the hole still restricts your breathing imo. Its like a 2 litre turbo car with a 1 litre pea shooter exhaust.


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## rsp84

Yea, i went straight to hospital after the show and they put anethestic needles all in my mouth and pushed the teeth back into my gums, and tied em up. had that for a week, and then had another fight within a month, which i shouldnt of done coz it really need a couple months to firm back up.

The gum shield was good for that reason. And thats why i train and always try to run with a gum shield in, so my cardio works harder and ill feel more comfortable during the fight, and hopefully wont have my jaw open sucking in breath with it exposed to shots.

I did suffer with that fight tho, gave away 4kg, had a fight 2weeks prior with a devolping chest infection, after the previous fight it really developed, had a bad flu, and got told bout the next fight, had bout 5 days to prepare following beening in bed for a week, so my cardio was well off for it. if i had the cardio, my jaw wouldnt of been slack, and i wouldnt of taken the bad hits.


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## TroJan Fight Wear

Cheeeeersa!


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## Kunoichi

lw72508co said:


> In my viewpoint,


Thanks for sharing bot, your opinion has been logged and we'll get back at you at our earliest convenience.


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## ewrayzor

made up you you posted that h2698889. I've been looking into that for ages.


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