What is the minimum gear that should be worn for light-contact striking sparring?

[skribs]

I'm just curious what others think. The absolute minimum gear for light contact striking sparring. None? Groin cup? Mouthguard? What type of gloves, if any? Any other pads?

I'm leaving the ruleset open. If you want to answer for something fairly restrictive (i.e. how TKD often has only kicks to the body) then please specify that. Or if the gear is conditional on ruleset, what conditions and how does that change the required gear?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

For me (and my students, when I was teaching), it’s none. But that could change if…

- their partner has questionable control
- they are particularly spooked about sparring
- your “light striking” is different from mine (no straight kicks, only open hands to the head)

In stepping up, I’d first add gloves. Which ones would depend on how we are stepping it up. Next, probably head gear. Leg protection would be optional for anything light. Cups would be suggested if any straight kicks are allowed, and required if any force is added.

 

[isshinryuronin]

For light "kiss" contact in-dojo sparring (where control was taught and expected) just a cup worked (groin shots allowed). For tournaments add a mouthpiece. Maybe no head shots below brown. That was pretty much the standard in the 60's and early 70's. Nothing else was even allowed. Those were the days.

The popularization of head and hand gear (not to mention shin, foot and arm pads) did not lessen the chance of injury, quite the opposite IMO, encouraging lack of control and less refinement in technique. It did spawn a whole new MA industry and additional revenue for some schools, however.

I know full pads are the norm in most TKD schools, but I've seen classes of kids sloppily banging away on each other with zero regard for defense. Why block or evade when there is no price to pay from getting hit? That's not real-world self-defense and IMO does the students a disservice.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

For daily training in the dojang, the only gear we require is a cup for the males. Everything else is optional for the individual.

Competitions have their own rulesets, but I'll admit most of my students are uncomfortable in full gear, as we don't regularly train in the normal TKD gear.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

The least I've used is no gear at all, but that requires keeping things very, very light and you need to trust that both you and your partner have really good control. You can't be very competitive at all without the risk of bare knuckles to the face, so it's more suitable for playful exploration.

MMA gloves and a mouthpiece are fine as long as you're keeping it light and controlled. If you allow groin shots, then you'll want a cup as well.

If you want the option of going full speed (even with light contact), then boxing gloves and shin pads are a good idea. The extra padding is very useful when you misjudge your partner's movement or distance and a light touch becomes a solid bonk.

 

[marvin8]

Here's some professional fighters light sparring at Tiger Muay Thai gym.

 

[skribs]

If you want the option of going full speed (even with light contact), then boxing gloves and shin pads are a good idea. The extra padding is very useful when you misjudge your partner's movement or distance and a light touch becomes a solid bonk.

In TKD I think we pad the targets instead of the instruments. There's so little material on the gloves and shin pads that they wouldn't do much without the chestguard and helmet.

 

[Anarax]

I'm just curious what others think. The absolute minimum gear for light contact striking sparring. None? Groin cup? Mouthguard? What type of gloves, if any? Any other pads?

I'm leaving the ruleset open. If you want to answer for something fairly restrictive (i.e. how TKD often has only kicks to the body) then please specify that. Or if the gear is conditional on ruleset, what conditions and how does that change the required gear?

Gloves and a mouthpiece as long as my training partner and I both have the same understanding of what "light contact" means. Dating isn't easy with missing teeth.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The least I've used is no gear at all, but that requires keeping things very, very light and you need to trust that both you and your partner have really good control. You can't be very competitive at all without the risk of bare knuckles to the face, so it's more suitable for playful exploration.

MMA gloves and a mouthpiece are fine as long as you're keeping it light and controlled. If you allow groin shots, then you'll want a cup as well.

If you want the option of going full speed (even with light contact), then boxing gloves and shin pads are a good idea. The extra padding is very useful when you misjudge your partner's movement or distance and a light touch becomes a solid bonk.

I’m just quoting this post because (as usual) Tony did a great job.

I’ll add that I only include head gear for two reasons (and discourage it for heavy contact, because it masks how hard you’re being hit without any proven efficacy at protecting the brain. I encouraged it for students who are very anxious about being hit, and for the partners of those who are anxious about hitting. For some, I’ve encouraged hear with a face shield, as well.

 

[HighKick]

I'm just curious what others think. The absolute minimum gear for light contact striking sparring. None? Groin cup? Mouthguard? What type of gloves, if any? Any other pads?

I'm leaving the ruleset open. If you want to answer for something fairly restrictive (i.e. how TKD often has only kicks to the body) then please specify that. Or if the gear is conditional on ruleset, what conditions and how does that change the required gear?

For me, no matter what style of sparring, groin protection (I am male), mouthpiece, and headgear. Since it is light contact, it is good for leave the body open for conditioning purposes. If punching to the face I would include gloves not 'hand protection' like you often see in TKD.

 

[Oily Dragon]

For me, no matter what style of sparring, groin protection (I am male), mouthpiece, and headgear. Since it is light contact, it is good for leave the body open for conditioning purposes. If punching to the face I would include gloves not 'hand protection' like you often see in TKD.

Gonna second the groin protector part. Some people believe these are only important in competition, but hoo boy, all it takes is one Wolfman's Got Nards moment during training and you will never want to go unshielded again.

Ask any wrestler.

Also, can I just share the most ridiculous piece of gear I've ever seen?

 

[skribs]

I'm inclined to add chestguard to the list, just because when you land a kick on chestguards, you don't lose traction.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Light sparring for Beginners (mouthpiece, gloves, head gear)
Light sparring for Intermediates (mouthpiece, gloves)
Light sparring for Advanced just depends on what we are working on. People would see Light sparring at this level and think that we were trying to kill each other, but in reality, bodies are conditioned so we can take harder shots without trying to hit hard. Also, power generation is also improved so it takes less effort to throw a solid strike.

But we do have light sparring at a lower intensity which is more like a walk through that is designed to get mentally focused about what you are doing and is often at a slower pace.

Beginners tend to ramp up things so often Light sparring morphs into Intermediate sparring. Intermediate sparring morphs into hard sparring. So those groups always had a mouthpiece and head gear.

Dental work is expensive and is the only thing that must be repaired, all the other injuries can heal.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Gloves and a mouthpiece as long as my training partner and I both have the same understanding of what "light contact" means. Dating isn't easy with missing teeth.

I always wore a mouth
If punches were landing hard enough for me to bite my tongue if I had it between my teeth then I would wear a mouthpiece lol

 

[J. Pickard]

handwraps dipped in resin and broken glass and shoes with knives on the toes.

In all seriousness, at our school beginners have to wear a cup, mouth, head, hands, and foot pads. Advanced and black belt can wear as much or as little as they want for light contact sparring. Most just choose a mouth guard. For what we call "partial contact" sparring foot pads, hand pads, cup, and a mouthguard is a must.

 

[rabbittoystory]

At the minimum, you're gonna want to rock a mouthguard, some hand wraps, and boxing gloves. A lot of folks also opt for headgear, especially if you're still learning the ropes. If you're getting kicks involved, don't sleep on shin guards.

 

[EdwardA]

I've sparred with a lot of people that have no ability to put a check on their ego. Its a waste of time. You might as well go fight on the street. In a teaching or class setting, you either have to make them put a check on themselves or throw them out. I was always the guy my instructor had spar with them. Frequently people coming in from other schools.

Light contact sparing should be done with no gear, but it's the responsibility of the instructor to make sure it's done the right way.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I've sparred with a lot of people that have no ability to put a check on their ego. Its a waste of time. You might as well go fight on the street. In a teaching or class setting, you either have to make them put a check on themselves or throw them out. I was always the guy my instructor had spar with them. Frequently people coming in from other schools.

Light contact sparing should be done with no gear, but it's the responsibility of the instructor to make sure it's done the right way.

I made it a rule that people can't spar in class unless they can control themselves. It's just that people can't learn if they feel like they are trying not to get knocked out. I've sparred with people who didn't have control and I didn't take risks. At that point for me everything I did was to protect myself with skill sets I could rely on. I didn't try to learn or build new skill sets.

Think of it like getting into a real fight and trying to learn new skills while in a real fight.

 

[Blindside]

I'm inclined to add chestguard to the list, just because when you land a kick on chestguards, you don't lose traction.

Traction on what? You "stick" to the chest?

 

[Blindside]

I like MMA sparring gloves and a cup. Lets me make a little face contact without marking the other person up and makes the transition to grappling easy.