At the amateur level? If you wrap them carefully, 16-oz gloves, etc? Is it safe to hit focus mitts with bare fists?
never hit with bare fists, and if you wrap good and use 16 0z gloves theres a very low chance of "breaking" your hand.
never punch anything bare knuckle.. Handwraps and 10+oz gloves should be good enough for anything. I hit mitts with 10oz Pro fight gloves and hit very hard and never felt a crack anywhere
Id always use heavy gloves such as 16oz because when you ever put any lighter gloves on your hands feel really light and quick. Training with say 10oz are good and safe but if you then put on 16oz you will feel slower.
You want to train with 10oz as often as you can, you fight in 10oz. You're training to be your best in the fight, not your best in sparring with 16oz gloves.
Well yeah but the point is your hands will be faster by training in heavier gloves and also it means you can spar harder without damaging your sparring partner as easily and vice versa. For example Pacquiao and Khan spar with 16 oz gloves - obviously a totally different league but if what you were saying was true surely the professionals would train with lighter gloves.
Your hands will be slower if anything by training in 16oz gloves, your body adapts to the way you train. That's why they wear 16oz in sparring, sparring isn't for fighting or going all out, it's for trying different things out and getting your timing. They wear 16oz so they don't cause each other too much damage or break their hands. Contrary to popular belief sparring 'harder' isn't beneficial. You learn and improve more if you try different things, performance doesn't matter in training so sticking to what 'works' is just going to leave you as the same fighter, maybe a successful gym fighter and that's it.
Go hit a mitt with bare knuckles and answer your own question. wtf would you want to do that for? You won't break your hand but it'll feel all kinds of weird and screw up the skin on your knuckles.
That was my experience. Trained in 18oz sparring and 14oz bag gloves for two years, then made the switch to 16oz sparring and 12oz bag gloves and my hand speed increased in fights with 10oz gloves. I'm still slow as ****, but a little bit less slow now lol.
Wow, this, I did NOT know. I can't really afford a better pair, but I'll try shadow boxing with just my hands more.
Protect your hands, you only get one pair. I ****ed up both of my hands and can't box anymore. My last amatuer fight, I broke my left(power) hand on the other guys hip. It's not pleasent. Wrap them whenever you do anything boxing related (obviously shadow boxing they aren't needed,) pad work, heavybag (I hate when kids in our gym hit the heavybag bare fisted) the speed bag, everything.
Yeah, this is true. A lot of people spout the myth that getting used to heavy gloves makes you faster, but my experience is it make you FEEL faster, but your actually just throwing at the same speed. If it really worked, people would be wearing 30oz gloves to train with. It's like training for the 100 metres by running the 1500. The best way to get used to throwing fast shots is to throw fast shots, get your muscles used to the speed. I use 10-12oz bag gloves for bag and pad work as they have the padding and protection of a 16-18oz glove on the impact zone, but the weight and speed of a fight glove. Only time I use the pillows is for sparring, to protect the sparring partner.
