MMA Training Equipment – What You Need To Have

Today I’ll show you what type of MMA training equipment you need so you can train properly.
The first thing you’ll need is not MMA gloves. I’ll explain later why these are the least important piece of gear.

Boxing gloves

The most important are boxing gloves. Get the ones with velcro straps and not laces as they will be difficult to get in and out of. Choose 12-14 ounce ones and don’t go lower than that. This will provide enough padding and protect your partner from injury, provided you don’t go hard.

You will use them for hitting the pads, a bag, sparring, and doing all sorts of drills.

Yes, the wrestling and grappling part will be more difficult to do, but you’ll get used to it.

Make sure you take it out of your bag after training, open them up as much as possible, and air them out. If they stay in the bag, they will start to stink terribly after a few sessions. The stench is so bad that I couldn’t wash it off my hands even after several attempts. You could wash the gloves in a washing machine if that happens, but it’s best not to allow that.

2. Shin pads

Shin guards (or pads) are next. Make sure you buy proper ones like these and not those thin ones that resemble a sock. These will not protect you as much as the first ones.

Depending on your academy’s curriculum, you might not need shin pads immediately as some clubs don’t teach kicks right away but after you learn some boxing basics.

3. Mouth guard

This is one of the most necessary pieces of equipment and you should not spar without it. Get the one that only covers the upper jaw and not the double mouth guard which can cause breathing difficulties.

There are three types of mouth guards:

– stock ones that are cheap but don’t fit well,
– custom ones that are expensive and
– boil-and-bite ones.

Boil-and-bite ones are the best in my opinion as they are not expensive and they fit well.

Boil them in water for 30 seconds, get them out, let them cool off for a few seconds, bite on them and use your hands and tongue to push it so you get a proper mold of your upper jaw.

Here is how you’ll know if you’ve done a good job with forming the mouth guard. If you open your mouth, and the mouthpiece doesn’t fall off, you’ve done it well. Of course, you can move your lips and jaw around and it will fall off, but it should stay in the upper jaw if you do nothing.

Then take the mouth guard and rinse it with cold water so it solidifies.

4. Shorts and T-Shirt

You will also need comfortable shorts and a t-shirt for training. They shouldn’t have any metallic or plastic parts, especially pointy ones like this, since it can injure your partner’s eyes.

5. A bottle of water

So you don’t have to run out to the toilet to drink whenever you’re thirsty. It is important to stay well hydrated during training and it is recommended that you take sips of water every once in a while. Therefore you need a bottle at hand.

6. MMA gloves

I told you I would explain why these are the least important part of the gear unless they have more padding than the usual 4 ounces.

The small 4-ounce ones will only be used for fighting and hitting the pads sometimes. I only used them when the fight was near and then I grappled and wrestled with them to get used to it. I also did a very slow fight simulation, or flow, for the same reason.

Otherwise, you will not need them at all.

On the other hand, if you have open-handed gloves with a lot of padding, it can be very beneficial. We use to have a 12-ounce equivalent which was great for sparring as it gave us more options than boxing gloves, and it was closer to an actual MMA glove.

Therefore I highly recommend fully padded MMA gloves if you can get them. Make sure to buy the ones with padding over the thumb too.

If you’re just starting out with MMA, make sure to watch this video about the 8 most important tips for MMA beginners.

You can also check out my instructionals if you’d like to take your MMA further.