If you’ve ever been to a Muay Thai class and saw the other regulars, as well as fighters there, you probably have noticed their rather large gym bags. While they do look cool and all wearing those bags, those aren’t exactly a fashion statement. Rather, they’re large because they need to carry a lot of gear with them so that they can practice Muay Thai safely.
Below are eight (nine, actually) equipment that you’ll find in a typical Muay Thai fighter’s gym bag, most of which you’ll want in your bag yourself as well if you’re thinking of training in Muay Thai.
- Boxing gloves. Preferably two pairs, one 16oz pair for sparring and drilling and another 10oz pair for bag, as well as pad work.
- Shin guards. If you spar a lot, you’ll want to invest in some quality shin guards. They’ll help protect you, as well as your training partner, and at the same time, allow you to train even more without having to worry about bruises as much.
- Headgear and mouth guards. It should already go without saying that in a combat sport where almost every part of the body is used to fight, you’ll want to make sure that your head and mouth is well protected. Wearing the right head gear and a quality mouth guard can help you train without having to worry much about concussions and other problems.
- Groin protection. This is as self-explanatory as any piece of equipment on this list gets.
- Hand wraps. Two or three hand wraps are good, but you’ll want to own more. A LOT MORE. This is because they tend to get dirty easily and you’ll want to swap them out for cleaner ones as soon as your hand wraps tend to look worn-out and old, which will happen if you train a lot. Always carry a few extra pairs in your bag, just in case you might need it.
- Knee and elbow pads. Same with shin guards, wearing knee and elbow pads help provide much-needed protection for you and your training partner.
- Athletic tape. An underrated item, a good tape is a definite must-have for every Muay Thai fighter and practitioner. This is because they have plenty of uses, from wrapping your hands, to preventing shin guards from sliding, taping your gloves shut, taping up sprained ankles, and so on. Never leave home and train without it in your bag.
- Ankle braces. Another underrated piece of muay thai equipment, ankle braces helps protect your ankles from all the force generated from the plenty of kicking you do while training.
The truth is, you can probably train without all of these in your gym bag. However, it pays to have them, especially in times of emergency or if you really want to get the most out of your training. Of course, not included in the list are Muay Thai shorts and rash guards, with the need for both pretty much already self-explanatory.
