Any boxers/martial artists?

[Aloysius]

Someone in Chicago just started a small business making 12oz training gloves out of Horween leather.

He doesn't know it but he's making sports gear directly for the TFL Outerwear crew. I haven't tried the gloves and can't justify getting them since I just got another pair, but it's good to see.

There are some interesting makers in the space, like John Golomb whose family started Everlast (for which he was the chief glove designer) and after Everlast left their ownership he kept making the classic horsehair stuffed models from the old days under his own name. Not sure what tannery he uses but he does do them basically exclusively in black so that he can keep a consistent quality through ordering large batches of exactly the same thing.

Boxing is one of the most "Golden Age" sports so I suppose it checks the TFL boxes in more ways than one.

 

[ProteinNerd]

That's pretty cool but tbh, but them only making lace ups and only 12oz takes them off my list.

I'm not in the market at the moment, my current 16oz Hayabusa's are only 9 months old, but I cant do without the modern convenience of velcro straps.....then again, I'm not a professional.

 

[Aloysius]

That's pretty cool but tbh, but them only making lace ups and only 12oz takes them off my list.

I'm not in the market at the moment, my current 16oz Hayabusa's are only 9 months old, but I cant do without the modern convenience of velcro straps.....then again, I'm not a professional.

Yeah that put it out of my consideration as well. Golomb makes 16oz though so I might get that from him at some point.

As for laces vs strap, have you tried lace converters? They let you use lace up gloves as a better fitting version of a Velcro glove, and if you ever want to go pure laces you can.

I’ve had LaceNLoop for several years, ordered Fight Cartel ones to try on another pair of gloves.

 

[Oil Tanned]

I took silver at the State Karate Championships on my 40th BD and on that day 27 years ago I decided it was time to move on to something else. That said, getting tagged with a 12oz glove is definitely not a party and most of the guys I knew were much happier training w/ 16's in clubs that leaned toward kick boxing.

In most dojos that I had been familiar with Fridays were sparing night and even then there was an understanding that you both need to go to work on Monday.

 

[Aloysius]

Yeah I always spar in 16oz too.

I think the 12 is meant for pad work. I use 10oz bag gloves on the heavy bag, separate pairs of 16s for pads and sparring.

 

[Zoro]

I'm more into hugging while wearing pajamas and I've seen some denim gis, such as this (already sold out for ages) selvedge one https://vanguardkimono.com/products/dark-selvedge-denim?variant=15840385826874

Tbh, I think it would be dreadful to roll wearing this.

 

[Aloysius]

I'm more into hugging while wearing pajamas and I've seen some denim gis, such as this (already sold out for ages) selvedge one https://vanguardkimono.com/products/dark-selvedge-denim?variant=15840385826874

Tbh, I think it would be dreadful to roll wearing this.

Yeah I scratch my traditionalism itch with unbleached cotton keikogi from a few of the remaining makers. I love the look when new, the way they fade to brighter with wear rather then dingier, and the strength of the material.

 

[Doctor Death]

It's good to see an American manufacturer of boxing gloves. But the price sure is enough to make a guy blanch. Wow, 395 for a pair of bag gloves. Horween leather and horsehair fill, but still!

I use Twin gloves right now, 14 oz with velcro closures. I'm pretty happy with them. They're better than the Ringside gloves I used in the past. I haven't been in a boxing gym in a while. I work out in my basement gym, with a hanging bag stand. So yeah, the lace up closures are hard to work around for me. If they were velcro closures, maybe I'd get them just to see how they compare to my Twins gloves. They should offer velcro. Maybe I'll shoot them an email.

Thanks for pointing these out!

 

[Oil Tanned]

Never used gloves on a pad or bag. Wouldn't spend 400 bones to change that.

 

[Torvic]

I’ve practiced Muay Thai and have always used Twins Special gloves made in Thailand, 14oz, durable, and high quality for light sparring. It must be intoxicating to take a hit to the face from those Horween ones fresh from the factory, jajaja

 

[Aloysius]

Never used gloves on a pad or bag. Wouldn't spend 400 bones to change that.

Do you want a pat on the back or something? Bare knuckle can be a useful drill at times, not unlike makiwara usage by karate and kung fu styles, but doing it sustained on a traditional bag will just rip your knuckles open.

I don't use sparring gloves on the bag either but light old-fashioned bag mitts are great and I don't think I'm tougher than the Greatest.

I’ve practiced Muay Thai and have always used Twins Special gloves made in Thailand, 14oz, durable, and high quality for light sparring. It must be intoxicating to take a hit to the face from those Horween ones fresh from the factory, jajaja

My Thai gloves are Thaismai. I use those for pad work and I have deadstock Everlast (with the old horsehair interior) as sparring gloves. Do you use velcro, lace up, or lace-up with a velcro converter?

For years I wanted the 16 oz deerskin Isami gloves but sadly those have been discontinued.

My "investment" gloves should I ever decide to shell out will be John Golomb's sparring gloves. (They are basically like buying new 1970s Everlast; he kept producing the original pattern and quality after his family sold the Everlast brand.) The pricing looks high today but it is pretty much exactly what the products cost then, adjusted for inflation, and the older materials actually hold up much better to prolonged use than most modern gloves.

 

[Torvic]

I’ve always used Velcro gloves, I also use a thinner pair of Twins Special gloves with an elastic closure for heavy bag work. It’s really important to wear gloves and use good hand wraps so you don’t mess up your wrists.
I’m familiar with Thaismai, though I’ve never used them, I started out with Danger gloves and have used Twins ever since.

 

[Oil Tanned]

Do you want a pat on the back or something?

Did I ask for one or are you just feeling bloated and puffy today?

 

[Harp]

Bare knuckle can be a useful drill at times, not unlike makiwara usage by karate and kung fu styles, but doing it sustained on a traditional bag will just rip your knuckles open.

A septuagenarian retiree now, long ago dojo days in Shorin and Kyokushinkai memories return
reading this thread. Gloves are certainly advantageous for heavy bag and kumite; however back
in the 1970s; Kyokushin especially, the Japanese penchant for painful infliction across board
reined supreme. Makiwara and big bag seiken and shuto uchi strikes were held traditional bare hand with index and middle knuckle absorbed shock necessary; similarly side hand bone roughened. Looking back now, of course, affords a more mature perspective favoring gloves.

The nascent Chicago dojo scene circa 1960-70s was interesting, though definitely more Japanese
and run along strictly traditional Bushido code. Later, Korean Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido came,
while Chinese Kenpo and Lee's Jeet Kune Do arrived somewhat later. Brazilian jiu jitsu and the Gracie style last. I envy your youth gentlemen and your martial arts practice. Luck in life.

 

[Aloysius]

A septuagenarian retiree now, long ago dojo days in Shorin and Kyokushinkai memories return
reading this thread. Gloves are certainly advantageous for heavy bag and kumite; however back
in the 1970s; Kyokushin especially, the Japanese penchant for painful infliction across board
reined supreme. Makiwara and big bag seiken and shuto uchi strikes were held traditional bare hand with index and middle knuckle absorbed shock necessary; similarly side hand bone roughened. Looking back now, of course, affords a more mature perspective favoring gloves.

As a (late) student of Mas Oyama told me of his Kyokushin cohort, "We were as strong as an ox but twice as dumb."

Despite joking about it above I do have familiarity with the traditional conditioning methods and have even practiced them myself.

Of course, one of the complicating factors is that arthritis is much less of an issue when you're a feudal warrior with a low life expectancy!

 

[Harp]

Mas Oyama visited my sensei's Chicago dojo while I was away, so I never met Kyokushin's founder to my deep regret. Oyama fostered karate throughout the world; more so than any other era figure, with Bruce Lee a close second. I also missed a chance to spar with Bill Wallace, American star karateka noted for his fast leg. Long ago days fondly remembered.

 

[tamoko]

Was exactly my first think as I saw 12oz. 16 or 14 way better.

 

[Oil Tanned]

I also missed a chance to spar with Bill Wallace, American star karateka noted for his fast leg. Long ago days fondly remembered.

Sparring w/ SuperFoot would not have been high on my list! I saw that leg a couple times and thought yeah... no.

On a marginally related note Hector Camacho used to let the local recreational boxing community know that if a few of the local guys agreed to go a few rounds w/ his sparring partner that same local guy would get a free ticket to the fight. I never had any notion that I might like my bell rung by a professional fighter so I passed but a roommate of mine thought he'd give it a go. It cost him a cauliflower ear and a doc visit.

...and to Harp, I think Judo might belong in your list somewhere, likely ahead of BJJ. I watched my father in judo tournaments at Buddhist temples in Oakland, CA in the 60's. At that time none of us had heard of anyone named Gracie (that I recall).

I also thought that Oyama was a little more flash than reality in some instances. Like saying you want to fight a tiger; not gonna happen. Some say that others had already broken the horn on that bull before Mas gave it a tap as well. I've been a participant in some club demonstrations where you couldn't see it as a spectator but some of the boards had been partially scored. I'm not a fan of demonstration stuff but kumite and to a much lesser degree kata can be pretty interesting. Somebody posted about a denim gi a while back. I bet there's no fire in that. A thick canvas gi could make a hell of a pop in kata for sure.

 

[Harp]

...and to Harp, I think Judo might belong in your list somewhere, likely ahead of BJJ. I watched my father in judo tournaments at Buddhist temples in Oakland, CA in the 60's. At that time none of us had heard of anyone named Gracie (that I recall).

I also thought that Oyama was a little more flash than reality in some instances. Like saying you want to fight a tiger; not gonna happen. Some say that others had already broken the horn on that bull before Mas gave it a tap as well.

Judo was dying in Chicago around the mid 1970s. A dimly recalled sensei session touched upon US Olympic Team selection rounds greatly affected by scarcity. One particular Judoka I was
told would be sleeping in a neighborhood dojo during his pass through Chicago. He had to bus
travel the entire USA for randori opponent diversity; whereas a Tokyo Judoka could remain literally
put and spared bother, travel, and cost. I pitched a few bucks when the collection jar was passed
and went a round paid US Army hand to hand combat training just to help. I've a nephew who
took Jiu Jitsu at university in Michigan and remains with it following graduation.

Oyama broke horns and literally butchered the bull from what I heard. Whatever truth be told,
he was exacting in discipline. My brother told me Oyama had our sensei turn off the dojo
air conditioner so everybody had a stiffling hot workout session before contact kumite.
Those were the days when blood had to flow because Oyama believed punishment sweet necessity. Best.

 

[Oil Tanned]

Those were the days when blood had to flow because Oyama believed punishment sweet necessity. Best.

I kept my last gi and am not sure why. It hangs in the closet, never moved. It was in great condition when I hung it up for good but definitely has several blood spots on it that bleach can’t completely remove.

I suspect training may be a little different now but haven’t stepped in a dojo for years. For the sake of current students I hope some of the old katas have been cleaned up.