Which head gear?

[Kevin]

Hi guys...

Thinking about buying a new pair of headgear to use in my class for mt hand sparring.
I noticed in the Straight Blast Gym videos they were using the full-face headgear with the "nose-saver bar". What are your guys thoughts on these? Do you use 'em? Which brand? Here is a link to Ringside version:
http://www.fightgear.com/cartsnap/ca....cgi?Head_Gear
I know Amber Leather and Title Boxing are also good sources for boxing gear. Opinions?

Thanks!
~Kev

[Evilution]

I have some headgear just like in those videos. It's made by Macho Gear and they work exceptionally well. They make it very hard to knock someone out. While for realism purposes that's no good, for training purposes it is because you can box for an hour and nobody gets a concussion. For instance, I elbowed a guy in the face three times in a row holding his head with my off hand, and he was wearing the headgear. He had to sit down for a minute and it kinda knocked him stupid, but after he got back up he was fine. Without the headgear he would have been out cold with a broken nose, cut forehead or missing teeth. It doesn't exactly feel GOOD to get hit, but you won't get freakin' clobbered by ninety percent of the stuff that normally would.

Only drawbacks are they slip off once in a while, usually while grappling, but most of the time they are pretty snug and tight (read uncomfortable). Also, sometimes people have an unconcious tendency to grab the face mask or the headgear itself, especially in the clinch. The headgear has some small holes for ventilation and you can stick you fingers in there and grab their head like a bowling ball and then pound on 'em. It doesn't take much to get used to not grabbing the headgear though.

Even with the small drawbacks I highly reccomend some strong headgear like these. If you want to get good at elbows for instance, and don't want to give your training partner a permanent blank expression, (a sure sign of too many shots to the head) then you'll need something like these.

Most importantly, with the cage to protect the face, I don't have to worry about spoiling my good looks.

[Chad W. Getz]

I like the Macho head gear as well. I think if you are using boxing gloves though, get the one without the face cage, it ain't that bad in retrospect to the " fear factor" will help you alot with avoiding hits. If you are going to use the NHB type of gloves, go with the face cage. I think quietanswer was also talking about a sphinx headgear in the thread "ATTN: QUIETANSWER".

[Underdog]

There is also a bonus in using a caged helmet for nhb sparring: if you use gloves light enough your hand will hurt like hell if you connect hard on the cage, just as they would if the bare knuckles would hit the skull.

[Kevin]

Anyone have any good leads where I can find the best price on the Macho Headgear w/ cage?

Thanks!

[Chad W. Getz]

Underdog, that's one of the reasons I like it, too. You can punch the mask with a light glove, but it does hurt like hell. Maybe a little more than a head-depending on the glove, and that's good training.

Kevin, there is a thread on a mask from sphinks(sp?)under ATTN: QUIETANSWER. I ttt for you, so if anyone gets on my case...you better jump in to defend me.

I think it's an average of about 100 dollars for the Macho mask with the face cage almost anywhere you go. Below is a mask that is only 60 dollars, the cage is a little more open than the Macho one, but looks pretty good.

http://www.jiujitsuconnection.com/cg...29100084248.2e

[Kevin]

I was originally inquiring about the leather boxing head gear with the bar across the face like I had seen in Matt Thornton's videos. But, now I have to consider the foam dipped headgear w/ the cage. Thanks guys..... more decisions!

>Kevin, there is a thread on a mask from sphinks(sp?)under ATTN: QUIETANSWER. I ttt for you, so if anyone gets on my case...you better jump in to defend me.

Don't worry bud... I'll be there for you!!!

I e-mailed Sphinx last night... but haven't gotten any response. I have not actually seen this headgear. Anyone have pics? Has anyone stateside ordered this gear? Your experience? S&H charges?

Chad.. the price is right on the grappler headgear.... but not sure if I like the face mask. It seems to maybe protrude a little too much? I just think maybe a jab which was 10" short would still make solid contact with the face mask?

Thanks for your guys input!
~Kev

[Evilution]

I didn't realize you were asking about the ringside facesaver headgear. I haven't had the opportunity to try those out yet. I think the SBG guys use the macho headgear for drills, so they can take a real pounding, and the ringside for sparring, so they can actually get hurt but won't get their face messed up. I think, I'm not sure though.

[Chad W. Getz]

Kev, maybe you can e-mail Matt. The web site is http://www.straightblastgym.com , he's a nice guy and replies if you e-mail.

[Kevin]

Hi Chad,

I didn't e-mail Matt, but I did e-mail Robt Follis at the SBG last Thursday to ask about reccommendations regarding headgear, but alas.... no reply.

Evilution...
If I recall correctly (.... now thaaaat's a long shot!), Burt's guys were using the Macho gear, and Matt's guys were using the boxing headgear for MT hand sparring(I think Matt's guy's used Doce Pares for stick).

Later...
Kev

[Jim McRae]

Kevin:
I train with Burton Richardson here in Honolulu, and he has us all use the Macho MVP headgear with facecage. We use it for both empty-hand and weapons sparring. Last time I checked the macho.com website, the helmet and cage were going for about $72. It is the best headgear I have ever used for full-contact sparring, though I agree with Evilution 100% about its few drawbacks. I elbowed my sparring partner in the facecage last night and split my elbow wide open (yes, I will be buying some elbow pads in the near future).

Take care and train hard,
Jim McRae

[Edited by Jim McRae on 11-10-2000 at 03:24 AM]

[Kevin]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply!

I checked out the Macho site, and I think maybe they're asking $72 just for the cage... MVP headgear seperate. Am I mistaken?

~Kev

[Evilution]

When I got mine the headgear and cage were bought seperately. The cage and head gear together were about $125 bucks or so, I don't remember exactly. But it's still a good deal in my opinion. The headgear are scientifically tested for impact absorbtion, they work like a dream, and if taken care of, will last a long time. It seems a little spendy when you factor the headgear and the cage are sold seperately, but hey, you get what you pay for.

[Jim McRae]

Kevin:
You may be right about the price at macho.com. I got my MVP headgear with cage through Burton for $99, so it may be that they are offering the cage and helmet separately at a criminally high cost. Hope you can find a set at a good price. I'll ask around and see if I any of my training partners know where to get a set at a reasonable cost.

Take care and train hard,
Jim

[Kevin]

OK...

Sorry to bore you guys... but I'm still trying to decide which one to get. If you had your choice, which one would you get?
Which one offers more protection?
Pluses... minuses?

I think(?) I have it boiled down to either the MVP headgear w/ cage or the facesaver style headgear.
I kind of like the Face Protector Training headgear from Title boxing at: http://store.titleboxing.com/facprottrain.html

Btw... the best price I have found for the Macho gear is at: http://www.martialartssupermarket.co...fo&itemid=1746

Macho MVP Helmet @ $29.75
The cage is not on the site, but the reply said:
The price is $43.95 for the cage that fits either the Deluxe or MVP Head.

Thanks again!
~Kev