emergency hand protection?

[Rebar Tao]

Hi, guys. First post.

I've tried Oriental martial arts off and on forever. Just got into boxing last year and I feel naked without gloves. I never had a problem hitting heavy bags with bare hands before. Got spoiled, psyched out, maybe.

Anyway, I've been told by everybody in the world lately not to punch somebody, especially in the head, to use elbows, etc. After seeing a couple of million fistfights, how come everybody's hands aren't broken? Way these guy talk, they should be.

Since I carry a backpack, how about a pair of gloves? Do the Century padded grappling gloves (the ones with thumb protection) help much? If not, how about something I can keep in the car? "No way you'll have time to put it on," they say. Somebody gives me the bird, screams obscenities at me from a car? Way, way, lots of time.

What's a good weight and brand for street fights? Nothing fancy--leather for sure. I used some gym gloves with an elastic band, no laces or velcro, that worked beautifully. 12 oz Ringside, I think. Now, the gym's got cheap gloves, Amber. Not quite long enough & fingernails jam painfully against the end of the glove when hitting heavy bag.
I live in Chicago.

What about rolls of quarters? Besides slowing me down (use conduit?), do they support the fist? How do you guys handle it?

[Tom Yum]

No need to protect your fist. Use your palm heel instead of your knuckles and you can still throw your basic punches, except uppercuts.

Most MAs cannot defend against elbows, except muay thai and silat. Both arts use the elbows to a great degree and also work elbow defenses.

[Blue Wave Gym]

Century MMA gloves

have 2 problems 1 they have a griup bar which you need to get rid of in order to grab(cafefully open the grip bar compartment with a razor blade and remove, the CAREFULLY REMOVE excess leather from the compartment.THe century gloves and most other MMA gloves don't offer enough wrist protection for when you throw hooks, but it better than nothing,Still how are you goin to explain to the cops why you have foghting gloves on ,why not just wear weightlifting gloves tha have a wrist wrap,less suspicious, what about leather work gloves or if you live in a cold climate heavy duty gloves or mittens which provied a good degree of padding for hands.Maybe a roll of quaters or thick brass rings on all five fingers of both hands, have you ever heard of a fighting ring(not sure about legality) I belive brass knuckles are outlawed, I don't know if sapp gloves are illlegal. Back whn I thought I had rheumatoid arthritis in 1 or both ankles(thank god I don't have it) and before a cortisone shot in my ankle joint I had to walk with a cane. It was a metal cane that was light as a feather and tough as steel. Something to consider when your an old man. If I had to travel on a passenger airplane again I"d fake a limp so if any terrorists tried the shit they did on 911 I'd at lest have a fighting chance(via cane) instead of having to use a seat cover to block a 3 inch knife or box cuter attack. BTW the augest 2001 issue of black belt magazine had an article on how easy it is to carry a folding 3 inch knife. The author had no problems getting it on to planes "it hardly got a second look " he said ,My god we know better now.

[Tant01]

Hi, guys. ....
....
....What about rolls of quarters? Besides slowing me down (use conduit?), do they support the fist? How do you guys handle it?

A fistload of any kind can be considered a deadly weapon in some states. The legal to carry Metsubishi (sp?) type weapons AKA pepper spray can be found in a conveniently shaped metalic bottle

[Rebar Tao]

Thanks for the help, guys. I wondered if the roll of quarters or whatever
supported the bones in the hand. Everyone who told me not to use a fist, come to think of it, that was in the last couple of years. Maybe it is fashionable. The gelding of America. Think I'll write a book.

BTW, some nance alderman here wants to outlaw 40-oz beer cans ("Let's face it, that's got only one purpose, to get someone drunk!") Ditto aluminum bats. Billy clubs and slingshots and anything else you can think of is illegal. Even my gentle mother, God rest her soul, wasn't afraid of my pistols. Just disgusted I spent my money on them.

What's the bond for getting in a fist fight? I've been in enough of them in high school, but no one cared less in the Sixties. If you've seen my other posts, there's a problem finding a place to actually box (Check out Chad's post about his first match. Sounds like it should have been an HBO undercard). I couldn't get someone to let me spar like that if I gave them $500, not these parts. But I work two blocks from the infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects, so I guess I've got to get creative. Just walk around, don't need a sign or anything (half a joke).

[EmptyneSs]

if u just carry a regular bic lighter, u can use that if anything were to go down. holding that tightly in your fist will harden your punch, and its better than carring gloves or other items around.