Gear

A Muay Thai fight requires little in the way of equipment. During a fight, the fighter needs only his mouth guard, hand wraps, gloves, shorts and cup. Training requires just a bit more. This is what I use:

Muay Thai Shorts:

These are worn with the top of the waistband level with the naval. They're approximately 12" long with a 3" inseam which leaves 33" of my legs exposed for your viewing pleasure. When first putting them on, one may experience the transformative experience of turning into a fleshy marionette. This is known as the Reverse-Pinocchio-effect. Only when removing the shorts does one feel like a real boy again.

The shorts are often adorned with the fight camp the fighter represents. Non-fight camp shorts can also be purchased at markets which are most often decorated with wolves, dragons, tigers and any other animal that can be humiliated by having its image stolen by rogue airbrush-on-velvet-canvas painters.

Muay Thai Krus (teachers) have grown so used to the shorts that they can often be seen tucking the bottom of the shorts into their waistbands, giving the appearance of a Muay Thai diaper. One can only assume they do this because they're so badass that they're just looking to pick a fight with the first person who makes a comment.

Hand Wraps:

Hands must be wrapped before putting on the gloves to build scarring callouses on the knuckles, thus toughening them up. I've been told that wrapping the hands prevents breaks in the hands and lend support to the wrists but all I've experienced is bleeding. The Twins wraps pictured above are 100% cotton and have the feel of burlap.

As opposed to the shorts, putting on the hand wraps immediately makes you feel tougher. If you don't believe me, try wrapping your hands in masking tape, stand in front of the mirror and make menacing gestures at yourself while reciting lines from Taxi Driver. That fight-ready hooligan staring back at you is you!

Shin Pads:

The necessity of shin pads during Muay Thai sparring can't be overstated. If you've ever had the pleasure of playing the "shin game" with me then you know how much a direct shin to shin kick hurts. And you know what an ass I can be. If I've never kicked you in the shin with my shin, then you may have banged your shin against a bed frame, taken a blow to the shin while playing soccer (football, futbol, footey), etc.

All Muay Thai blocking is direct impact. If an opponent throws a body kick, you must block the kick with your shin. This sucks. Oh, sweet baby Jebus this sucks. Depending on your oponent, this can be like blocking a baseball bat with your funny bone.

I went with the Fairtex shin pads. They're thicker and are of high quality. Downside is they're heavier and slow your kicks down.

Muay Thai Gloves:

I bought the Twins 12 oz gloves not out of want but out of convenience. They're not the most comfortable gloves on the market but they get the job done. The fighters at the camp are not allowed to spar with gloves lighter than 18oz so these are used for bag and pad work and the occasional unsanctioned spar.

Mouth guard:

I didn't have a mouth guard for the first couple of weeks and sparring was an inconvenience. My teeth chattered more than once. This is just an upper teeth boil-and-bite but it works. The next mouth guard I buy will cover both the upper and lower teeth and will have a slot to breathe through when my nose clogs.

MMA Gloves:

I don't use these much anymore because I stopped going to the MMA clases here. The tropical weather, excessive sweating, and general filth of the rest of the grapplers have created messy, if not entirely unsanitary conditions.

These gloves weigh 4oz each and have padded knuckles, open fingers and thumbs to allow for both striking and gripping. Again, the Twins gloves were a purchase of convenience. I look forward to using these more back in the states.

Athletic Cup:

(Not Pictured) I need to get cup, I've taken a few shots to the giblets already but have yet to sustain any permanent damage--thankfully.