Can MMA Gloves Be Used On A Punchbag?

By Kasim Javed Punchbags

Boxing and martial arts share a lot of similar qualities and, as combat sports, they also share a lot of equipment when it comes to training. Punchbags are a great tool for combat sports as they come in various shapes and sizes to help practise a number of punching techniques. But there are also different gloves used in combat sports, each designed to suit the manoeuvres of a certain sport and protect the fighter.

So can you use MMA gloves on a punchbag?

What Gloves Should You Use on a Punchbag?

There are many types of punching bags, each useful in a different way. Some of the main punchbags are:

Speedbags – for improving punching speed
Body bags – for improving punching accuracy
Heavy punching bags – for improving punching power

When hitting any kind of punching bag you should make sure you wear some kind of glove, as hand wraps alone do not provide sufficient protection for your hands. However, how much protection you need depends somewhat on what punching bag you’re training with.

The heaviest and most common type of punchbag used in training, heavy punching bags, also known as hanging bags or straight bags, require heavier boxing gloves to ensure sufficient protection. When you strike a punching bag, the impact of your knuckles against the bag sends a shockwave through your hand, wrist and arm into your neck which can cause injury. By wearing boxing gloves with a thick layer of padding, you’re protecting your hands as the padding absorbs the shock.

When using speedbags, you can wear a lighter glove as you won’t be punching as hard as you would on a heavy bag, so you don’t need as much protection on your knuckles.

The gloves used in MMA and Muay Thai are different to those used in boxing, as there is less direct punching in MMA and more grappling, wrestling and kicking, so the padding on the glove needs to be spread out over the hand rather than concentrated over the knuckles as with boxing gloves.

So when using a heavy punching bag, you should wear heavy boxing gloves to protect your hands properly, but when using lighter bags like speedbags, you can use MMA gloves if desired.

Why Do You Need Different Boxing Gloves?

If you’re getting into MMA or boxing, you may think you just require one set of gloves to get you through your training, but depending on your level, you may need to invest in a few different pairs.

For boxing, the three main types of gloves you need are:

Training gloves
Sparring gloves
Fighting gloves (for matches)

Each type of glove has a different weight which is determined by the amount of padding in each glove. The more padding in the glove, the more shock absorbed by the glove, which reduces the impact of the strike. Therefore, when training, you’ll want a thicker glove than when fighting in a boxing match, as you want to protect your hands when training, but you want your opponent to feel the full impact of your punches in a match.

On the other hand, when sparring, you don’t want to hurt your sparring partner so you’ll want the heaviest boxing gloves for sparring to absorb as much shock as possible while still giving your all to replicate a real fight.

Which Punchbag is Best?

Each punchbag has its own benefits, so to be a professional boxer, you’ll want to mix up your training with each punching bag to reap the benefits and improve your overall performance. However, if you’re getting into boxing for fitness or simply want to train more regularly and wish to get a punching bag to have at home, some punching bags are better than others.

Heavy hanging bags and free-standing punchbags are two of the best punchbags to have at home, as you can practise many different aspects of your fighting performance and improve your general fitness. Both heavy bags and free-standing bags are heavy, usually around half the weight of the individual using it, so it takes a tremendous amount of effort to repeatedly strike the bag. This means that spending 15 to 20 minutes a day on a heavy punching bag will get your heart racing and increase oxygen supply to your organs, making it an excellent cardiovascular workout.

Cardio workouts can burn a lot of calories, so when paired with a balanced diet, you can achieve calorie deficit, burning more calories than you consume in a day to allow you to lose weight and get into great shape.

As heavy bags and free-standing bags are also large punchbags, usually around 5 feet, you can also practise punching accuracy, treating the bag as if it were an opponent, as well as practising high kicks. For more advanced mixed martial arts moves, you can benefit from a grappling dummy, to practise ground manoeuvres.

Which Punchbag is Best for Children?

Children can also benefit from using punchbags, helping them to stay active as well as relieve stress. Punching a bag each day can get your child into a healthy routine, showing them that regular exercise is an integral part of a healthy life – and that it can be fun!

Some people may worry that teaching children how to fight may make them more aggressive or get into trouble, but learning to fight can actually be a great thing for children and young people. Knowing how to protect yourself helps with confidence and self-esteem, while learning combat sports teaches people the importance of resilience and humility; not everyone is a great boxer straight away and training and sparring can teach you that, but also that the more practice you put into something, the better you get.

Just like adults, children can benefit greatly from heavy bags, to release frustration and learn some of the most important aspects of boxing. When buying a punching bag for your kid, make sure you get one that’s around half their weight so they can train comfortably, as well as made of durable material so they can keep training as they grow.

Where to Put Your Punchbag

When looking to buy a punchbag for use at home, you need to think about where you’re going to put it before you purchase it to make sure you get the right one for your space.

One advantage of free-standing bags is that you don’t need any permanent fixtures to have one at home. So if you’re renting or in an old property, a free-standing bag is best for you. However, for a free-standing bag, you need to make sure you have enough space around it while training.

Free-standing bags should be placed in the centre of a room so you can move around the bag a full 360 degrees to practise your footwork while steering clear of any obstacles in the room, and to ensure that if the bag falls over, it doesn’t break anything.

Heavy bags, while usually around the same price as free-standing bags, can be a great investment for your health and your training, but you need a support beam in your ceiling or a strong wall to attach the mount for the bag in order to use them at home.

Hanging a Punchbag for Kids

The ceiling is the best place to mount a hanging bag for adults, but kid’s heavy bags shouldn’t be more than 4 feet tall so they can train easily with them. This means that a strong wall is the best place to hang a punch bag for kids so they can easily reach the bag and train well. Bear in mind that your children will grow, however, so you may need to move the punchbag’s mount if you’ve put it too low initially. Fortunately, decent punching bags aren’t too expensive, you can invest in larger bags as they get older and require larger equipment.

Buy the Best Punching Bags from Maxx Pro Boxing

Maxx Pro Boxing proudly supplies the best boxing equipment to gyms and homes across the UK. If you want to start training from home, take a look at our professional, high-quality yet affordable punching bags today.