Can You Use Kickboxing Gloves for Boxing?

Boxing and kickboxing are very similar sports apart from the obvious – in kickboxing you’re also allowed to kick your opponent. But kickboxing also shares a lot of similarities with Muay Thai, a combat sport originating in Thailand which uses different techniques from boxing, requiring different kinds of gloves.

The gloves used in each sport are used for protecting the hands, but if you use the wrong kinds of gloves, you’re leaving yourself at more risk of getting injured. Fortunately, you can use kickboxing and boxing gloves interchangeably even though they are ever so slightly different. However, if you’re taking your training seriously and even competing, you should have the correct pair of gloves for each sporting discipline.

Difference Between Kickboxing and Boxing Gloves

The differences between kickboxing gloves and boxing gloves are very minimal because both sports involve the same punching techniques. However, as there is kicking involved in kickboxing, the gloves are made slightly differently. Let’s look at the main differences.

Punching

When punching in both boxing and kickboxing, you’ll want to generate power in your heels and push that through your body, unleashing your power through your fist. This will require the most padding on the knuckles to prevent injuring them, as they are making contact with your opponent or training equipment. The gloves will also require sufficient wrist support to stop your wrist from twisting unnaturally, causing sprains, strains or even breaks.

While Muay Thai gloves have less support on the wrist to allow for more flexibility when throwing elbows and catching kicks, boxing and kickboxing gloves require more sufficient support on the wrists. Where kickboxing and Muay Thai gloves share similarities, however, is the different position of the thumb. Boxing gloves are designed to resemble a fist to help punch more easily and comfortably. However, when kicking is involved, the kickboxer will need more flexibility in their thumb to defend against kicks.

Kicking

Not all kickboxing competitions allow or encourage the use of foot and shin protection, so receiving a body blow from an opponent’s barefoot can be debilitating. That’s why kickboxing gloves differ from boxing gloves by having more padding on the palm and the back of the glove, rather than just over the knuckles, so kickboxers can more comfortably defend against kicks.

Muay Thai gloves are very similar to kickboxing gloves in this sense as the kicking techniques are very similar. So if your kickboxing performance favours kicks over punches, you may choose to use Muay Thai gloves rather than boxing gloves if you can’t get your hands on a pair of gloves made specifically for kickboxing.

Is There a Difference Between Boxing and Kickboxing Bags?

While kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters can make great use of heavy punching bags, there are different hanging bags for MMA fighters to use, particularly for training with kicks and knees.

A standard heavy bag tends to be slightly heavier than a kickboxing bag, also known as a Muay Thai or banana bag. Standard heavy bags for boxers are also usually filled with sand to give them their weight, while kickboxing bags are usually filled with water to make them easier on the wrists since MMA and Muay Thai gloves have less wrist support and a thinner cushion on the knuckles.

The main difference between the bags, however, is the length. When boxing, you’ll be aiming for the head and body of your opponent which will be roughly the same height as your own. These heavy bags can be used for kickboxers to train their punching techniques and increase punching power as well as high kicks and body shots. However, the longer bags allow kickboxers to practice their lower kicks to the thighs and knees of their opponents.

Much like boxing gloves, kickboxers can use boxing equipment quite easily and make good use of it, but a boxer shouldn’t use kickboxing gloves or kickboxing bags, as it will increase the risk of injury and won’t benefit their training.

Choosing the Right Gloves

When choosing the right size gloves, it may get confusing as they are all sized according to their weight i.e. the amount of padding in the glove, despite the padding being distributed differently in boxing and kickboxing gloves.

The first things you should consider when buying boxing gloves are:

• Your weight
• Your training regime
• Your budget

If you have particularly small or large hands for your size, you can factor in your hand size, however, in most cases, it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference. If you’re a man or woman looking for boxing gloves, the main criteria are your weight and what activities you’ll be doing. This means whether you’ll simply be training, or also sparring and perhaps participating in real boxing or kickboxing matches, as each of these aspects of fighting requires different-sized gloves.

For sparring, you’ll need the heaviest of the three types of gloves as you’ll need more padding in the glove to protect your sparring partner from harm. Sparring is mimicking a real fight, so you’ll want to practice with your full force, but you won’t want to hurt your partner as they’re there to help.

For training, you’ll need less padding than sparring so you can train comfortably on heavy bags and with focus pads. If you’re in the boxing gym or a boxing fitness class, these are the gloves you’ll need.

For real fights, you’ll need the lightest pair of gloves because less padding means more force enabled against your opponent. Professional heavyweights tend to use 18 oz gloves for sparring and 10 oz gloves for matches; there’s a big difference in weight to keep their sparring partner safe and earn the crucial knockout against their opponent.

Training Glove Size Guide

With training gloves being the most average pair, you can therefore choose your boxing gloves as a man or woman with the following guide:

• 6 – 8 oz gloves for people under 45 kg
• 10 – 12 oz gloves for people between 46 – 68 kg
• 14 oz gloves for people between 69 – 80 kg
• 16 – 18 oz gloves for people over 80 kg

Children under 16 should never use adult equipment regardless of their weight.

The Importance of Wearing the Right Gloves for Training

You should always make sure you have the right size gloves for boxing or kickboxing training as the wrong size can cause damage to your hands. If your boxing gloves are too tight, they’re not allowing your full hand flexion which can inhibit your movement, causing you to perform poorly and possibly injure yourself. Similarly, boxing gloves that are too big won’t provide sufficient protection for your hands as they will be moving around too much inside the glove.

Whether you’re training, sparring or fighting, you need boxing gloves that fit properly. Training or fighting without boxing gloves at all should also be avoided at all costs. Even hitting a punching bag with bare fists can cause great injury as there’s no protection for your knuckles and no wrist support.

When buying boxing gloves, also bear in mind that you’ll need enough space to wear hand wraps underneath for additional protection.

Glove Maintenance

Once you’ve got yourself a new pair of boxing or kickboxing gloves, you need to know how to properly clean the gloves to ensure they last a long time. Of course, if the outside of the glove is dirty, you can wipe it clean with a damp cloth, but after each training session, the inside of the glove will need to be cleaned to prevent the gloves from smelling due to the damp conditions causing bacteria growth.

You must wash your gloves by hand by disinfecting the entire inside of the gloves with a disinfectant spray to avoid ruining the padding. To dry them, don’t tumble dry your boxing gloves. Open them as wide as possible and leave them in a warm, dry and airy location for at least 24 hours so they can dry thoroughly.

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