Expert: Jack Rose - 4/22/2006

Question
Mr. Rose,
   I have been considering giving boxing s try for a long time and many of my friends are interested as well. What I would like to know is what kind of boxing gloves and headgear you would suggest for a group of friends that are just looking to do some friendly non-competitive sparring with each other. This is mostly for fitness and to get in shape for football and wrestling later on in the year. However, I am kind of on a budget and my mom is not too thrilled about the sport of boxing. So any iformaton you could give me on quality items for a good price would be greatly appreciated.

        -Ben  

Answer
Hi Ben,

You have a great idea as far as getting in shape for your other sports. Actually we get some football players from a major college that come in the gym during the off season and work on their footwork and hand to eye coordination.
Even though you are not looking to fight competitively I would still recommend checking your area for a Golden Gloves training facility. Golden Gloves is the main organization in the country for representing and teaching  boxing. Plus considering your on a budget and you'll want to the safest environment for you and your friends (and to put your your mom a little more at ease) most of these gyms are free to train in. The only equipment you would ever need to buy would be a mouthpiece and handwraps which total around $25 .... Most of trainers are former boxers so you'll get some good knowledge plus you have access to all your other equipment free of charge...gloves, headgear and cups.
Check here for a location near you
www.goldenglovesofamerica.com   (click "franchises")

If you want to get your own equipment so you guys can workout on your own, uou will find the best equipment at www.ringside.com
this stuff is the real deal but it's not expensive and it's much better quality than what you will see in the stores. What you will need are handwraps, mouthpiece, protective cup, 16oz sparring gloves, and headgear....you can probably get what you need for around $100 (assuming you are getting two headgear, cups and sparring gloves), maybe all the guys could chip in, because you'll be sharing everything except the mouthpieces and the handwraps (you coud share the handwraps I suppose but since there only 7 or 8 bucks I would get your own)... although, I really don't recommend any backyard sparring because something things can get out of hand and if somebody gets clocked and lands on their head, it could be serious, even if it's an accident it could get ugly. But if you choose to spar on your own I suggest only body sparring. This is when you only make contact from the shoulders to the waist only. But I would only go about half speed and you still need to use all the equipment including the headgear because sometimes punches are deflected into the head accidentally. One round is 3 minutes with one minute rest between.

Mainly, be safe....and have fun...
thanks for the question,

Jack "bnimble"

www.heavyweightcontender.com