Issue 075
May 2011
Wear head protection for heavy sparring. Our guide on choosing the right product is guaranteed to knock some sense into you
What’s different about ‘full face’ head guards?
Full-face headgear offers greater protection to the forehead, cheek bones, nose and chin than standard guards. Examples are layered with thick foam padding to absorb a high level of impact from punches, elbows, head kicks, or even flying knees depending on how fired up your sparring partner is. Tapered to curve around the contours of the face, they provide good visibility and comfort.
Why use full-face headgear?
1. You may be a month or so away from a fight and want to avoid punches to the face that could result in swelling or cuts. Come fight night, the last thing you want is to have an welt emerging on your face that could be opened up easily. The same goes for your nose.
2. When training for an MMA bout, fighters often spar harder to get a feel for competition and condition their bodies. While your sparring partners will not intentionally damage you, accidents do happen. No fighter wants to be nursing a broken nose when they step into the cage. Full-face headgear reduces the chances of this happening.
3. As MMA grows, the sport attracts a wider variety of people. MMA has seen a rise in white-collar workers hitting the cage in the evening. If you’re one of these people, full-face headgear can save you the indignation of having to explain to your boss why you’re rolling into work with two black eyes.
4. Finally, if you just simply want to train MMA but don’t fancy ending up with a face like a bag of spanners, then full-face headgear ensures your precious features are protected at all times.
What to look for
Get A Feel For It
While some are light and have lots of foam padding, others are more rigid. While a softer head guard can be more comfortable, it’s more malleable and can compress against your face with high impact. Equally, rigid head guards may not bend as much when hit but can feel like you’re wearing a riot police helmet.
Choose The Right Size
Remember that after time gear will mould to your head shape, so don’t be tempted to get one that’s very loose fitting. If it’s too big, the front bar will smash into the bottom of your nose when hit. If it slides, the chin strap can also crush into your Adam’s apple when hit, making it difficult to breathe.
Find The Right Price
Full-face headgear can range from $20 to $120. Whether you’re as elusive as Machida or not, it’s still going to take a few blows. You don’t want a cheap bit of trash that is going to fall to pieces as soon as someone throws a light jab.
Also consider whether you want chin straps that employ Velcro fastening or buckle fastening. While Velcro may be cheaper, it can fray when you sweat. Head guards that have a buckle fastening system may last longer and be more secure, yet they will be harder to put on and take off.
Keep Your Chin In
No fighter can dodge every punch thrown at them (even Anderson Silva has been tagged), so don’t think you’re invincible when wearing a full-face head guard. As they don’t fully protect the jaw, you can be stung by a swift uppercut so remember to still keep your chin down when sparring hard.
