Issue 077
July 2011
With a large assortment of gym items, ‘The Monster’ doesn’t so much have a locker as he has a gateway to Narnia.
Lockers
Kevin: “I have so much stuff that I have two lockers. I used to carry a bag back and forth all the time, but I’d take stuff out to clean it and I’ll come in for a spar session and I wouldn’t have my gloves or something. My wife actually happened to walk in the locker room at the TapouT Training Center one day and said, ‘Why don’t you just leave your stuff here?’ So I do. It makes it easier.”
FightGear.com Headgear
“It’s got a nose bar across the front. If I wear this I’m coming straight at you; I don’t care because I’m not worried about you breaking my nose. If I’m wearing this I’m going for body blows because I’m going to get inside and dig, dig, dig.”
Star guard mouthpiece
“I’ve had it for about two or three years. Star Guard keep a mold of my mouth so if I lose it I call them and they make another one.”
Fairtex MMA gloves
“I use those because they’re the closest thing to the ones I used in Strikeforce and in Japan. It’s a no brainer. I just like to use equipment that’s closest to what I’ll have when I’m fighting.”
Combat Sports shin guards
“I like the Combat Sports brand because it’s got a nylon stretch material in the back which clings to your skin. I don’t like lace-ups, or the ones with the flap in the back because they slide around your leg, but those Combat ones stay right on. I don’t have to worry about them turning or anything.”
Knee braces
“With all the knee surgeries I’ve had I need braces. I’ve got seven or eight different types. When I’m sparring I need a knee brace that’s going to help me stay mobile. Some have smaller pad in the front, and if we’re going to spar that day I turn the small knee pad so I can take the inside leg kicks. In the fight I don’t have to worry about it, because for the ten, 15 minutes I can take that pain because of my adrenaline, but I’m going to be paying for it for the next couple of weeks. These knee pads allow me to spar three days a week.”
Elevation training mask
“Some people like it, some people don’t. I like it just because it makes me breathe harder, faster, quicker. I’m an extremist: when I train I want to train my ass off, quality over quantity. I’m trying to get the best kind of training that I can in the 30 minutes that I’m doing cardio. I’m in better shape now using that mask. It’s not making it feel like you’re 12,000 feet up in the air, it just makes you breathe harder. If you can do the same thing you can do without the mask but with it on, what do you think you’re going to do in practice in two weeks? I use that mask every day when I do my cardio.”
Ultimate Classic, Fairtex and Bonafide Tough Guy gloves
“Your hands are your moneymakers and I want to make sure I’ve got the right glove for everything I’m doing. My sparring gloves are Ultimate Classic, my mitt gloves are a little bit harder on the inside and those are my Bonafide Tough Guy gloves, the Fairtex gloves I use on the bag are a little bit harder on the outside but soft on the inside.”
Perfect Punch resistance trainer
“Perfect Punch was designed by [sports writer and trainer] Jay Glazer. I got it about a month ago and it is by far one of the best things I’ve used. I literally use it to warm up. Instead of doing my jumping jacks, or jumping rope, I kind of run in place and do boxing movement with those on. It’s all low-impact resistance.”
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