boxing glove

Pair of boxing gloves

Boxing gloves are padded gloves worn by boxers . Boxing gloves are designed to protect the hands of fighters. The use of modern boxing gloves leads to fewer superficial facial injuries, but does not reduce the risk of brain damage (brain damage from repeated traumatic brain injury ). Because of the higher impact force made possible by protecting your own hand, the risk even increases.

history

Head protection and boxing gloves are mandatory in amateur boxing.

Hand protection has been used in combat competitions since ancient times, e.g. B. in Greece, used. In the 2nd century, Clement of Alexandria attributed the invention of the handguard to Amycus, the mythological son of Poseidon. In ancient Greece it was sometimes customary to wrap the hands with leather cords for pankration . In Roman times this developed into the Cestus of the gladiators. The Cestus was a combat glove that was no longer primarily used to protect the hands than to increase the impact.

Boxing experienced a boom in Great Britain in the 17th century. Until the publication of the London Prize Ring Rules , "bare-knuckle" fights , i.e. fights without gloves, were predominant. Boxing gloves did not become mandatory until the Queensberry Rules in 1867 .

The modern boxing gloves known today were developed in the 1980s. They differ from older gloves in that the filling no longer consists of horsehair, cotton wool and leftover clothes, but rather soft plastic foam, which absorbs blows better and stays ready for use longer. The modern, soft boxing gloves were developed by the Berlin martial arts expert Georg F. Brückner and a patent was applied for in 1987. Brückner's gloves were used at the Olympic Games from 1992 under the Top Ten brand. It was the first boxing glove that was no longer closed with a lace fastener, but with a Velcro strip.

Subdivision

When it comes to boxing gloves, a distinction is made between competition gloves, sparring gloves (training gloves) and punching gloves (for punching bag and claw training ). The hands are additionally bandaged under the boxing gloves, or a shock-absorbing, padded or lined inner glove is worn.

Competition gloves must have an exact weight according to the rules. They are made as mittens and the thumb is often sewn on so that the risk of injury is reduced and the opponent's eye is better protected.

A distinction is made between the following types of boxing gloves. The weight is given in ounces (1 oz = 28.35 g):

Children's boxing gloves (6 to 8 oz)
Competition boxing gloves (in Europe: 10 to 12 oz)
Training and sparring batting gloves (8 to 18 oz)
Sparring gloves (extra soft boxing gloves, 16 to 18 oz)

So that the opponent is not so easily injured during sparring, which is supposed to simulate the competition, gloves with a higher weight and larger padding are usually worn than in competition. For training on the punching bag or punching ball , punching gloves are often used in which the thumb is not sewn on, so that the athlete can put on the boxing gloves without outside help. However, many athletes use larger and heavier sparring gloves for training in order to better protect their hands and to build up stamina. The conventional boxing glove was usually put on with outside help and tied at the wrist, modern versions are only closed with Velcro. To support the wrist, boxing gloves often have a short, stiff arm cuff (gauntlet) so that the hand does not bend in the wrist when hitting.

The impact of boxing gloves on boxing safety and injuries

The influence of boxing gloves on boxing safety and the injuries caused by boxing is controversial. Because of the risk of hand injuries, blows to the head were less common in the Bareknuckle era . Boxing gloves reduce the amount of cuts and tears. However, according to a study by the British Medical Association, boxing gloves do not reduce the risk of brain damage (brain damage from repeated traumatic brain injury ). Brain damage is even more common, as it is caused by the acceleration and deceleration of the head, and boxing gloves allow more powerful blows to the head by protecting your own hand. Boxing gloves - especially those without thumbs - may reduce the amount of external eye injuries, but retinal tears and detachments still occur during boxing. In terms of the number of deaths, boxing gloves appear to have a positive impact. A study that has not been verified by experts estimates the risk of death in bareknuckle fights at 14,000 deaths per million participants. That’s 184 times more deaths than modern professional boxing, which has 76 deaths per million participants (based on the same study), but it should be borne in mind when making this comparison that the data on the number of fights and deaths in the Bareknuckle era are incomplete. There are also considerable differences to today's professional boxing, not to mention the quality of medical care. Bareknuckle fights allowed z. B. also litters and some deaths resulted from head injuries from a fall on the ground.