# Leather nuckles or gloves?



## sinistersamuri (Nov 19, 2007)

i am curious as to how others prefer to train.I use mma gloves half the time,and bare the other half. i can now beat on our heavy bag bare and not get cut.  both of my hands got cut identically when i started. my big knuckels leathered first and then my smaller ones. i think its interesting to look at my brothers knuckles and see where they cut. some are same as mine some very diff. i train barefoot always. my feet have also leathered although i have long worked tree trunks and a nasty roundhouse. my small toes still get cut. we use the HEAVY heavy bag. any thoughts? and y?


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## seninoniwashi (Nov 19, 2007)

sinistersamuri said:


> i am curious as to how others prefer to train.I use mma gloves half the time,and bare the other half. i can now beat on our heavy bag bare and not get cut. both of my hands got cut identically when i started. my big knuckels leathered first and then my smaller ones. i think its interesting to look at my brothers knuckles and see where they cut. some are same as mine some very diff. i train barefoot always. my feet have also leathered although i have long worked tree trunks and a nasty roundhouse. my small toes still get cut. we use the HEAVY heavy bag. any thoughts? and y?


 
I go barehanded always unless I'm using a public heavy bag in case I take it to where my hands bleed. Feet however I'm always barefooted. I'm also fond of the makiwari. It really depends on what you are conditioning for.


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## Razul eaox (Jan 13, 2008)

alright if you train with nothing on your hands it could add to the mass of your hands, thus making your punches slower. although on leather heavy bags i dont use anything on my hands. but if you are punching a cloth bag then i would reccommend using something. Ive been using weight lifting gloves. it prevents the cuts that are so easy to get on cloth bags


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## Zero (Feb 1, 2008)

At home I have a heavy bag and I alternate form bare knuckles to mma gloves to boxing gloves.  When going to the gym I generally just take my mma/ufc gloves as fit easily in my gym bag as I don't like the idea of getting an infection if I cut a knuckle going bare fisted.

I generally don't 'cut up' much now and I think that is as much to do with conditioning as with striking the bag correctly over time.  When I first started years back I remember always having cut or torn knuckles and this was from not hitting the bag, or at times the focus pads in the club, straight on but sometimes 'sliding/tearing' across the surface.  The leather heavy bag is generally more forgiving but some of those kicking pads/shields have nasty surfaces if you don't connect straight on with the knuckles - can get some wicked grazes.  Always used to sting when going for a swim after!

Funnily, I was in this shop buying a suit and this attendant asked if I boxed or what style of MA I did; he said he used to do a lot of karate and could tell by my 'flattened' knuckles that I must do a lot of punching something.  Maybe he was just having a laugh or maybe not...

I also did wing chun for a while and remember the sifu had some Chinese ointment in a bottle for putting on knuckles after hitting the sand bags on the wall - who know's what that stuff was??


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## zDom (Feb 2, 2008)

I'm a bare knuckle advocate as hapkido is focused on self defense.


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## HG1 (Feb 2, 2008)

Zero said:


> EDIT I also did wing chun for a while and remember the sifu had some Chinese ointment in a bottle for putting on knuckles after hitting the sand bags on the wall - who know's what that stuff was??


 
The Chinese ointment you mention was probably _dit da jow_.  It's applied before & after conditioning on unbroken skin to keep the hands healthy.  Most TCMA have their own special recipe.


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## Em MacIntosh (Feb 7, 2008)

Once my knuckles get "dusted" (glowing red, numb) my wrists get "stronger" and I can hit a lot harder without feeling paranoid of my wrist bending.  I think it's important to know how hard you can hit without wrist-wraps, at least, for self defense.  You can only hit a skull so hard and I believe fists are meant for soft targets, palm-heels are better for hard targets.  A philosophy I've borrowed from goju-ryu.  My knuckles used to get itchy if I didn't bareknuckle the bag but I've given my hands a rest lately from breaking and conditioning and don't train the tolerance to such extents as I'm trying to find the right balance.  It's always good to toughen your knuckles, just not too much.  Watch the arthritis, I've been told.


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## Sensei Tom O'Brien (Feb 7, 2008)

Take it from an old guy who has arthritis in his right wrist - don't hit makiwaras that that are fixed to an immovable surface like concrete walls or trees.  Don't hit those types of makiwaras full force to vent anger like I used to do.  It made me feel better at the time but it will catch up to you.

Thanks,
Tom


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## Grenadier (Feb 18, 2008)

Some conditioning of the knuckles and wrists is good, as long as you don't overdo it.  

The problem, though, comes from people who hit the makiwara so hard, bare knuckled, on a regular basis, that they end up destroying their nerves in their hands.  This is *not* a good thing, and being unable to hold a coffee cup without a serious case of the shakes is just the tip of the iceberg.  

Take care of your hands.  They're the only pair that you've got, and the only pair you'll have in your lifetime.


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## Drac (Feb 18, 2008)

Bare knucles.Don't usually have time to put on the gloves when on duty and I refuse to wear them all shift..I have learned to put them on when responding to a call.


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## terryl965 (Feb 18, 2008)

Bare Knuckles all the time except when sparring then we use gloves.


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## tad2bad (Mar 3, 2008)

bare nuckles always. unless in the ring or when sparring. I train barefoot always.


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## Andrew Green (Mar 3, 2008)

You'll never find a boxing coach that advocates hitting the bag bare knuckled, and there is a reason for that.

Scratches are not the problem, long term stress damage is, hands should be wrapped and gloved when doing a hard workout on a heavy bag.  It's like running, sure you could do it barefoot, and you can do so for short bursts once and a while without issue.  But if you are doing any significant amount of running, you should be wearing shoes, or you are eventually going to end up with foot problems.


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## MattJ (Mar 3, 2008)

I'm going to agree with Andrew, for the most part. Gloves are safer to train with long-term for full power. Not harmful to do _occasional_ bare-knuckle bagwork, but not neccesary all the time.


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