Gear

Perhaps you're curious about TKD gear. There's not much, or at least I don't have much. Here's what I've got in terms of sparring gear.



These are my sparring mitts. They're made of a vinyl-covered foam with finger loops and a velcro strap to hold them on. You can see they're much lighter and more streamlined than boxing gloves.



This is how they go on. On, they remind me of my mom's arm splints! As you can see, I take off my watch and wedding ring when I spar--you should wear no jewelry during a sparring match, test, or tournament. It could hurt someone, break, or a ring could get stuck on a jammed and swollen finger. Taking off the ring was weird at first--I rarely remove it! Now I have a little ritual: take off watch, take off ring, put ring on watchband and fasten.



We also wear leg/foot protection. These are basic leg pads that pad the front of your shin and the top of your foot (which hits in a roundhouse kick). As you can see, they don't really protect ankles, which is why I got that bruise the other day. Usually you won't see these as they're underneath our baggy pajama pants.

Other sparring gear not pictured: booties that some people wear. Vinyl-covered foam things that go over feet. I don't own them--they're optional.

Helmet, also made of vinyl-covered foam. It's not optional during a tournament. I borrowed one from the gear closet for the tournament. I don't really want one--I'm ignoring the fact that I may get kicked in the head someday.

And mouthguard! I hate to wear it, but we must during tournaments.

I have been promised a picture of me sparring. I am hoping that Aimee will bring it to class soon :-) I'll post it when I get it.