Is wearing shin guards frowned upon?

I don't think it's retarded to sparr without shin guards, it's very common in Kyokushin / Knockdown Karate for instance and I find it does condition your thighs quite well though time. It also means you're more careful and accurate when kicking rather than just carelessly throwing kicks.

I mean do you really think what you see on this video is retarded? I don't think so:



It's a lot less retarded to sparr without shin guards than it is to do sparring with head punches with more than 50% force IMO.

I mean when you look at MIke's gym sparring, they wear shin guards but punch each other full force in the head, for me that's kind of ironical as the latter is much more dangerous. I'd rather get bruised legs than losing brain cells on a daily basis.



as proof, you embedded a video of sanchai and singdam, two top muay thai athletes who are conditioned and experienced, light kick sparring with each other in a street.

that is worlds away from three jits kids without decades of muay thai experience smashing their shins togeather sparring after BJJ class
 
as proof, you embedded a video of sanchai and singdam, two top muay thai athletes who are conditioned and experienced, light kick sparring with each other in a street.

that is worlds away from three jits kids without decades of muay thai experience smashing their shins togeather sparring after BJJ class

It's not as proof, just saying it's not "completely retarded" as some say and definitely not unseen in the world of Muay Thai / Kickboxing, let alone the world of Kyokushin.

Also I believe we're talking about adults here, of course kids need shin pads just like they should wear head gear too.
 
The lack of shinpads and the soft tissue injuries are seriously affecting the quality of your training.

Tell these bums to get proper gear.
 
I personally feel like equating shin guards to gloves is not the same, gloves have been around in training way longer than shin guards. Whereas you had thai guys sparring without shin guards as recent as I want to say the 80's or early 90's. Chatchai Sasakul, a high level fighter in his day, argued that the shin guards might even be a detriment to modern muay thai training. Anyway on topic, its less about the gear, and more about the attitude. Sometimes putting 16 oz, headgear, and shin pads give beginning practitioners a false sense of cushion and a reason to dial up power and aggression way more than they should. If the goal is to learn and develop, I recommend going light and being playful ( refer to thai sparring). Once you have an understanding of what hurts and what doesnt (based on light contact), the protective gear will allow a suitable SLIGHT bump in power. If you want a work out, go smash pads or a heavy bag. If you want to learn timing and ring iq, keep it light and technical.
 
"I've recently started sparring on a regular basis with some guys in Muay Thai. I've trained jiu jitsu with over the years."

fixed it for you.

He is saying he is a Jiu Jitsu practitioner who just started training Muay Thai.

In my gym, everyone spars with shin guards on. Sparring without shin guard is like sparring without gloves or head gear.

Just let them know you are new and that you like to wear a shin guard. They will either say yes or no and spar someone else.

When you get better you can spar without shin guard. But as a newbie, you best wear a shin guard or get beaten legs and spar once every few months as your shin heals. I spar every other day but I wear shin guards and we go 50% atmost .


And nobody wears shin guards in bjj rolling.

most gyms in the west will go double that unfortunately.

I have no clue why but almost always go hard.
 
I personally feel like equating shin guards to gloves is not the same, gloves have been around in training way longer than shin guards. Whereas you had thai guys sparring without shin guards as recent as I want to say the 80's or early 90's. Chatchai Sasakul, a high level fighter in his day, argued that the shin guards might even be a detriment to modern muay thai training. Anyway on topic, its less about the gear, and more about the attitude . Sometimes putting 16 oz, headgear, and shin pads give beginning practitioners a false sense of cushion and a reason to dial up power and aggression way more than they should. If the goal is to learn and develop, I recommend going light and being playful ( refer to thai sparring). Once you have an understanding of what hurts and what doesnt (based on light contact), the protective gear will allow a suitable SLIGHT bump in power. If you want a work out, go smash pads or a heavy bag. If you want to learn timing and ring iq, keep it light and technical.

I completely agree with this.

I've recently tried sparring without shin guards (not going %100) and can say it does help alot with timing and accuracy. Shin guards can masks that when one only dials up power and aggression.

As I've said, I'm not sure why alot of gyms in North America have the idea of going hard in sparring. Wereas thai's just play.
 
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