When did focus mitts become popular or really start being used?

Mr Mojo Lane

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I read something in the YouTube comments section that got me wondering this. Basically, someone brought up the point that Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and all of the old timers didn't use mitt training and look how good they were.
 
They're a tool like any other. Helpful but not necessary. A lot of coaches overly rely on them because it's easy and it makes fighters look/feel slick.
 
Did some googling and found almost nothing... best I got is this forum thread:
http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxingforum/76383-mitts-history.html

Nobody's giving any sources, the origins are said to be either Mexican or British.
The idea that mitts were just gloves worn backwards by coaches makes sense to me but there's no source to prove it.
 
Boxing has evolved. All sports are still evolving and its a fact.
I know mitts can make shitty people look amazing, but a coach who can hold mitts while evaluating his fighter is a vital aspect to training imo.

I dont know shit about boxing
 
Maybe the 90s+?

Boxing has evolved. All sports are still evolving and its a fact.
I know mitts can make shitty people look amazing, but a coach who can hold mitts while evaluating his fighter is a vital aspect to training imo.

I dont know shit about boxing

But what about Willie Pep DVDs bruh
 
There was a giant thread about this here a while back, but I don't remember the title of it.

Mitt-like devices were used as early as Marciano. Though what the trainers used then looked impractical, actually LIKE oven mitts you cook with. The earliest form of the "focus mitt" I found were actually Bruce Lee's design, where there was ample padding to protect the hand of the holder.

Emmanual Steward popularized turning gloves backwards (which pads the hands) and catching his fighter's punches before mass mitts started being made that looked like Lee's design.
 
i am pretty sure mitts were around since boxing started, before mitts people were probably just hitting the hands patty cake style. hands hurt from it, so someone came up with a pad. What I am trying to get at, is people were probably using/making some type of homemade version long before they were "officially" invented and sold to the public, and im sure there is no record of it either. The "invention" was made, which means there was a need/necessity for it. and like i said there were probably many homemade versions prior to them being manufactured. Perhaps another example we could use is how people started using the foam noodles for padwork as well. and corny as it sounds, the poles JCVD used in kickboxer as part of his training were probably around too.
 
i am pretty sure mitts were around since boxing started, before mitts people were probably just hitting the hands patty cake style. hands hurt from it, so someone came up with a pad. What I am trying to get at, is people were probably using/making some type of homemade version long before they were "officially" invented and sold to the public, and im sure there is no record of it either. The "invention" was made, which means there was a need/necessity for it. and like i said there were probably many homemade versions prior to them being manufactured. Perhaps another example we could use is how people started using the foam noodles for padwork as well. and corny as it sounds, the poles JCVD used in kickboxer as part of his training were probably around too.
brb gonna invent something and make a killing on it. Gonna do "face mitts", where you put a 2" foam mask on your face, and your partner hammers it home. Its more realistic, esp. for overhands, and keadkicks. I am definitely going to be getting the Chute box crowd's money from this.
 
brb gonna invent something and make a killing on it. Gonna do "face mitts", where you put a 2" foam mask on your face, and your partner hammers it home. Its more realistic, esp. for overhands, and keadkicks. I am definitely going to be getting the Chute box crowd's money from this.

someone beat you too it! lmao


 
on a serious note, corny as it is, check this out, im sure were all familiar with this scene. a primitive version could easily be done with banana leaves etc way back in the day, im sure it was done, with no record of it as well. and today we have tim bradley doing the same.



 
i am pretty sure mitts were around since boxing started, before mitts people were probably just hitting the hands patty cake style. hands hurt from it, so someone came up with a pad. What I am trying to get at, is people were probably using/making some type of homemade version long before they were "officially" invented and sold to the public, and im sure there is no record of it either. The "invention" was made, which means there was a need/necessity for it. and like i said there were probably many homemade versions prior to them being manufactured. Perhaps another example we could use is how people started using the foam noodles for padwork as well. and corny as it sounds, the poles JCVD used in kickboxer as part of his training were probably around too.

I don't know if I'd say since boxing started. There are a lot of ways to train without mitt-work, in Countries where one or two trainers have upwards of 30-50 people under their supervision, mitt-work is very difficult to do. It means you have to both ignore people, endure a lot of the mitt-work being done by primarily higher-level fighters, and then what happens if the trainer is injured? This is fairly common, two of the trainers here at my Gym (which is an important one) had debilitating injuries for long periods of time. So mitt-work became obsolete for their students.

Also, the much earlier versions of boxing, from both historical accounts and what video there is, seemed to depend much more on very light sparring. Miming a fight. Very similar practice to what the Thais do.
 
yeah no one can say for sure, all kinds of training methods have been used and implemented since people started training, no boxing gloves so they used ropes. no slip bag, so they used lemons tied to a string, no bag so they kicked a tree, i have seen videos of thais using a basketball taped to a pole and using it similar to a wall mount box, whos to say someone didnt do the same with a coconut or something way back in the day? necessity is the mother of invention.
 
haha yeah, youd be surprised im sure theres people out there that will buy it for their next rex kwon do class
 
someone beat you too it! lmao




helmets are retarded. they give more brain trauma to avoid a black eye.

head mitt is awesome, would be very funny for the holder dodging and for the puncher to catch it on the chin, lol
 
I don't know if I'd say since boxing started. There are a lot of ways to train without mitt-work, in Countries where one or two trainers have upwards of 30-50 people under their supervision, mitt-work is very difficult to do. It means you have to both ignore people, endure a lot of the mitt-work being done by primarily higher-level fighters, and then what happens if the trainer is injured? This is fairly common, two of the trainers here at my Gym (which is an important one) had debilitating injuries for long periods of time. So mitt-work became obsolete for their students.

Also, the much earlier versions of boxing, from both historical accounts and what video there is, seemed to depend much more on very light sparring. Miming a fight. Very similar practice to what the Thais do.
reading accounts from Cinderella man there was a lot more
Shadow boxing and bag work as a primary source of training at instead of just warming up like kids today like to do
 
what happens if the trainer is injured? This is fairly common, two of the trainers here at my Gym (which is an important one) had debilitating injuries for long periods of time. So mitt-work became obsolete for their students.

I don't think I've ever met a long time boxer that didn't have lead hand shoulder problems. Fookin' hooks and their unnatural ripping of the shoulder joint.
 
Did some googling and found almost nothing... best I got is this forum thread:
http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxingforum/76383-mitts-history.html

Nobody's giving any sources, the origins are said to be either Mexican or British.
The idea that mitts were just gloves worn backwards by coaches makes sense to me but there's no source to prove it.

Not sure what kind of source you're looking for. Everyone knows Emmanual Steward popularized it. I'd understand skepticism if it was some unknown trainer, but there's no real reason to question arguably THE best trainer of boxing's modern times.
 
Not sure what kind of source you're looking for. Everyone knows Emmanual Steward popularized it. I'd understand skepticism if it was some unknown trainer, but there's no real reason to question arguably THE best trainer of boxing's modern times.
I was looking for any kind of source. Apparently not "everyone" knew since TS asked the question and nobody before you gave a definite answer. I didn't know either so I googled it, found nothing.
 
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