So with the budding interest in MMA, many people are venturing out to fight and are at a loss when it comes to having knowledgeable guys in their corner. This guide will serve those of you who wish to do right by your fighter and give him the best opportunity to not only succeed, but to also minimize the risk of damage while maximizing his ability to perform without having to worry for his safety.
Materials:
For every good cornerman, there are tools of the trade by which to hone your craft. This is a simple list that people can add to but will serve as a basic list of materials that will ensure your fighters safety and peak performance. They are not in any particular order. There will be more discussion of application of these tools further on in the thread. I will post links to Title Boxing as you can purchase most if not all of the materials you may need there.
The main exception is Coagulants. These will require a prescription from a doctor unless you can squeeze some out of an EMT or a ringside physician. The good news is that you don't necessarily need them and most cuts (unless they are gruesome) can heal with adequate knowledge of how to stop the blood from flowing.
1. Corner Tote. Invaluable piece of equipment that will carry many if not all of your materials.
Pro Style Corner Tote from Title Boxing
2. Water/Ice. If you do not have water, your fighter will dehydrate. You can use a water bottle if you'd like, or a simple bottle of water. Ice is essential to treat swelling and to cool your fighters body temperature.
3. Icepack. Very simple, icepacks can be filled with ice. They are used to treat swelling, and most of the time are placed on the back of the neck to cool down the fighter as their body temperature gets relatively high, especially in that area. It also sometimes prevents strains and pulls.
3. Spit bucket. This can be a simple 5 gallon bucket used to spit in or store ice. Never at the same time. LOL.
4. Enswell/Endswell/No-swell. Different names for the same type of tool. This in its most basic form is a piece of steel that you set on ice that can be used to treat swelling in the face. Some Enswells actually have a compartment inside in which to freeze water to keep it ice cold.
No Swells from Title Boxing
5. White Towel. It's a good idea to have a few towels on hand. They take care of sweat, blood, etc. And can also be used to save your fighter from further damage by throwing it in the cage/ring.
6. Gauze. Rolled gauze for hand wrapping (which I will cover later on in this thread) and gauze pads for blood and cuts. This is essential. You need gauze. Fighters get cut. They need their hands wrapped. Period.
Boxing Gauze from Title Boxing
7. Tape. 1 inch tape will serve you just fine. Again, this is for wrapping hands and can also be used to tape your fighters gloves. Most of the time they will provide you with colored duct tape to tape the gloves but sometimes they do not.
TITLE Boxing Tape from Title Boxing
8. Cotton Swabs. These are used for cuts and nose bleeds. I don't recommend the ones you find at the store. They do not usually have enough cotton. I will go into making your own cotton swabs further in the thread. If I do not someone remind me. Do not stick these in your mouth!! It's unsanitary. And unnecessary.
9. Vaseline. Your fighter will get scrapes and cuts much easier if they are not greased up. Store bought vaseline is perfect. It is applied to the cheeks, and eye ridges, forehead and bridge of the nose to prevent cuts. It can also be used to seal coagulants or vessel constrictors into cuts to speed up the healing process and staving off the severity of the wound.
10. Scissors. Scissors are invaluable and a necessary thing to have. You must use the scissors with the safety feature on the front so that you do not injure your fighter by cutting him/her. I have two pairs of scissors just in case.
Everlast Trainer's Scissors from Title Boxing
11. Latex gloves. To prevent infection and transfer of blood, latex gloves are used by corner men to minimize this risk. A trick I use is to have three globs of Vaseline on the back of one of my hands on the gloves so that it's right there for me to use. Do not use the gloves with talcum powder!!
12. Corner Sponge. This is really optional, but it's good to clean the sweat off of your fighter as well as cooling him/her down. It also can wash away blood from your fighter.
13. Stop Watch. This is optional as well, but it gives you a good sense of timing and that is crucial because you only have 60 seconds in between rounds. I like to be right at the door when it's opened because you lose about 10 seconds in that time. A stop watch can help to reduce that time.
14. Stool. No not feces. A stool. Usually, they will provide you with one. However, I've been to three shows that have not. A simple stool will suffice. Sometimes, it's a good idea to cut open tennis balls and put them at the bottom of each leg so that it doesn't ruin the material in the cage.
15. Coagulants/Vessel Constrictors.
A.) Adrenaline 1:1000 (Commonly known as epinephrine). This is really the least of your concerns right now but they are necessary to treating cuts. Epinephrine is a vessel constrictor and is used by dipping a cotton swab or gauze pad into it and applying it straight to a cut. It works to stop the bleeding by constricting the blood vessels. Crucial.
B.) Avitene is a coagulant that it applied to the cut in order to help facilitate and speed up the coagulation process. There are other coagulants but this is the only one you'll probably ever need.
Well, that is the basic materials list. The rest of the thread will operate under the assumption that you've reviewed this list and are familiar with the terms.
Your fighter should also have a back up mouthpiece as well as a cup on hand. Make sure that you bring some mitts to warm up with and a back up pair of gloves in case they do not provide you with any.
The next section will discuss warming your fighter up.