Direct from Japan: Winning gloves
June 16, 2009 by ldf
By LDF
Gloves. Gloves. Gloves. Until recently, I failed to realize how important suiting yourself up with a proper set was. Simple, I know, but for whatever reason, I never really thought about what I was putting on my hands – basically, if they fit and didn’t distract me, I was happy. Generally, this meant Twins and Raja were the gear of choice for my ten digit sticks.
Recently I had a mishap at the gym that left me with a damaged hand. The gym’s response? Laughter, a trip to the hospital, more laughter, and delivering a pair of Winning gloves direct from Japan straight into my lap. What can I say about them? Not much, they’re a pair of gloves…however, after hitting the bags and pads with them (or rather one, truth be told, my one hand is still a bit …weepy…?…), I thought, “What?”, and felt like I could hit a lot harder. Higher quality materials? Better fit? All I know is, I’m sold.
A few nak muays recently came in from Japan. One saw the glove I was wearing and asked where I found it/them. They’ve never seen Winning products sold in Bangkok. I have no idea how readily available they are in the West, aside from ordering them online. Has anyone heard of this brand? I hadn’t, but I’m extremely happy these were thrown at me. If you get the chance to source them, I suggest you do.
damn what are these gloves lined with, baby seal fur? $280 for gloves?
http://www.winning-usa.com/products.html
I’ve seen pics of masato training in with this gear… $370 for head gear.
It’s worth it if they’re good. personally I have tried 3 gloves: Twins, Fairtex and Celto Reyes. I was meh on Fairtex and Twins. I have always returned to the Reyes. They cost more too but they seem more comfy and druable to me.
Maybe LDF could start a cottage industry while she’s there and sell us some of those gloves. I just want to know what a $280 glove feels like.
WOW! Your gym got you Winning gloves!? Are they gonna ask you pay for those? Like Nop said, those things retail starting at $200 USD!
For people who’ve never seen them, Winning gear is the training gear of choice for all the top western boxers. If you ever catch one of those HBO 24/7 shows for the Pacquiao / Hatton fight or the Pacquiao / De La Hoya fight, both Pac and DLH use Winning gear for their training / sparring.
From what I’ve read on the ‘Net they’re the best gloves to use for keeping your hands injury free. Like Stack said, I’d love to feel what $250 gloves feel like, but alas… there this recession and cash in short supply… Let us know how those go.
i have inter gloves. they are not bad.
Theres a little shop in bangkok that sells martial arts equipment mostly MT stuff and the woman there has her own cheap brand of MT equipment made, the shop is called action zone , its not far from Siam paragon and MBK etc,the equipment is just called Muay Thai and it looks a bit cheap.16 oz action zone gloves are about 500 baht tops.Ive had 5 pairs in last 2 years.Without doubt the most comfortable hardest wearing gloves iv ever had ,last for ever.Absolutly briliant.Even just swapped a nearly new pair of king air goves for an old pair of muay thai action zones cause they so much moe comfortable.Cant recommend them highly enough.The woman who seems to run Action Zone is very friendly aswell!!
forgot to say aside from that the best gloves you can get are the totally knackered worn in ones that no one else wants to wear in the gym.Anyone seen the state of gloves available to use in gyms in Thailand?!!! as long as you know how to punch it doesnt matter a jot what gloves you got on as long as your knuckles arent coming out of holes in them!
hey hoyboy, yeah, the gym gave me the gloves. i had no idea how much they were worth until i wrote this piece and did a quick search online. i feel incredibly lucky and am really grateful.
i’m really tight with my cash and i think they’re worth the money.
i also don’t fully agree with manant’s comment that as long as you know how to punch, it doesn’t matter what gloves you have on – i think it depends on what you’re hitting/how much force is being thrown back at you. there’s a couple trainers i train with here that throw a lot of weight back – the cushioning in the winning gloves lightens the impact noticebly – my knuckles aren’t swollen after training – so while i’m doing pads, i’m not thinking about the weight being thrown in my direction and question if i should be a bit careful – as a result, i feel as though i’m hitting a lot harder – technique is the same.
It’s a small price to pay for comfort and some safety. I’m with LDF on this one. Even if the effect is mostly placebo it’s worth it wholly.
$280 is nothing to pay if it keeps your hands in good condition. I will say I whined about $110 for Cleto Reyes but who knows what’s worth what? I have not yet tried Winning gloves. May be I’d switch if I tried them. Much like Manat I too have used gloves that look like someone used it as spare toilet paper and then hit it with a shovel about 18 times. I much prefer good gloves in good condition.
Winning has a great reputation. Cleto Reyes are better for fights though because less padding is on the front knuckles. Many pro boxers swear by Winning headgear too.
Reyes gloves don’t last long for most. They are pretty much the pro gloves- use them briefly and throw them away.
Winning gloves are nice, but for that amount of coin, I want a handjob too- hell, a bj would be better.
It depends for my tastes: for banging mitts I definitely like the Reyes and though yes they do fall apart the main thing is comfort. They fit better and I think may be because they are more snug my hands hold together better. Loose ill fitting gloves cause more injuries than any other kind of glove imo. I think that’s worse than a glove with lots padding but a bad fit.
16oz or bigger are good for tiring your hands out on a heavy bag but just to my preference they are too big for mitt work. Winning gloves I have seen exactly once and never tried. May be I’ll get foolish with my money this weekend and give them a try. The amount of positive reviews Winning gets has definitely made me curious enough to try them.
Is this the Action Sports Shop? I’m going to BKK next week, might check out the shop…
http://thaiactionzone.com/#
Yes mate thats the action Zone shop I was talking about.She stocks moslty twins king boon and her own action zone muay thai stuff.its only a little place.You’l know your in the right place when you at a cross roads and you can see a tesco lotus and in the true thai way about a million sports shops!!Can anyone tell me why that happens in BKK Iv noticed it a lot.Like you get several whole treest worth of shops dedicated to selling just one typ of thing, in this case different sports supplies.seems a bit mad to me but I assume it must work for them por tthey wouldnt do it.
The lady who runs Action Zone is really pleasant and if your buying a lot does good discounts and gives you bottles of water and sometimes sweets!!Really cheap to get your own shorts made aswell!(shit she should put me on the pay roll for all this arse licking!)
I wonder how the prices are for the Boon stuff at her shop. Scotts shop is just a few stop down the line at On Nut station. I’ll stop by for sure. Is the brand “Muay Thai” or is it Action Zone?
The brand is “Mauy thai” I think.unless she changed it.The boon shop is a bit out of the way but if you go there gloves, focus mits and pads etc are very competitively priced.I thought pretty inexpensive and dead good quality.
The only place that sells Boon equipment is Boon. I made the mistake of thinking that other shops sold them. Everyone looked at me like I was a crazy farang.
I still have my Boon gloves. I have absolutely no complaints.
Winning is a good brand if you want soft heavy padding. Cleto Reyes is similar in my opinion.
I use Fairtex 12oz fight gloves for pads and bag, 16oz for sparring. I do use Winning handwraps though, they feel the same as gauze with a little extra thickness.
Brownhornet – I can assure you last time I was there although she didnt have a great deal the lady at action zone had some boon stuff in the shop.