The best Christmas gifts are the ones that you never thought you would buy for yourself, but they’re exactly what you need. If you have a martial artist in the family, or a close friend who is a combat sports enthusiast, they have everything they need at the gym that they train. But they may not have a lot of equipment in their house to practise and train their skills. And this is where you can pick up MMA equipment for them they’ll actually use.
At Martial Arts Mats Ireland, we have just what you need to buy for those hard to buy martial artists in your life. From a wide selection of punching bags, grappling dummies, and boxing gloves, you’ll find the perfect gift for the family member who’s looking to stock up their home gym. Below, you’ll find a list of the top 8 Christmas gifts for martial artists.
Punching Bags
One of the best things you can get for a combat sports enthusiast is their own punching bag. Punching bags allow you to take the training outside of the gym, and to drill yourself on the fundamentals at home. Over the last year, we’ve seen how important it is to have a training space in your own home, and having an alternate place to train is essential for all martial artists who want to stay in top form.
1. Drop Kick Murphy- MMA Dummy
This is first on the list because it’s something that someone might not have but could definitely use. For those who train regularly, the Drop Kick Murphy dummy allows them to extend their training outside of the time they have in the gym. With this dummy, your training becomes portable, turning your house into a training centre. The best thing about these dummies is that allows you to practice wrestling, grappling, and Brazilian jujitsu moves with no need for a sparring partner.
Featuring reinforced stitching and high-density impact absorbing foam, wrapped in durable vinyl outer shell, you can be assured that this dummy will stand the test of time, even after being tossed about. You can also train at full speed and power, practising proper transitions and performing joint locks without having to worry about hurting your training partner. It even comes in handy when you’re practising shoulder height throws.
In addition, you can draw a series of lines and circles to show sensitive strike points, arterial placement, and the windpipe on the throat, which can be helpful for practising chokes.
The next step up from a MMA dummy, the freestanding man punch bag is a perfect addition to any home gym. In fact, it could be the first item in a home gym, which makes it the perfect item for someone who doesn’t yet have anything to train at home with.
This punching bag perfectly mimics the human torso, and is fully adjustable up to 1.78 m, and this brings realism that simple punching bags can’t compete with. It even has a realistic flesh feel, and is made from natural latex wrapped around urethane foam. When practising head kicks, you can set the height of the bag to an actual opponent’s size, and this will help tremendously with practising timing and learning how to gauge distances. It also comes in handy when working on your striking skills, as you can practise placing your punches at sensitive strike points.
Since it’s freestanding, there’s no need to worry about difficult installations or marring your floors. It’s also relatively portable, and this allows you to push it into a corner when you are no longer using it. Just fill the base with sand or water for maximum stability. The rocker mechanism inside provides comfortable resistance to strikes.
Wall-mounted strike targets are perfect for someone who already has a home gym set up. Maybe they have their own punching bag or freestanding punching bag, but they could use a specialised punching bag to zero-in on specific gaps in their technique, like knee strikes. This is perfect for the experienced martial artist because it allows them to work on drills at home and become more proficient in their martial art.
Since it’s mounted to the wall, you don’t experience movement with each strike. This allows someone training with it to not have to worry about readjusting for every kick and strike, allowing them to focus all their energy on practising their combinations and timing, and refine their technique.
Equipment
Everyone could use an extra set of boxing gloves or a brand-new sparring kit because too often we try to make do with what we have rather than going out and buying something new for ourselves. This is where your gift can be especially useful to a martial artist who isn’t willing to shell out the extra cash to buy new stuff. Give them something that they didn’t know they wanted, but desperately needed.
Purchasing a new pair of boxing gloves is the perfect gift for a busy martial artist whose gloves look so tattered and old that they could disintegrate with the next strike. It’s also helpful to have more than one pair of boxing gloves, as you can have a pair for your kit bag and a pair that you leave at home. Available in three different sizes (10 ounce, 12 ounces, 14 ounce), you’ll be able to find the perfect boxing glove.
A good metric to use is to discern what size boxing glove to buy is that 10 ounce gloves are for athletes between 54 to 68 kg, 12 ounce gloves are for athletes between 68 to 84 kg, and 14 ounce gloves are for athletes who are over 85 kg. If you’re unsure about the weight category of the person you’re buying gloves for, consider buying a 12 ounce glove which will suit all home uses, like hitting a freestanding punching bag. A lighter glove will come in handy for practising speed and agility drills at home. If you’re unsure what size they wear, just casually ask. That way, you know exactly what they need.
Consider purchasing a dipped foam sparring kit for light and semi-contact training for that special person on your Christmas list. These are incredibly handy to use because they protect against the regular grind of training. Frank Shamrock, in the Ultimate Guide to Preventing and Treating MMA Injuries, mentioned you can never be too careful with protecting yourself with sparring gear. “If you are going full contact, pad every surface. Either you train in a strictly technical way or you have contact. At the end of my career, I had a pad on every square inch of my body. I even use lubricant on the face and other bony surfaces to prevent injury.”1
These dipped foamed sparring kits our lightweight, made from EVA foam, which is dipped in PVC resin, and then vacuum moulded to perfectly fit the contours of the human body. They’re perfectly suited for light contact, adding a layer of protection to your body, and limiting the amount of pain caused by repeated strikes when blocking, kicking, or punching.
Bundles
Buying a bundle allows you to get the most equipment from the money you’re paying. Offered at a reduced rate, these bundles allow you to equip that special person in your life with everything they need to work out from home. Look through all three of the bundles listed below and you should be able to find one that will suit the needs of your friend or family member.
Get ready to burn calories at a frenetic pace with this fitness bundle! This package includes all the essential things that you’ll need to start your own home gym and create the perfect training regime to develop cardiovascular strength and lean muscle.
Featuring four products—a pair of focus mitts, a pair of MMA grappling gloves, a speed bag, and a skipping rope—you’ll be able to have everything that you need to practise your timing, strikes, and your footwork. Invite your training partner over to your house, and have them use the coaching mitts whilst you don the MMA gloves, and train your stand up game. One advantage of the gloves is that it has an open palm, and you can feel confident in practising not only your strikes but also takedowns too. Use the speed bag and the skipping rope to ‘turbocharge’ your cardio training.
This is the perfect set for those looking to train their ground game and prepare for competition. As mentioned above, the Dropkick Murphy is made from durable materials and will last through all the abuse that you throw at it. The set also includes a skipping rope which comes in handy to train your cardiovascular endurance, as well as Thai pads, which come in handy if you have a training partner over.
One of the best things about this set is that you get an extra pair of MMA grappling gloves, which feature an open palm, padding over the knuckles and fingers, and exposed fingers. You can never go wrong with having an extra pair of gloves around, especially a pair that you’re going to keep at your house.
Do you have a few people who are pitching in to buy a present for someone? If you’re pooling together to get the best gift for a family member, consider purchasing the Punch Bag XL bundle. The centrepiece of the bundle is the man -shaped Punch Bag XL, also commonly referred to as “Bob”. This freestanding adjustable punch bag allows you to punch as hard as you like, whilst offering resistance with the rocker style mechanism. Easy to fill with water or sand, yet movable enough that you can push it into a corner and hang your gear on afterwards. Featuring a lifelike latex outside a layer, which allows you to experience the real feel of sparring against an opponent. This set also features a pair of 10oz boxing gloves, which you can upgrade to 12oz or 14oz on request for free. Also, don’t forget about the skipping rope, which is an excellent way to work on your cardio.
Conclusion
Show that special person in your life that you appreciate them and want to encourage their training by purchasing select items at Martial Arts Mats Ireland. Any of the items listed above are the perfect addition to any home gym, whilst also being valuable equipment to put in a kit bag. Some items, like the dropkick Murphy MMA training dummy and the dipped foamed sparring kit, or being featured in the Black Friday sale, so check them out before they’re gone!
Author: David Van Kooten
