By Albert Couture
MMA gear is designed to increase the comfort, confidence and appeal of a martial arts performer during his or her performance. Initially, the apparel range was available only for men. But, with more and more women literally jumping into the ring, top brands such as Fight Chix, TapouT, Bad Boy, Silver Star, ShotGun Cage, etc., have come up with attractive, stylized and comfortable MMA clothing for women also. MMA gear consists predominantly of the MMA shorts, MMA gloves, MMA T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats.
Men's MMA gear is mainly composed of Ninja suits, hooded sweatshirts, fighter MMA shorts and T-shirts, MMA gloves and hats. Rash guards are also available that are better than T-shirts in terms of comfort during performance. However, the color and pattern choices of MMA clothing for men are limited mostly relying on basic blacks and other solid colors. The patterns are also quite sober being generally plain with a logo across the centre. When it comes to men's MMA clothing, greater stress is laid on comfort and performance rather than on style.
On the other hand, the women's range of MMA gear consists of not only apparel but even accessories such as purses that clearly show the amount of stress laid on style in addition to comfort and performance. Their apparel range consists of Gi, rash guards, MMA shorts, MMA gloves and hats. As compared to the men's MMA clothing, women's apparel comes in many vibrant colors such as pinks and blues in addition to the basic black and white. Prints are also exotic and include some unique ones such as leopard and zebra prints!
However, the difference between MMA gear for men and women becomes very obvious when it comes to the MMA gloves. The weight of the MMA gloves for women is usually around 10 to 12 ounces while it is higher for men. Higher weighted gloves for men are designed keeping in mind their stamina to carry off heavier gloves. The glove is designed ergonomically separately for the genders based on the bone structure of their hands.
On the whole, since women are relatively new to this sport as compared to men, women's MMA gear is yet to spread its wings fully. As compared to the men's range, variety for women is still less and not very readily available. However, this scenario should change as the number of women moving into the ring from the ringside is increasing day-by-day!
As compared to men's MMA gear, although the women's range is still limited it is more stylized and vibrant.