to get in better shape and to spar standup for MMA. What size gloves should I buy?
I'm just going to be sparring with friends. There arn't any boxing gyms near me. I would like them to be smaller because i'm really just wanting to get my hands better, but I didn't know if that was a bad thing for a beginner.
Putting on the gloves in the backyard with some friends could be a lot of fun. And it's good training in the sense that it gets you used to standing up squared off with somebody, with gloves on (intimidating if you're not used to it).
But unless at least one of the friends really knows something about the sport of boxing and is willing and able to teach what he knows, nobody's going to learn anything about boxing technique.
The most common scenario is to start off playing around, somebody gets hit a little too hard, gets mad, hits back hard, then both guys lose their temper and start swinging wildly at each other's heads. Within a minute (two at most), both are exhausted and pissed off and neither one knows any more about boxing than he did before the whole thing took place.
Fun if you like that sort of thing but not a great way to learn anything about boxing.
16oz gloves unless you're really small or a superheavyweight.
16oz gloves is what you use for sparring..
8oz or 10oz gloves is what you use to fight
16oz.
For sparring 16oz gloves are what you should be using. If you're just working drills or techniques, then go with the smallest gloves you feel comfortable using.
For example, doing parrying or slipping drills with 16oz gloves on will give you a flase sense of security when you're fighting someone with mma gloves on.
HULC thanks, i'm pretty much going to use them for drilling. Thanks for the responses.
Have fun, it's always refreshing getting socked for the first time in the ring.