I usually go without, but after a few incidents, I'm considering switching out to using headgear. What did you usually do? 
no head gear.....could get cut....depends if u have a fight coming up
if you arent using it that is fucking retarded and to be fair, if you keep it up it wont be long until you actually become retarded. apart from all the risks from getting lacerations and facial fractures as well as cauliflower ear, not wearing headgear also forces the participants from using elbows and it is also not conducive to the health of your opponents hands which can be easily hurt from hitting a bony strucutre suchnas the head and there is risk from head to head contact. also without headgear participants are unable to spar at a high intensity due to these associated risks. as a guy who used to spar religiously without headgear, i look back and say that was some of the stupidest shit ive ever done. id say it would be reasonable to spar without headgear if one is going light. however if you train in a very intense and violent environment, it would be foolish to train without the hat on.
i implore you to not only wear headgear but, to also buy the best headgear there is because the brain is the most valuable asset one can possess. i recommend investing $250 on winning's headgear, it is extremely expensive but it is simply the best headgear in the world hands down.
victorchensky - if you arent using it that is fucking retarded and to be fair, if you keep it up it wont be long until you actually become retarded. apart from all the risks from getting lacerations and facial fractures as well as cauliflower ear, not wearing headgear also forces the participants from using elbows and it is also not conducive to the health of your opponents hands which can be easily hurt from hitting a bony strucutre suchnas the head and there is risk from head to head contact. also without headgear participants are unable to spar at a high intensity due to these associated risks. as a guy who used to spar religiously without headgear, i look back and say that was some of the stupidest shit ive ever done. id say it would be reasonable to spar without headgear if one is going light. however if you train in a very intense and violent environment, it would be foolish to train without the hat on.
i implore you to not only wear headgear but, to also buy the best headgear there is because the brain is the most valuable asset one can possess. i recommend investing $250 on winning's headgear, it is extremely expensive but it is simply the best headgear in the world hands down.
Thanks for the knowledge, I'm gonna look into it.
Great list and reviews. The Winning model is reviewed in it, too.
http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-basics/boxing-equipment/boxing-headgear-review
There's a reason why the top kickboxers and boxers spar with headgear on. Especially the boxers..
Mma hasn't quite caught on yet.. Puzzling really.
I'm shocked at the amount of top level MMA guys I've seen spar without headgear! I compete in both Thai and k1 fights and in our gym we always use headgear
Ah headgear.. The subject brings up a very complicated topic for me regarding sparring. I’ll give you the FRAT version.
a. You want it? Wear it! I fully understand many people have conditions which make it a must. Do what you must to train well, train safe, and train fun. Are you going to engage in a lot of hard boxing and kickboxing sparring? Wear it!
b. I've noticed something over the years. When headgear is worn, the contact level goes through the roof and the skill level of the sparring drops dramatically. Instead of mutual respect and control, it becomes “rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots”. Notice that boxing headgear is thick around the eyebrows and cheekbones and has little to no padding over the chin. Headgear is designed to prevent accidental cuts, it will not prevent knock outs!
c. Clinching while wearing headgear is just awful! With pure boxing or kickboxing it’s fine, but when you begin to grab the head or a collar tie as in muay thai and MMA, it is almost impossible for it to stay secured.
Bull_in_chinashop -Ah headgear.. The subject brings up a very complicated topic for me regarding sparring. I’ll give you the FRAT version.
a. You want it? Wear it! I fully understand many people have conditions which make it a must. Do what you must to train well, train safe, and train fun. Are you going to engage in a lot of hard boxing and kickboxing sparring? Wear it!
b. I've noticed something over the years. When headgear is worn, the contact level goes through the roof and the skill level of the sparring drops dramatically. Instead of mutual respect and control, it becomes “rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots”. Notice that boxing headgear is thick around the eyebrows and cheekbones and has little to no padding over the chin. Headgear is designed to prevent accidental cuts, it will not prevent knock outs!
c. Clinching while wearing headgear is just awful! With pure boxing or kickboxing it’s fine, but when you begin to grab the head or a collar tie as in muay thai and MMA, it is almost impossible for it to stay secured.
This! I found out a long time ago that mixing in sparring without headgear helped partners go into a more controlled and educational mode. I feel that I learn much more through this method. Of course you need good partners that you can trust. I learned that by having newer guys go bolo and then we go into fight mode.
I recommend both ways.
One of the first times I consistently started wearing head gear to spar in, I broke my nose and got a concussion...probably won't wear it again.
Amateur boxers are to be banned from wearing headgear in a bid to reduce the number of head injuries.
While the move sounds counterintuitive, the theory is that opponents don't apply so much force if the head is unprotected.
The new rules, from the International Boxing Association (AIBA), state that from June 1st, amateur, elite male boxers who compete internationally will be banned from wearing headgear, like their professional counterparts.
Another reason for the move is that headgear can obscure peripheral vision, making it harder to see when a blow is being aimed at the side of the head. Indeed, research has shown that a lack of headgear actually reduces the risk of concussion.
Protection: While the move sounds counterintuitive, the theory is that boxers won't hit their opponent's head so hard if it's not protected
In a statement, the AIBA said: 'All available data indicated that the removal of headguard in Elite Men would result in a decreased number of concussions.'
Although cuts will still be a risk, these will heal, as will bones - 'but if you can't recognise your grandchildren, it's a disaster,' Charles Butler, chairman of the AIBA medical commission, told the Wall Street Journal. He has worked on research which formed the basis of the recommendations.
He looked at research involving 15,000 boxers, half of whom had competed with headgear and half without.
He found that in the 7,352 rounds that took place with boxers wearing headgear, the rate of concussion was 0.38 per cent, compared with 0.17 per cent per boxer per round in the 7,545 rounds without headgear.
Amateur boxers have been required to wear headgear since the 1980s after concerns about concussion.
But Mr Butler added that technology meant that gloves have also improved since then, helping to reduce the impact of blows to the head.
But some experts have criticised the new guidance, adding that knockouts often come from hits to the chin.
And the rules will remain unchanged for women, the theory being that women may lack the strength to administer blows strong enough to cause concussion.
The AIBA announcement comes after new research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found there was 'no good evidence that mouthguards and helmets ward off concussion'.
Professional boxers such as Amir Khan do not wear headgear for this reason
The researchers agreed that while they can help ward off other serious head and facial injuries, there was 'no good evidence that they can help prevent concussion, and paradoxically, they may even encourage players to take greater risks'.
The advice comes at a time of increasing evidence that even minor head injuries can be deadly in the long-term.
Research published last week suggests that repeated, sub-concussive hits to the head are dangerous and are also linked to neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, later in life.
Scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center say that the brain degeneration observed among professional football players may be due to something in their immune system spiralling out of control.
This could be because it damages the blood-brain barrier - a 'gate' between the brain and bloodstream. When the barrier is working properly, it holds in proteins and molecules that bathe the brain and protect it from foreign substances.
With blows to the head, however, the barrier opens slightly and allows some proteins to leak into the bloodstream and possibly attack the brain.
Other recent research from the University of Texas has warned that heading a football could cause brain damage.
They said that a header is classed as a 'minor sub-concussive blow' and have found that young people who play football are less able to perform tasks requiring basic thinking skills than those who avoid the game.
Repeated blows to the head can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), where sufferers experience memory loss, dementia and depression.
One thing I noticed many years ago, when I wore headgear a lot, it caused me to put my chin up more because I always felt like I couldn't see enough.
Most of the time at our gym, we spar light to medium contact, emphasizing good technique and accuracy.
But if We plan on sparring hard, I wear my headgear.
Wear the headgear, find one with good visibility and wear it.