Street Self Defense: Bareknuckle VS Gloved

Street Self Defense: Bareknuckle VS Gloved
BY DONNIE BAKER

Here are five facts to think about when training with gloves and wraps for self defense purposes.

If your used to using gloves, you may be in for a rude awakening when you have to hit someone without any hand protection. There is nothing wrong with using gloves, providing you know where they belong, in the ring or the octagon. However, when you’re at the bar and some douche bag wants to go toe to toe with you, gloves don’t apply. And that difference is very important for you to know.

So here are five differences to give you something to think about.

1. Striking with an unprotected fist is hard.
You have to know how to punch correctly, get used to not wearing gloves, understand which part of the fist to strike with, and how to hold your hands to defend yourself. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

2. Skilled MMA fighters tend to break their hands in street-fights.
Many fighters get so used to wearing gloves that their hands become prone to injury. After all, wearing gloves and wraps is akin to socks and shoes. In the gym you’re taught to throw punches to the face including the eyes, nose, and jaw. Punching someone in the face without gloves is kinda like punching someone wearing a helmet. It hurts, you the puncher, like hell. In the streets the targets change. You aim for the upper chest, the clavicle/neck area, the ribs. In my humble opinion, reserve skull shots for elbows, headbutts, and stomping.

3. Gloves throw off your distancing.
Most boxing gloves are so padded that they extend anywhere from one to three inches from your fist. This will make your strikes come up short when you take off your boxing gloves. MMA gloves provide more realistic distancing, closer to your true reach.

4. A gloved fist doesn’t cause damage the same way a bare fist does.
Most strikes with a glove are spread out equally across it’s surface, But a bare fist is more compact, so the impact force is more solid. Additionally, a bare fist can get into areas that a glove cant’. In other words, it hurts more getting hit with a bare fist.Remember, gloves are used in sports combat to protect both fighters’ hands and heads.

5. A gloved fist turns the punch into a push.
Since the padding of a glove can be very spongy as you hit your target, you’ll end up pushing through the glove as you make contact.

Most importantly, a fight in the cage is bound by rules, a fight in the street is bound by no rules: just the time you have until someone pulls out a weapon or until the cops show up. So, when you’re in the gym training to fight, begin to understand the differentiation between fighting for the knockout and fighting for survival. Knowing that the weapons you bring into the cage may not be the most suitable for the street is an important part of your training.

Contributed by Donnie Baker & Daniel Sambrano

Donnie Baker is author of the blog Muay Thai: Beyond the Ring. For 12 years he has instructed older systems of muay thai, including lerd rit, muay chao cherk, muay boran, and close quarters combat tactics to civilians, law enforcement, military, and executive protection professionals. Learn more at www.oldstylemuaythai.blogspot.com