Contributing Guest Blogger Gary Edwards

Head MMA coach at Laurel Mountain MMA, North Carolina

The constant wear and tear on your body from holding mitts and thai-pads can take its toll. I’ve had many back injuries over the years, so I’m always reluctant when grabbing kick pads to hold for students. It is really hard to avoid bad posture and back strain when having to crouch forward with your back and shoulders in order to properly hold for all angles of roundhouse type kicks.  Eventually, I stopped holding thai-pads and would just let my students kick my leg when working combinations. Although better for my back and shoulders, I encountered a problem with the method I created.

The problem with taking kicks to unprotected legs was that my students had to hold back a bit, because even while wearing shin guards, my legs were taking a beating. It was slowing down their progress as fighters because they were too aware of power and placement. Until recently, I had no idea that there was a product offered that could be a solution to my problem. Then I discovered the Revgear thigh pads.

These pads are incredible; I literally strap a pad around my thigh or calf that allows my students to mix up punching and kicking combinations with almost full power. These are way more realistic and accurate for leg kicks then kicking two thai-pads at belly or chest level. Not only do they help with my back, but they’re super light and strapping them to my calf as well gives my students an opportunity to kick below the knee.

I would recommend starting out light and picking up power depending on the kicker, but once you find the rhythm, it’s an awesome stress-free workout. Oh yeah, I’ve learned that wearing a cup when holding for kicks is always a good idea…you just never know when a tired kicker might miss the target!