Shin guards for muay thai are an indispensable part of muay thai training and a must have when it comes to muay thai gear.
Thankfully pretty much all muay thai gyms have shin guards available for students to use so you do not have to make an upfront investment in shin guards for muay thai if you are just starting out.
But, if you are planning on training and learning muay thai for a long time then investing in shin guards for muay thai is a must.
And this article will help you make the best informed decision on which shin guards for muay thai best suit your purposes based on:
- Protection
- Budget
- Comfort & Mobility
- Training needs (muay thai and MMA training?)
A solid pair of shin guards is one of the most important investments you can make in your muay thai journey.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate level of pro, every muay thai practitioner needs to have a solid and reliable pair of shin guards that will last and offer the best protection for your particular needs.
So this post will help out particularly beginners in choosing and selecting the best pair of shin guards for their particular training needs and purposes.
My aim with this post is that it will provide a helpful list of important factors to consider when selecting shin guards and also to avoid the mistakes I made when I first set out to buy shin guards for muay thai.
Do Muay Thai Fighters Wear Shin Guards?
Professional muay thai fighters wear shin guards pretty much every training session but not in competition
Amateur muay thai fighters may wear shin guards in actual amateur fights depending on the rule set they are competing under.
This is especially so under IFMA (International Federation of Amateur Muay Thai) competition rules.
Visturall everyone who trains muay thai will wear shin guards whether just for training or sparring or in actual fighting and competing.
Professional muay thai fighters wear shin guards when they train and spar in order to protect their shins and keep their partners safe in sparring.
Especially in Thailand, fighters compete very regularly and so ensuring they do not injure or hurt themselves or their partners in training is very, very important.
As fighting is how they earn income, they must ensure they are not too banged up with heavy sparring every session.
Shin Guards for Muay Thai Competition vs Training
It is important to get the right shin guards for muay thai, whether training or for competiting.
Amateur competition use much lighter and thinner shin guards. And these are not the best for training and sparring as they do not take the sting out of striking and blocking kicks enough (as they are made primarily for competition).
The best shin guards for training are definitely thinker and heavier than competition muay thai shin guards.
Below are some very useful and important factors to consider when getting shin guards for muay thai.
But in my recommendation I would have to say that the best I have used personally in my own training and sparring are:
Fairtex SP3 Pro Style Shin Guards
The Most Important Factors to Consider for Beginners when Buying Shin Guards
1. Protection for your shins and feet
You may think well, “don’t all shin guards protect your shins?”.
Yes they all do but to varying degrees of protection and if you select the wrong pair as a beginner, and without well conditioned shins you could end up bruising and hurting your shins.
I recall sparring with the shin guards pictured above and kicking into my partners block and it hurt like hell!
As a newer muay thai practitioner I had not yet developed conditioned shins and the type of shin guard I was using was mainly for competition purposes and did not offer the best protection.
I bought them because they were cheaper but recommend you spend a bit more and go for quality shin protection.
So my advice would be to avoid the thinner/lighter, made-for-competition shin guards and go for more protection of your shins and also your feet.
Make sure the shin guards also offer coverage of the tops of your feet which is often soft and prone to injury.
Some shin guards also offer knee protection, but I would advise against getting these types as they limit your mobility. And knee protection is not so necessary for muay thai shin guards in my opinion.
2. Price
The second most important factor for a beginner when looking to buy shin guards for muay thai and kickboxing I feel is the price.
This was definitely a determining factor in me buying the lower cost but less protective shin guards I discussed above.
As a beginner or someone just starting out in muay thai or kickboxing, maybe you are not ready to fork out a lot of cash on something that maybe you are not sure you will stick with or keep training for a long time.
My advice would be that you definitely do not need the most expensive pair of shin guards out there in the market.
While the top name brands do offer quality shin guards, as a beginner you definitely don’t need to get the most expensive pair of shin guards available.
Value for money is important and if a cheaper pair can offer the same protection and durability then I would say as a beginner, go for it.
So in terms of price range you can expect to pay, at the lower price range of USD $35-50 for brands such as Sanabul and Elite Sports all the way up to USD $100 plus for the more expensive options that Twins and Fairtex provides.
However even for the big name brands such as Twins, Fairtex, Top King and Yokkao their prices can range between USD $60 – 150 plus depending on the model.
3. Mobility and Maneuverability
The third most important factor when selecting shin guards I feel is the mobility and maneuverability they offer.
I prefer lightweight shin guards that still offer maximum shin protection and don’ t sacrifice on the protection of your shins and especially your feet just to be more mobile.
As mentioned previously some shin guards also offer knee protection, but this often is unnecessary even for beginners.
And in the end, the extra padding that covers your knees will end up hindering your mobility and manoeuvrability.
4. Training Needs (MMA grappling and Striking?)
This is another very important factor when selecting your shin guards.
Will you be using them exclusively for striking i.e muay thai and kickboxing?
Or will you be mixing in take downs and ground work for MMA?
If you are training only muay thai and kickboxing, then the top Thai brands out there offer you some of the best options in terms of protection and mobility as well as durability.
However if you are intending to use them for MMA sparring and training then you need something with a bit more grip on your shins and legs so they can stay put when you get into the grappling phase of your sparring.
The Elite Sports Star Series pictured below are a good option if you want a pair of shin guards that can be used for pure striking as well as for MMA grappling.
So my advice would be to decide what type of training you want to use the shin guards for and look at the two options below:
i) Muay Thai and kickboxing striking only: your standard shin guards made in Thailand or elsewhere that offer maximum protection as well as good mobility and durability.
Any of the big name Thai brands such as Twins, Fairtex, Top King offer this.
ii) Grappling/MMA: The neoprene sock or “slip on” style of shin guard. Often these types of shin guards sacrifice shin protection to be able to stay in place when grappling and ground fighting. I would recommend the Elite Sports Star Series pictured above.
A Few Extra Tips – Not Crucially Important
The following aspects for your shin guards are “nice to have” but not absolutely crucial and wont affect your protection and comfort too much
i) Opposite facing strapping
This is not a hugely important or determining factor but rather relates to reducing annoyances in your sparring.
If you have sparred a bit you will know that when kicking someones block, or having your partner catch your kicks, or just kicking and blocking in general the shin guards will slip over. You then need to stop briefly and adjust them so that they fit back over your shins again.
This is a slight annoyance but it does get tedious to keep adjusting your shin guards in the middle of sparring.
So simply by the design of the shin guards having opposite facing straps that fit behind your calves and ankle. this can reduce the amount of slippage that occurs when you spar.
ii) Raised Area of Padding for the Shin and Ankle
The raised bit of padding on the shin bone area and ankle area of the shin guard offers a bit more protection and takes the sting out of the impact a bit more.
However with sufficient coverage of the shin and ankle area with a more consistent padding (i.e no raised padding areas for the shin or ankle) you still get great protection for your shins and ankles.
Again this is a “nice to have” but not an absolutely crucial factor when selecting your shin guards.
iii) Real Leather VS. Synthetic Leather
This is another factor that a lot of people think is really important when buying shin guards. But overall while real leather would be more durable and of higher quality, synthetic leather works just as well for the most part.
In fact most of the shin guards out there on the market produced by the most popular and well known brands in Thailand, use synthetic leather.
And for wholesalers in other parts of the world, real leather is just too expensive to buy and supply in their store.
There is very little noticeable difference between real and synthetic leather in terms of performance. But overall real leather is more durable.
However, I would say this is not a critical determining factor in selecting your shin guards.
