You’ve made up your mind and decided to enroll your son or daughter in kickboxing. An excellent choice, of course, because you will have heard or read everywhere how beneficial martial arts can be for children. Discipline, self-confidence, fitness, and much more!
Perhaps your child has already attended a few trial lessons, or you are planning to do so at a few clubs. Usually, your children can borrow some equipment for the first few sessions, but that is generally not very hygienic or particularly safe. The equipment is often already worn out or definitely not the right size. Honestly, that is not a pleasant way to train.
Fortunately, kickboxing or thai boxing (and most other combat sports and martial arts) is not an expensive sport, and the equipment does not have to cost a fortune. Especially when your child is just starting, you can simply get relatively affordable gear that is at least comfortably their own.
Most important: boxing gloves and shin guards
The two most important basic necessities are actually (children’s) boxing gloves and shin guards. However, it is also useful to simply buy a complete set, so your child has everything they need for the class right away. This is often even more affordable and looks nicer when everything matches, but that is really more an aesthetic than a functional matter.
Also needed: inner gloves, mouthguard and cup
In addition to boxing gloves and shin guards, inner gloves or handwraps, a mouthguard (dental protector), and a cup (groinguard) are useful and comfortable to have. If you want extra peace of mind about your child’s safety, or if the club requires it, a headgear is also part of the complete equipment.
Clothing: kickboxing shorts and a sports shirt
For Clothing, there are usually no requirements, but loose-fitting (short) sports shorts and a T-shirt or crop top are the most common items of clothing for kickboxing. Proper kickboxing shorts do make it a bit more fun, of course, and sometimes matching shirts are available too. Some clubs also have their own club clothing that is preferred or even required, but that is certainly not always the case.
Kickboxing and thai boxing are done barefoot, so shoes aren’t necessary. That also saves your wallet a considerable amount.
And then you essentially have the complete outfit. Of course, it is useful for your child to be able to carry the equipment in a sports bag.
Complete kickboxing outfit for children:
- Kids boxing gloves
- Kids shin guards
- Inner gloves or handwraps
- Mouthguard (dental protector)
- Groinguard
- Kickboxing shorts
- T-shirt
Optional for kickboxing for kids:
- Headgear
- Gymbag
- Water bottle
- Towel
- Antibacterial spray to keep gloves fresh
The basic essentials for young and older children are the same, although older children or those who have been training for longer may prefer to choose somewhat better (more expensive) boxing gloves and shin guards.
Kids boxing gloves
Most children up to around 10 or 11 years old can simply start with synthetic leather or PU boxing gloves. If they are older, train more often or harder, or you simply prefer to purchase better materials for greater durability, you can consider leather boxing gloves.
Older children will start with 10 oz boxing gloves, and there is also much more choice in the higher-end range than with the actual children's sizes of 4 oz, 6 oz, and 8 oz. For the size you need, we have added a size chart to every Kids boxing gloves product in our webshop, which you should follow.
Inner gloves or handwraps
It is customary to wear handwraps under boxing gloves. They reinforce the hands, wrists, and fists, but also have the major added benefit of absorbing some of the sweat. You can wash the handwraps, whereas you cannot wash the boxing gloves.
In particular, look at what the other children are wearing, because there is a good chance your child will want the same (group behavior, which is understandable). However, putting on handwraps is quite an art in itself for a child, so inner gloves are a much simpler choice.
Kids shin guards
For the youngest children up to around 10 years old, we would always recommend cotton shin guards. These can be a sock-style model or a model with elastic closures.
If your child is older/larger or has been training for longer, harder, pre-shaped shin guards are a better choice. They offer more protection and also stay in place much better during intensive training and sparring.
Mouthguard/dental protector
Even if contact to the face is not allowed, we always recommend doing partner exercises (and especially sparring) with a mouthguard in. A mouthguard does not cost much (much less than a dentist appointment), and even the simplest mouthguard helps enormously. Punches can still accidentally hit the face, especially with children and beginners.
It is not even about blows directly to the teeth, but rather the teeth coming into contact with each other. This can quickly cause damage to the teeth when they collide.
Does your child wear braces? Then a special mouthguard for braces is highly recommended. You cannot use a regular mouthguard with braces, and of course you want to properly protect your child's teeth, mouth, lips, and braces!
Cup/groinguard
There are groinguards for both boys and girls. These are mandatory in competitions, but usually not during training. However, a simple Cup does not cost much and does protect against a great deal of potentially serious pain. A Cup is never really comfortable, but a knee or kick to the groin is even less so!
Kickboxing shorts/Muay Thai short
They are usually not mandatory, but kickboxing shorts or thai boxing short really make it feel authentic for your child. They need sports shorts for training anyway, so why not simply get a real pair of kickboxing shorts?
We have plenty of kickboxing shorts for children to choose from, and there is much more to the design of the shorts than you might think.
T-shirt
A regular, loose-fitting T-shirt or sports top is often sufficient for kickboxing training. However, the training sessions are intensive, so a special sports shirt (Drytech or Aerydry polyester) is recommended to prevent your child from exercising in a soaking-wet shirt.
Headgear
Even though strikes and kicks to the head are not allowed in competitions for those under 18, headgear is always mandatory in the ring. This is not always the case during training, but it is often allowed. Ask the gym and/or trainer about this, or simply see what the other children at the club wear.
Gymbag
In principle, any gymbag is fine as long as it fits all your gear, plus a towel and water bottle. We have a huge selection of great gymbags from martial arts brands in our webshop, including many that are suitable for children.
Antibacterial spray to keep gloves fresh
If you've ever smelled someone else's boxing gloves, you know that a spray to keep them fresh is no unnecessary luxury. The sprays from Sukkiri, FreshKO, and Booster work extremely well and also last for months with normal use.
