You’ll surely notice when watching (professional) kickboxing or Muay Thai matches, such as those at Glory and ONE Championship, that many fighters wear ankle guards.
Why do they do that? Quite simply: ankle guards aren’t a miracle cure, but they provide that extra bit of support for your ankles and metatarsal bones that can be useful in hard-contact sports such as Thai boxing and kickboxing.
Ankle guards help reinforce and stabilize your ankles. This helps prevent your ankle from buckling during sudden movements, such as throwing or evading kicks.
Think of ankle guards as the equivalent of the handwraps that protect and reinforce your hands. They are simply part of your essential kickboxing and Thai boxing equipment.
Ankle guards: essential for every serious Muay Thai fighter
And even though ankle supports are often just a small piece of fabric, they still provide some protection for your bones and joints against the hard impact of kicks. In short, Muay Thai ankle supports are essential for anyone who wants to train seriously in Muay Thai and/or kickboxing.
In addition, ankle guards provide a warming and compression effect due to their snug fit. This naturally also offers better protection against injuries and generally helps improve your performance.
Because ankle guards have an open foot section around the toes and are also open at the back around the heel, you don’t have to worry about slipping.
The parts of your feet that make contact with the floor or surface remain exposed. This allows you to maintain your grip while also giving you the freedom needed to perform round kicks and low kicks, for example.
Benefits of using ankle guards:
- Extra protection and stability
- Reduced risk of injuries through reinforcement
- Improved body temperature regulation through the compression effect
