Bottom Line: A good pair of focus mitts is essential for high-level training. Pad training with focus mitts is much more effective at preparing you for live situations than working a bag, or even drilling combinations with a partner.
The best focus mitts out there today, according to our team, are the Sanabul Essential punching mitts. These pads are great to hold, great to hit, and last a long time, while also being excellent value. They’re all you need in solid training gear for MMA.
Heavy bags have their place, but training against a stationary, inanimate punching bag gets old pretty quick. If you want to improve your offensive and defensive skills and better simulate what it’s like in the ring, it’s best to do so with pad work with a live partner.
For that, you’ll need to add the industry’s best focus mitts to your gear bag right away.
See the list below to learn more about how you can use MMA and boxing focus mitts and which are the must-haves for your next training session.
What Are Focus Mitts Used For?
Boxing and MMA instructors use focus mitts to give their students realistic drills during training. This helps a fighter perfect their technique in a way that a standard punching bag kit never could.
Instead of wearing standard boxing gloves as you would during sparring, the instructor wears focus mitts to give their student a moving target during practice.
So, instead of focusing on a static target like a punching bag, mittwork allows the student to “spar” with their target. Ultimately, this introduces real fighting movement and circumstances into their practice sessions.
Focus mitts provide the following advantages for both new and experienced boxers and martial artists:
- Provides the opportunity to go through realistic fighting drills
- Helps enhance stance, accuracy, and speed in real-time for both offensive and defensive drills
- Allows the student to gain confidence in fighting a real person
Though these benefits are applicable to the general practice of training with focus mitts, you can only get the most out of this gear by buying the best, highest-quality mitts. To help you find the right gear for you and your students, the best focus mitts on the market are listed below.
Best Focus Mitts for 2021 – MMA & Boxing Training
Poor quality focus mitts are noticeable right away. They’re unstable and awkward to hit. They’re likely to break down quickly, and can result in injuries to both the striker and pad holder.
To help you avoid trial and error, here are the best focus mitts you can get today.
Sanabul Essential Curved Boxing MMA Punching Mitts
The Sanabul boxing and MMA focus mitts come from a fight gear brand that is widely acclaimed by thousands of fighters worldwide. These mitts are a one-size, ambidextrous pair composed of high-quality Performance Engineered Leather. This design reduces the amount of time you need to break in your brand-new gloves.
The gloves are shaped to fit your hands’ natural curve, which enhances the comfort and security of the fit, even while your sparring partner is landing some tough punches. To protect your hands as you train, Sanabul integrated Santec Ultra Light Foam into the gloves’ composition. Thanks to this protective layer, you will only feel the impact of the punch, not the pain.
Sanabul’s focus mitts are tested and approved by professional boxers, ensuring that you get the best possible product to keep you safe as a trainer, and give your students the greatest chance at improving their skills.
Advantages of the Sanabul MMA Mitts:
- Made with half-ball palm grips to keep you comfortable throughout training
- Performance Engineered Leather is designed to take thousands of punches without degrading
- The gloves’ fit reduces the amount of time needed to break in your new focus mitts
RDX Boxing Pads Curved Focus Mitts
RDX undoubtedly prioritized comfort and durability when designing these outstanding curved focus mitts. They’re made with Maya Hide L’orme Skin Leather, which can withstand numerous high-intensity training sessions.
The mitts are made with polygonal fusion pu-mould, which reduces the impact felt by the trainer and absorbs more shock than most other focus mitts available on the market. This shock reduction is supported by the mitts’ 10″ x 7.5″ x 1.75″ curvature, which further mitigates the stress imposed on the trainer’s wrist, palms, elbows, and shoulders.
(This is a critical feature to look for in your focus mitts since injuries like osteoarthritis, shoulder dislocations, and carpal bossing are among the top five injuries that afflict boxers.)
As a bonus, these mitts are crafted to keep you cool during training as well. The perforated finger shield panel allows for optimal airflow, which helps to reduce any unnecessary stress as you practice.
Advantages of the RDX Boxing Pads:
- Features an inside palm ball to improve grip and reduce shock
- Foam padding on the back of the wrist to increase comfort and protection
- Maya Hide L’orme Skin Leather and polygonal fusion pu-mould are excellent for durability and shock absorption
Hawk Sports Punching Mitts
Hawk Sports has created some of the most comfortable focus mitts available, primarily due to how lightweight and well-ventilated they are. They include highly breathable mesh panels to prevent excess sweating during training – crucial to avoiding the development of bad odors and bacterial colonization in your gloves.
Despite how lightweight these are, the design does not compromise strength and durability. These Hawk Sports focus mitts are made with premium synthetic leather and jumbo and Eva-foam padding, providing the greatest possible support in reducing the shock delivered to you with every punch.
The mitts are double-stitched at critical stress points for added longevity to ensure that the material does not rip or crack prematurely. Additionally, the hook-and-loop Velcro closure will provide the perfect fit to reduce any chance of avoidable damage due to a poor fit.
Advantages of the Hawk Sports Punching Mitts:
- Breathable air-mesh panels provide great airflow to prevent bacterial growth and odors due to sweat
- Double stitching at critical stress points improves the mitts’ durability and longevity
- Grip ball and foam padding provide long-lasting, reliable protection for trainers
Everlast Mantis Punch Mitts
Everlast has been a global leader in producing gear for the boxing industry for over a century. Their products never disappoint, and the same is true of their Mantis focus mitts. These one-size fits most mitts are composed of synthetic leather to provide the utmost defense and comfort simultaneously.
If you’re looking for gloves to mitigate the effects of sweating, these mitts are specifically designed to absorb moisture and feature an antimicrobial lining for maximum freshness.
This antimicrobial design is further supported by the breathable mesh back, which increases airflow through your mitts during practice. With this and the optimal fit provided by the padded wrist and Mantis shape, you can be sure that you’ll retain the highest levels of physical comfort throughout your sessions, no matter how many punches you might take.
Advantages of the Everlast Mantis Punch Mitts:
- Antimicrobial lining, mesh back, and moisture absorption are excellent defenses against bacterial accumulation and odor
- Mantis shape and padding provide maximum protection to trainers’ wrists
- Synthetic leather is durable, long-lasting, and easy to maintain
Fairtex Contoured Boxing MMA Muay Thai Curved Focus Mitts
It’s tough to find high-quality gear to train for various types of MMA fighting, such as muay thai and karate, especially if you’re looking to practice at home or otherwise apart from a formal class. Yet, these fairtex mitts are perfectly designed to provide comfort and protection to both trainers and students in MMA sports.
These mitts are handmade with the utmost care in Thailand, and feature an incredibly durable leather construction that will stand up against thousands of strikes. The shock-absorbing foam layers will ensure that your hands don’t take too much of the impact as you train.
To further enhance your comfort , Fairtex integrated a soft hand compartment into the mitts’ design, providing a protective finger hood to keep your digits safe and secure as you work through your drills. They’re also ultra-light to give you the greatest extent of control and maneuverability in your movements.
Advantages of the Fairtex MMA Mitts:
- Soft hand compartment and finger hood will keep your digits safe and comfortable during training
- Shock-absorbing foam layers will help maintain comfort even after thousands of punches
- Leather construction is durable and long-lasting
Best Focus Mitts for 2021 – In Summary
Whether you’re a professional fighter, an up-and-coming athlete or a hobbyist, these are some of the best focus mitts available in the industry that will inevitably help to enhance your speed, accuracy, and timing in the ring.
While they are all top-notch, review the details to see which would work best for you, and take your training to the next level as soon as you or your trainer slips them on.
