Guides
Research-based buying guides and equipment advice - a global directory, not scoped to any single sport.
- MMA · Guide
MMA kit for your first classes
For your first MMA classes, start with a mouthguard, hand wraps and a pair of MMA gloves, plus a rash guard and shorts to train in. Add shin guards and groin protection when your coach starts you sparring. This guide explains each piece, what can wait, and how the kit amateur MMA rules require in competition differs from what gyms ask for in training.
- Karate · Guide
Karate kit for beginners and kumite
What to buy for your first karate classes, what to add before kumite (sparring), and what the World Karate Federation's competition rules ask for. This guide is research-based: we have not tested the kit ourselves, and we quote makers' and retailers' claims as theirs.
- Judo · Buying Guide
Judogi
Your first judogi: sizing, weight and approval
How to choose your first judogi: what fabric weight and weave mean, how to size for shrinkage, and what "IJF approved" means. It also covers what the IJF's 2026 rules and British Judo's current contest rules say about colours, belts and other kit.
- Kung Fu · Guide
Kung Fu kit by style: Sanda, Wing Chun, Shaolin
What you wear and buy for kung fu depends on your school and your style, so ask your school first. This guide covers uniforms, kung fu shoes and sashes, then three styles: Sanda, a fighting discipline with published competition kit rules; and Wing Chun and Shaolin, where your school sets the kit.
- Kickboxing · Guide
Kickboxing kit by discipline
Kickboxing is not one set of rules. What you wear depends on the discipline you train for and the organisation that runs your events. This guide sets out the kit WAKO requires in each of its six fighting disciplines, what clubs may ask for in training, and what to check before you buy.
- Wrestling · Buying Guide
Ear Guards
Wrestling ear guards: rules, fit and choosing headgear
What United World Wrestling and British Wrestling rules say about ear guards, how the main designs differ, how to get the fit right, and the ear guards we compare.
- Wrestling · Guide
Wrestling kit for beginners
What you need for your first wrestling sessions, what to buy first, and what the rules say about shoes, ear guards and singlets - from United World Wrestling's January 2026 rules and British Wrestling's Competition Regulations.