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Pads & Mitts
Pads are the only piece of kit in Muay Thai bought by the person who is not throwing the strikes. That changes what matters. A pad has to protect the holder's arms and shoulders round after round, give the striker something honest to hit, and survive being kicked several thousand times a week.
Cheap pads fail in a predictable order: the foam compresses, the holder starts feeling every kick, and the stitching goes at the strap. Good ones last years.
Thai pads
The workhorse. Strapped to the forearm to catch kicks, knees and punches through a full round.
Curved or straight? A curved striking face cradles the shin and helps the holder absorb the kick into the forearm rather than fighting it. Straight pads give a flatter, more honest surface for punches and knees. Most people want curved.
Weight matters more than you would think. A thick, heavily padded pad protects the holder better but is exhausting to hold for ten rounds. Lighter pads — the Fairtex KPLC5, the Twins microfibre KPS10 — are the answer if you hold a lot, or if the person holding is smaller than the person kicking.
Whatever you buy, check the forearm strap. It is the first thing to fail and it is what separates a pad that survives a gym from one that does not.
Focus mitts
For accuracy, timing and combination work — everything the heavy bag cannot teach you. A concave face gives the holder control over the angle and lets them present a target rather than just absorb one.
Lighter is better. The faster a coach can feed and reset between shots, the more useful the round. Heavy mitts slow the pace down and tire the holder's shoulders long before the striker's.
Our range includes standard focus mitts, punch and strike mitts, and micromitts — the smallest and fastest of them, for sharpening precision.
Belly pads
Worn round the abdomen so a fighter can throw teeps, front kicks and knees at full power without anyone getting hurt. Essential for clinch and knee work, and the piece most home setups forget.
Leather is the durable choice and will outlast everything else in the gym. Microfibre is lighter, cheaper and does not hold odour, which matters for a pad that spends its life pressed against a sweating torso.
Boxing paddles and sticks
Coaching tools rather than pads. Paddles are for reaction drills and precision — a small, fast target that punishes a lazy guard. Sticks are for teaching the fighter to keep their hands up and their head off the centreline, by tapping them when they do not.
Both are cheap, and both do things a Thai pad cannot.
Leather or microfibre?
Leather is more durable, moulds with use, and is what most serious gyms still buy. It costs more and needs to be dried properly or it cracks.
Microfibre is lighter, cheaper, easier to wipe down and does not absorb odour. Modern microfibre is genuinely durable — it is no longer the compromise it once was, and for a pad that gets shared between a lot of sweating people, it is often the more sensible buy.
As with gloves and shin guards, the foam density inside matters more than the material outside. A dense foam that absorbs a round kick without bottoming out is what protects the holder.
Kitting out a gym
If you are buying in volume — for a gym, a club or a class — get in touch. We work with gyms across the UK and can quote on wholesale orders.
FAQS
What are Thai pads?
Sold in pairs, they can be used one in each hand or in combination with other pad or mitt types. The best Thai pads are made from high quality materials but are lightweight enough to not wear out the coach. Cow hide leather or semi-leather with durable straps and robust stitching are key for durability. Weight and arm rests are useful for minimising the force felt by the pad holder from strikes.
What are focus mitts?
Lightweight, yet densely padded, focus mitts have finger slots and additional features to minimise injury risk for the wearer. The best focus mitts are made from high quality leather or semi-leather, have dedicated padded areas just for the wearer and are robustly stitched throughout.
What are Thai belly pads?
Belly pads are often worn alongside pads of any kind but can be worn alone if the focus is on knee or teep work. They are great for developing teeps, body strikes of all kind and in-close, clinch work.
The best belly pads have thick padding in the striking area to minimise injury risk for the wearer. They also have a secure fastening whether it be hook-and-loop or buckles. A strong fastening is key to ensure minimal movement while training.
What are hybrid kick mitts?
The best hybrid mitts have thick padding and a dedicated hand slot with wrist support. They should be made from high quality leather or semi-leather and stitched with extreme care.
Why does kicking Thai pads hurt?
Yet, over time, as your shins become conditioned and you can more accurately hit the pads with your shins, the damage and pain will subside. You'll find you can smash pads at full power without really feeling it. Patience and repetition are key.
How to get good at holding Thai pads?
Once you understand placement and timing, you can incorporate movement. Then return strikes to your partner as if emulating a fight. Watching pad experts, working with them on the pads and holding them for others is all needed to learn.
