Focus Mitts

Focus mitts teach the things a heavy bag cannot: timing, accuracy, and what it feels like to hit a target that moves, counters and disappears. A bag is always there. A mitt is only there for a fraction of a second, and only if you are on time.

Lighter is better

This is the one thing that separates a good pair of mitts from a bad one.

The faster a coach can feed a shot, take it, and reset for the next one, the more work gets done in a round. Heavy mitts slow the whole session down and tire the holder's shoulders long before the striker's arms give out. If you hold pads regularly, a lighter mitt is not a luxury — it is the difference between six sharp rounds and three sloppy ones.

The trade-off is protection. Lighter mitts transmit more impact into the holder's hands, so if you are catching shots from someone genuinely heavy-handed, you will want more foam.

The Fairtex range, explained

Fairtex make more focus mitts than anyone else and the model numbers give nothing away.

• FMV9 Ultimate — contoured, with a deeply curved face. Excellent control over the angle.
• FMV10 Classic Pro — the traditional shape. The safe default.
• FMV11 Aero — the lightweight one. Built for speed and fast feeding.
• FMV13 Maximised — a larger striking surface, more padding. For heavier hands.
• FMV15 — the newest of the range.

Micromitts

Smaller, lighter and faster than a standard focus mitt. They punish anything sloppy — if your punch is not accurate, you will miss entirely — which is exactly the point. Boon's FMSC Curved Micromitts are the ones to look at.

Not a beginner's tool. Get your accuracy on a normal mitt first.

Boxing paddles and sticks

Coaching tools rather than mitts, and both do something nothing else does.

Paddles are a small, flat, fast target for reaction drills and precision work — hold one up for a fraction of a second and see whether the shot lands clean.

Sticks exist to hit the fighter. Gently, and on purpose. They teach the hands to stay up and the head to come off the centreline, because when they do not, the stick reminds them. Cheap, and they fix habits that years of shouting will not.

The other brands

• Top King — the Extreme and the Air. Plusher padding, in keeping with everything else Top King make.
• Boon — the curved FMC, and the FMSC micromitts.
• Mongkol — traditional focus mitts and strike mitts, priced well.
• Primo — the Striking Focus Mitts, in the modern Primo styling.

Looking after them

Mitts sit on sweating hands for hours, which is why they are usually the first thing in a gym to smell. Pull them off and let them air after every session rather than dropping them straight into a bag. Wipe the lining out. Microfibre mitts wash down far more easily than leather, and for a shared gym pair that is a real advantage.

See also Thai pads, belly pads, or all pads and mitts.