Shin contact is a major part of the sport of kickboxing. Unlike some other martial arts, which kick with the top or ball of the foot, the striking surface for kickboxing kicks is the shin itself. Many practitioners choose to train -- at least for a while -- wearing shin guards.
Safety Factors
A solid roundhouse or wheel kick delivered with the shin carries more force than some shins can take -- witness broken shins as a common injury during kickboxing competition. Wearing shin guards during training can help reduce the likelihood of this injury. Shin guards can also prevent injury to a sparring partner or opponent -- that same force delivered with the hard, almost sharp, point of the shin can break a rib or blocking forearm. Some amateur kickboxing competitions require participants to wear shin guards for this reason.
Structure of Kickboxing Shin Guards
The martial arts equipment industry sells attractive foam shin guards dipped in vinyl, which athletes strap onto the lower legs with velcro straps. Experienced kickboxers don't wear these, as they tend to slip or rotate to the back of the leg during practice. The better shin guards for kickboxing go on like knee socks, with the fronts carrying a sewn-in foam pad. Nearly all kickboxers who wear shin guards choose the style that includes coverage for the top of the foot, rather than just the shin.
Materials
The most common kickboxing shin guards are made with cotton padding and a nylon elastic sleeve. Since 2005, high-end martial arts distributors such as Century and Macho have also released shin guards with a rigid, Kevlar shell on the front of the pad. Although attractive, these much more expensive options don't provide significantly more protection for the wearer. Worse, they actually increase the chances of injury to the person on the receiving end of the shin wearing them.
No Pads
Traditional kickboxers did not wear shin guards, choosing rather to condition their shins against damage. Conditioning drills tended to be extreme -- some examples include striking the shins with bamboo poles or kicking trees. This practice led to some nearly indestructible shin bones, but led to far more permanent and crippling injuries. Modern kickboxers often condition their shins using methods less likely to cripple, such as striking a bag full of beans, or kicking against a rigid pad.
References
- Bill Packer; boxing and kickboxing coach (deceased); Bad Company; Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Dave Coffman; martial arts historian; Hillsboro, Oregon
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