Product Review: Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA Gloves

At my Krav Maga school, I noticed several students wearing MMA-style gloves. These are generally 4 oz gloves with open fingers to permit grappling.

I had been wearing wraps to class, but I wanted to give this sort of gear a try.

I did some research online and decided on a pair of Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA gloves. This post will share my thoughts on this equipment, in case you are wondering if they would be useful in your training.

First, let me share some pictures of the gear.

Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA Gloves
As you can see, the gloves offer openings for four fingers (as seen in both globes) and your thumb (as seen in the glove at right).

Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA Gloves, strap detail
One aspect of these gloves that caught my attention were the double straps. Hayabusa calls this the "Patented Dual-X® Wrist Closure." Essentially it allows you to tighten down one strap over your wrist, then cover that strap with a second one from the other direction. This allows you to get a pretty snug fit, thereby helping to protect your wrists.

When training in American Kenpo, I broke one of my wrists. Therefore, the extra protection offered by this Hayabusa feature appealed to me. It seemed to work well in class today. We practiced a lot of striking and blocking, and the gloves worked well.

The following show how the gloves look when worn.

Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA Gloves, palm view
Hayabusa Ikusa Recast 4 oz MMA Gloves, fist view
I bought size M gloves, based on measurements found in the online sizing chart.

Sizing Chart
So, how did these gloves perform? They are brand new, so they felt a little stiff. I expect them to loosen as I use them. I did not have a problem making a fist, and I was able to deliver palm strikes without any issues.

I encountered one important difference between using wraps and gloves. At one point in the class, our instructor told us to grab focus mitts, and provide target practice for our partners. You cannot wear focus mitts while wearing MMA gloves, but you can wear mitts while wearing wraps! Because of the dual-X causing a snug fit, it took me a minute to get my gloves off and put my focus mitts on. When it was my turn to strike, I did so barehanded.

This experience demonstrates that if you expect to do a lot of work with a partner and focus mitts, you should probably wear wraps rather than MMA gloves.

Overall I am very pleased with these gloves. I plan to keep using them, and will provide an update several months out to report how they are holding up. I also bought a pair of 16 oz gloves and a set of shin pads in preparation for sparring next week. After I use those in a live scenario, I will post reviews here.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

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