Wednesday, May 23, 2012

What's In YOUR Gear Bag?

My gear bag weighs about 15 lbs. My training partners call it the McGyver Bag - because it's got so much seemingly obscure/useless stuff. But you know what? When they need a band-aid, nail clipper, hair tie or Tiger Balm, guess who they ask?

Here's what's in mine:
gi & obi
sparring helmet, gloves & kicks
cloth shin guards
2 mouth guards
extra sports tank and bike shorts (what I wear under my gi)
my white belt :-)
a ziplock bag of hair ties, scrunchies and barettes
a tiny first-aid kit (mostly band-aids and neosporin)
a notebook and a few pens
a few business cards
lip balm
lotion
a small plastic bottle of apple cider vinegar (it does wonders for cramps/spasms)
a tube of vaseline
nail clippers and a nail file
a one-use cold pack
tape (electrical and athletic)
various knee, hamstring, ankle and wrist braces
two Ace bandages
Tiger Balm
whatever MA book I happen to be thumbing through (currently: "Women in the Martial Arts")
a hand towel (for sparring-induced sweat)
a few bandanas
a pair of slides (for bathroom runs before and after class)
a pair of wrestling shoes (been training in them lately)
hand wraps
a bottle each of water and PowerAide
a few Slim Jims for protein replacement :-)

I think that's it - but you can see why it weighs so much...

What's in your gear bag?

5 comments:

  1. When I went to dojo, it contained a small towel, karate-gi, obi .... that is it. ;-)

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  2. LOL Felicia... that's a lot of stuff!

    In mine you would generally find:

    Gi
    Belt
    My DDs Gi and belt
    4 pairs of sparring gloves (my DDs, my DSs old ones and 2 pairs of mine (different styles)
    Hair ties and clips
    Tiger Balm
    Arnica cream
    Ibuprofen gel
    Ibuprofen tablets
    wrist, knee, ankle and elbow supports
    a towel
    a banana and/or a protein bar
    a carb gel
    my log book/insurance slip
    a pen and a small pad
    currenlty a set of tonfa (but soon that will likely be my bokken)
    A small tub full of ribbons (I uses these for games when I instruct at the kids class)
    A whistle (for when the kids are extraspecially noisy! LOL)
    Eye drops (for when I wear my contact lenses to train)
    A set of dojo keys (sometimes I have to open up)
    plasters (band-aids) and a compression bandage

    I think that's it, but there's probably some more stuff lurking in the bottom too. I guess I'm in no position to comment on how much is in your bag. LOL. I'm just glad we don't have full contact sparring and all the padding that goes with it!!

    Good post btw.

    xMx

    ReplyDelete
  3. First, thanks for the book title. I added it to my amazon list and it automatically found a bunch more female-lead martial arts books for me (perfect for brainwashing my niece!).

    As for my bag:
    - Boxing gloves
    - Hand Wraps
    - Mouth guard
    - Karate hand mits
    - Shin guards
    - Protein drink
    - Belt
    - "Zen in the Martial Arts"

    ReplyDelete
  4. My gear bag contains: gi and obi, crop top I wear under the gi, toe-post sandels, first aid kit, drawstring bag containing sparring mits and mouthguard, folder containing various instructor documents, pens and notebook, tissues. If I'm teaching my kids classes it may also contain bean bags and various other teaching aids, though I may also need another bag for some of these items. My bag seems to be bigger than everyone else's and is usually quite heavy!

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  5. Oh wow...that's a serious bag...mine

    Gi
    Belt (and backup belt)
    Underclothes
    Notebook
    Tshirt and shorts to wear home
    Mouthguard
    Hand sanitizer
    Balaclava
    water bottle
    Neosporin
    Tape
    Bandaids
    Ankle brace

    Loving your blog!

    ReplyDelete