Gloves?

[Magikal]

Does anyone where gloves when they fight with their saber? What type do you use? I was thinking of getting some to wear. I would just like to hear about what type you guys use when you are dueling.

[Racona Nova]

I didn't use gloves so far, but I think TPLA and its headmaster Darth Nonymous recommend lacrosse gloves. They give good protection and minimal hindrance regarding grips and overall handling of your saber.

When you buy protection wear, think about getting a protective mask for your face and neck, too! You and your opponent don't want to loose your eyes, crack your skulls or break your necks

[Darth Cephalus]

The best gloves would depend on which grade blades you are using. Midgrade, you can get away with no gloves or regular leather gloves. If you are not going full contact or are dueling against someone who can be trusted to pull their strikes, this should be plenty. Heavy grade, you will want Lacrosse gloves, motorcycle gloves, sap gloves with lead shot, or padded fencing gloves. You could also use sports arm and hand protectors over top of gloves. Basically something that pads the back of the hand and the mid digits. This would be if you really plan to beat the hell out of each other, in which case you would definitely also need masks.

[Tanq]

Regardless of blade grade you'll want to protect fingers and wrists the best you can. Do not trust the other person to be nice with strikes, even if they have training, as accidents do happen. I sparred with a HEMA instructor at one point and received a nasty bruise to the side of the thumb, despite wearing padded gloves, and he wasn't even really trying. I imagine that same trauma would have been a bone fracture if I hadn't been wearing padded gloves.

It's very important to have padding that protects ALL of the fingers and also the wrist. That is why lacrosse gloves are recommended for basic protection, as it has all these spots covered. You can get these for cheap from second hand stores as well; some go for 12 bucks. You can go for the more expensive stuff, but at the most basic level, if you are dueling or even doing partner training, do yourself a favor and at the very least get lacrosse gloves. Be nice to your hands, you'll need them for the rest of your life.

[Volund Starfire]

I'd suggest an MMA sparing glove to protect your hands.  It's not armored, but the padding will keep anything bad from happening.  You could even remove the forearm protection, if you wanted to.  I wouldn't, though.  I use a similar glove to the one pictured below for my sparing and for Aikitachi (Aikido Bokken work).

[Master Nero Attoru]

I use hockey gloves, but lacrosse gloves are pretty similar in protection.  Fencing mask is also VERY highly recommended, although keep in mind that these are minimum recommendations.  Anything more robust in terms of protective equipment is even better for sparring.  Personally, I tend to use my fencing coach's vest for some torso protection as well.

[Darth Nonymous]

It doesn't matter what type of blade you use. Midgrades are more than enough to cause serious injury to the fingers and hand and have just as much rigidity in the thrust as heavy grades. Wear protecting at all times. That is the only way you can get a realistic training scenario.

As has been said, used lacrosse gloves can be bought for very cheap at used sporting goods stores.

Also, protect your finger tips. The back of the hand is fairly resistant while the ends of the finger are not.

[Ander]

These are the gloves that are specifically produced by the brand LAMADILUCE for Ludosport.

The gloves are very flexible to maximize mobility. The back of the hand and the fingers are all substantially padded to absorb hits; padding is specifically placed in locations that are often hit in our sport but which police gloves (e.g. the VEGA OG16 that many of us have) usually don't protect, like the side of the thumb. The gloves partially cover the wrists, but most students wear a sweatband anyway (here in Genoa they have class sweatbands, actually) so we wouldn't want integral protection. The palm has a great grip, with padding in some places to minimize wear and reduce shock for the wrist and arm.  They are sturdier than they look, actually, and have been heavily tested this summer at the Boot Camp, with very intensive use and no damage to the wearers.

Of course the gloves are also designed to be pleasant to the eye, but they are optimized for combat.

[Kyyanno]

Those look pretty good, I was contemplating some motocross ones similar to a set I used to use for Karting and marshalling (plenty of grip, protection on the back of the hand and down the fingers), but if those Lamadiluce ones become available in the UK I may opt for those instead.

Sadly all the ones that I could "borrow" from work are either not padded enough, or are heavy duty welding gloves XD

[Ander]

Given that there is an active Ludosport academy in the UK, I believe the gloves will be available shortly (I know some of the students of the Order of St. Luke are already using them).

[Kyyanno]

I'm waiting to hear back from them on a place in their classes I'll keep my eyes open for news on the gloves in the UK!

[Master Nero Attoru]

Those gloves look incredible Ander, as if I needed more of a reason to be jealous of Ludosport

[DavidOgilvie]

Those gloves look good! Is there a web store for buying them from perhaps? I googled lamadiluce but it didnt come up with anything..

[Ander]

The website at http://www.lamadiluce.it/ is currently work in progress. I expect that it won't stay in that state for long, but I don't know the actual timetable.

[Ander]

I am told by Ugo (some of you will know him from the TPLA web conferences) that the gloves will be made available for the general public sometime in the first months of 2015. However, if you guys are interested, I can meanwhile take some more pictures, as I have several pairs around.