Kick shields are perfect for practicing heavy kicks, and are especially handy when training your low kicks. Thai pads are great for when you’re practicing mid-range roundhouse kicks and head kicks but come up lacking when it comes to leg kicks.
Your trainer can hold the pads lower but you’re still going to have to pull the power on those strikes for your trainers sake.
This is where kick shields come in. Kick shields can be held against the legs so you can practice those same low kicks as hard and aggressive as you like without smashing your trainers legs or making the whole practice painful and uncomfortable for both parties. You should always train the same as how you intend to fight so you don’t want to become practiced in throwing half-power shots. You need to practice doing the real thing as much as possible.
Kick shields are also great for less common, but still used, strikes and techniques such as front kicks. Again, you can practice front kicks on a set of Thai pads but your foot can easily burst through the gap in the middle and catch your trainer square in the face.
Not good.
The Best Kick Shield Reviewed
The kick shield has a much larger surface area and is one single pad, which means there is a lot more space for your strikes to land… without hitting the pad holder. This extended surface area also makes it safer and more efficient to practice your knees, inside the clinch and out, without causing real damage by accident.
Everlast Strike Shield Black
- Made from high-quality synthetic leather
- durable and reliable performance
- high-density foam
As specified above, kick/strike shields are made to withstand the hardest and heaviest of shots. You can think of them as kind of like the heavy bag version of pad training.
When throwing such heavy shots, you’re going to want to make sure that the pad you’ve bought and are using is made of the absolute most durable materials possible. Shoddy materials and textiles will fall apart and tear quickly and you’ll be left without a kick shield.
It’s best to get a high quality shield like this one from Everlast, which is made from the highest-quality synthetic leather, so that you don’t have to keep changing and replacing your kick shields.
Inside the synthetic leather, you’ll find high-density foam which helps to absorb and disperse impact from strong shots so that neither you nor the pad holder has to withstand that impact.
Combat Sports Kickboxing and Muay Thai Kick Shield
- Reinforced handles and striking surface
- Synthetic leather construction
- Size: 24" tall x 17" wide x 5.5" thick
This shield from Combat Sports features three triple-reinforced, riveted handles so the pad can be used and held in a variety of different ways and angles. This three handle model allows you to practice low kicks, midsection kicks, high kicks and a variety of different knees, easily and naturally. You won’t have to adjust your kicking or kneeing style just to land the strikes like with some other pieces of equipment. Your strikes can be thrown and landed just the same way you would do against an opponent in the ring or cage.
The shield comes in a vibrant crimson colour with the Combat Sports name/logo printed on the front in black. The synthetic leather is both durable and easy to clean and it’ll take quite some beating before that logo begins to wear off.
Revgear Kick Shield
- The only shield in the world designed for heavy hitters! Unique foam configuration provides unparalleled protection for the holder
- Heavy 22 oz vinyl coated nylon and triple stitching can withstand any punishment you can dish out
- Side handles make this pad more versatile than any shield you have ever used
- Dimensions: 25 inches by 16 inches. 6 inches thick (about 64cm x 41cm x 15cm).
Revgear claim that their kick shield is the only kick shield on the market built and designed with only the heaviest of hitters in mind. If you’re a bigger guy and you’re used to absolutely shredding shields to bits with your vicious low kicks, then it might be wise to invest in this product.
The heavy 22oz vinyl-coated, nylon coupled with triple-stitching allow this kick shield to take whatever you can throw at it, again and again and again, without falling apart like inferior, cheaper models tend to do.
This shield features four handles; two aligned vertically (one on the bottom, one on the top) and another two aligned horizontally, with one handle on each side. These handles allow the shield to be held in different and more creative ways for both comfort and usability.
Tiger Claw Foam Kick Shield
Kick shields need to be tough which often means that they have to be heavy too.
This is fine for the person kicking the shield, but can often be detrimental for the person holding the pad.
Sure, they’ll appreciate the extra protection at first, but as the gruelling work-out goes on, they’ll be begging and wishing that they were holding something just a little lighter.
Tiger Claw have accomplished the seemingly impossible by producing a lightweight kick shield that can still absorb impact like the heavier models. This allows you to train harder and longer without being a burden on your trainer/pad holding partner. As you know, more time spent training means your skills are going to improve that much faster.
The lighter weight also means that the Tiger Claw kick shield is slightly smaller and more compact than others but without compromising safety or training effectiveness.
Revgear Combat Kick Shield
- Designed for Heavy Hitters: Unique foam configuration provides unparalleled protection for the holder
- Fell the Impact Not the Pain: Our mitts can absorb the hardest punches without holding extra weight
- Tested by Pros, Created for You: From pro boxers, to MMA Legends , our mitts have been used by some of the heaviest hands in the business
- Multi-Discipline Use - Kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, Kick Boxing Training Protection; we thought of everyone when we designed this
Revgear have created another kick shield that has been crafted with durability and sturdiness in mind. Their shield boasts high-density bonded RAM to offer you the absolute best in impact absorption; let the pad take the blows, not your limbs or your poor partner.
Their force technology padding also allows the pad to be slightly less bulky than some other models whilst still being able to take a ton of force repeatedly.
The shield is reinforced and held strong with triple-stitching so that there’s essentially three layers of protection to prevent the pad from splitting.
It doesn’t matter how strong your are or how hard you hit, this pad can take it.
Overall
Kick shields are absolutely vital in training low kicks. Just like you wouldn’t only use a speed bag in your bag training, you wouldn’t just use focus mitts or Thai pads and think that you have all bases covered.
Focus mitts are great, as are Thai pads, but they serve specific purposes. If you want to be a complete fighter and have excellent well-rounded abilities, then training kicks with a dedicated kick shield is a must.