Truly game-changing results from testing done with Virginia Tech University and boxing brand Hit N Move’s new headgear model will most likely have a long term impact on the sport of boxing. The brand’s ultra-slim & lightweight protective equipment offers comparable protection results to the common top models on the market – incredible given the significantly lighter and slimmer design.
Boxing is both a game of inches and a sport where protection makes a difference over long term consequences for the athletes health. While general studies on gear optimization related to brain health have increased, particularly in the realm of American college sports like Football, for some reason there have been no University level tests on boxing headgear. The Virginia Tech University has been studying and testing different types of helmets and their impacts for college football and NFL players, making some serious progress in the realm. Now, they got into the lab with innovative boxing brand HitNMove.
About 3 years ago HitNMove founder Ozhan Akcakaya, who is not only a licensed amateur boxer but also a licensed medical professional in pharmaceutical industry specialized in orthopedic and dermatological therapies came to the conclusion that this scientific approach was overdue for boxing headgear. The equipment that you find on the market is bulky, often heavy, in many cases all the same product with a different label slapped on top of it. The products haven’t truly changed in decades. Akcakaya believes ‘boxing deserves better’.
In fact many boxers opt to spar without headgear as they feel the limited visibility and mobility of the bulky headgear actually increases their chances to get hit and hurt. The point of protection is therefore missed entirely.
This was also the case for Akcakaya who was in the ring with his sparring partner Mario Flores, without head protection. Simply for the reason that they both realized they were getting hit a lot more when wearing the bulky headwear that’s available today – boxing being a game of inches this makes all the difference, every boxer would agree. This sparked the initial idea to develop something better.
Obviously no headgear at all should never be the subjectively best option to choose from. In a conversation, professional boxing coach Bruce Babashan complained how headgear hasn’t developed in decades and that solutions were still the same bulky models that have been around for 50 years. His input led to the concept of a much slimmer and lighter headgear that focuses on protecting more vulnerable spots like the temple, chin, cheeks, back of the head.
So Hit N Move started to design and test samples, going through over 20 failed designs before coming up with a model that met all the requirements set out by the team at the beginning of the process.
They then took the sample to Virginia Tech University and discussed the ways and parameters that would allow for a credible testing of headgear – since there has never been standardized testing for boxing headgear. After many meetings the standards were set. With 3 different energy levels for punches tested not only on the HitNMove model, but also the most popular Japanese, Mexican, American and British headgear models. These 3 generated punches were then tested at the temple, the forehead and the chin.
The first insight was clearly that it is much safer to wear headgear compared to no headgear – without headgear the concussion risk was drastically higher. Something for every sparring boxer to keep in mind, and a reason reputable gyms will only allow sparring with headgear.
As this is something that is often debated in boxing gyms, it is very insightful to have a reliable scientific test result that leaves little room for split opinions.
For Boxers Who Spar Regularly, This Is Huge News
The HitNMove model – being 5oz lighter and much slimmer than the top Japanese model – scored comparable results in all categories. Given the model is by far the slimmest and lightest, an incredible result for the future of protective boxing equipment – and ultimately the boxers.
The testing allowed the developers to find slim lightweight headgear without compromising any of the protection it should offer. Layered and strategically positioned bumps of micropadding in sensitive areas make all the difference. Offering a smaller target than a common model, there is less absorption due to less surface.
Photo: Hit N Move
Additionally to the testing at Virginia Tech, the headgear was blind tested at 4 different gyms with similar testing parameters. One of them being Upton Boxing Baltimore with Head Coach Calvin Ford – coach of world champion and pound for pound superstar Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. Other gyms being STB boxing gym Lorton, VA, Telford Boxing Academy, UK, and Kaizen MMA Fairfax, VA.
Fighters were wearing different models including the HitNMove headgear without knowing which one they were wearing and after three rounds answered questions about vision, protection and movement.
The answers were very one sided, with fighters being amazed by the new piece of protective equipment. Claiming it ‘felt like not wearing any headgear but still feeling as protected’.
While the sport is currently going through a massive revival, this is fantastic news for every athlete who doesn’t want to pick between protecting themselves and optimal performance.
