An outsole with a conformable substrate with a depression and a core inset in the depression. The core includes a plurality of plates, a first one of the plates is hingedly attached, at one or more edges of the first plate, to one or more substantially adjacent other plates in the plurality of plates, where each hinge hingedly attaching an edge of the first plate to another plate joins less than the entire respective hingedly attached edge to a corresponding one of the one or more substantially adjacent other plates and is integrally connected to the first plate and the other plate. The hinges attaching edges of the first plate to other plates disperse impact forces from the first plate to a corresponding one of the other plates, and a subset of the plurality of plates in the core form a row of three or more interconnected plates.

Disclosed herein is a boxing glove that includes an interior liner. The interior liner comprises an exterior surface and an interior surface. The interior surface defines an interior pocket configured to receive a hand of a user. The boxing glove also includes a shock-absorption layer that is coupled with at least a portion of the exterior surface of the interior liner. The shock-absorption layer includes a lattice comprising a three-dimensional arrangement of at least one repeating pattern of interconnected cells.

A protective guard for reducing injury to a shin of a person includes a conformable substrate and a plurality of core members disposed adjacent to a surface of the conformable substrate. The plurality of core members are arranged such that a first of the core members is rotationally movable about at least one axis relative to a second of the core members. A flexible fabric membrane comprised of natural or synthetic fibers is positioned adjacent to at least one of the conformable substrate and the plurality of core members.

A fighting glove includes a first padding section and a second padding section disposed in a dorsal side of a user's hand, and a strapping section configured to secure the glove to the user's hand. The first padding section includes multiple impact absorption layers, multiple slip layers, and a contour layer, which are each partially bonded to each other. In particular, the hand regions of the layers are securely attached to each other, and the hand body regions of the layers are not attached to each other such that the hand body regions of the layers are free to move independently from each other. Further, the fighting glove includes an exterior layer formed by a single fabric material in each of the inner side and the outer side of the exterior layer to mitigate the glove from forming protrusions or rough features on the exterior layer of the glove.

Hand-engaging devices include: (a) a base member having a first side for engaging a user's hand and an opposite second side providing a mount surface; and (b) a traction pad engaged with the mount surface. The traction pad may include a base surface and plural traction elements extending outward from the base surface. The traction elements may include a free end and/or a free edge spaced apart from the base surface. In some examples, a first set of the plural traction elements may include a one-piece structure forming a traction element base extending along a portion of the base surface of the traction pad and first and second traction elements. Each of these traction elements may extend away from the traction element base, through the base surface, and to a free end of the traction element that is spaced from an exposed face of the base surface.

A boxing glove (2) comprises a hand portion (4) for receiving a wearer's hand: a cuff portion (6) for receiving the wearer's wrist and a part of the wearer's forearm: a wrist strap (90) attached to and extending from the cuff portion, the wrist strap configured to extend around the cuff portion and including a first securing element (88a): a cuff strap (70) attached to and extending from the cuff portion, the cuff strap including a second securing element (88b), the first securing element being configured to engage with the second securing element; and a third securing element (106) disposed on a part of the cuff portion, the second securing element being configured to engage with the third securing element. In use, the first securing element is engaged with a part of the second securing element, the cuff strap is wrapped around the cuff portion, and a part of the second securing element is engaged with the third securing element. Engaging the second securing element with the third securing element simultaneously tightens the wrist strap and the cuff strap around the cuff portion.