Hand protector with gripping means

A hand protector for use in the martial arts comprising a sheath of tough, abrasive and cutting resistant material for enveloping the full digit set of a wearer's hand. Means for gripping and for supporting a board or the like to be struck by a martial arts participant are provided on the outer surface of the palmside of the sheath. The inner surface of the sheath is textured roughly to prevent slippage of the wearer's hand within the device. A gripping bar may be provided within the sheath for grasping by the wearer's hand.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to the field of hand protectors. More 
particularly, this invention is a finger and knuckle protector for use in 
the martial arts which has gripping means to hold a board or the like. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
An important aspect of martial arts training and exhibitions involves using 
one's hands or feet to break an object, such as a board, while it is being 
held by another participant. Although not necessarily recognized by an 
audience, the breaking of boards requires an interactive relationship 
between the kicker and holder. The holder cannot casually hold the board 
but must strongly grip the board, extend it to the appropriate area, and 
position body and arms to virtually lock the board in place. This 
requires, strength, proper form and concentration, the lack of anyone of 
which can cause injury. With the use of a wide variety of kicks, many of 
which involve the kicker hitting a blind target, hand injuries to those 
participants holding the boards is extremely high. Severe injuries to the 
fingers, knuckles and joints also often result from the poorly aimed kicks 
of trainees. 
Furthermore, to avoid injuries to the kicker and to effect a clean break of 
the boards being hit, the boards must be held rigidly and straight. When a 
participant has been injured while holding boards, or even if he has 
simply seen others hit the holder becomes apprehensive. This may cause him 
to loosen his grip of the boards in which case the boards may be knocked 
loose which is even more dangerous. Similarly having too much give in the 
boards does not enable the kicker to move as cleanly through the boards 
and is more likely to injure the kicker. This apprehension may also cause 
the holder to "shy" away from the blow and inadvertently angle the boards. 
In such a case, a slightly misdirected blow could land along the edge of 
the board again injuring the kicker. 
Nevertheless, to become proficient in the martial arts and to promote the 
sport, practice and exhibitions are necessary; therefore, without an 
adequate protective device, hand injuries have been accepted as part of 
martial arts. 
One protective device that is available for use in the martial arts is 
disclosed by Rhee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,546. Rhee's invention is a 
protective glove to be worn by the participant who is delivering the 
blows. The glove covers the back and sides of the hand as well as the 
thumb and wrist of the wearer with a flexible material, thereby obviating 
injuries to the wearer's hand and to the bodies of participants who 
receive the blows. The palm side of the hand is left generally uncovered 
except for a loop or strap to hold the glove on the wearer's hand. 
Inasmuch as Rhee's invention is flexible and, therefore, suitable for use 
in striking blows with a fist or open hand, it is not suitable to protect 
the hand of a martial arts participant while, at the same time, enabling 
him to grip tightly a board or other object to be struck by another 
participant. 
A device is needed which will adequately provide knuckle to fingertip 
protection to a martial arts participant who is holding a board or other 
object for another martial arts trainee or demonstrator to strike and to 
break. In order to sufficiently protect the wearer, such a device must be 
rigid enough to withstand high impact blows and cutting slices, while 
still enabling the wearer to grasp securely the object to be held. 
Further, gripping means for tightly and steadily holding the object should 
be incorporated. 
The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, 
combinations and improvements herein shown and described. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a hand protector for use in the martial arts to 
protect the hands, especially the portion extending from the finger tips 
to the knuckles, of one participant who is holding a board or other object 
to be struck by another participant. 
The hand protector comprises a sheath having a dome-like portion and an 
underside for enveloping the full digit set of the user's hand. In order 
to provide adequate protection from high impact blows or slices of a 
cutting blade, the sheath is composed of a tough, abrasion and cutting 
resistant material, such as a high-impact resistant plastic or metal. For 
added protection, the outer surface of the dome-like portion may be 
padded. On the underside or palm-side of the sheath, a gripping plate 
having detents on its outer surface for tightly and securely gripping an 
object, such as a board, is attached. There is further provided a flange 
extending outwardly from the gripping plate to support the object to be 
held and to provide further hand protection. 
Within the sheath, the inner surface of the gripping plate is textured 
roughly to prevent slippage of the user's hand. To further enable a secure 
grip on the board or other object, a support member mounted on the inner 
surface of the sheath projects outwardly therefrom for grasping between 
the two middle digits. Additionally, a gripping bar may be provided to be 
grasped by the user's digits Within the sheath for even more support of 
the object being held. 
The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part 
hereof illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and together 
with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
With reference to FIG. 1, the hand protector of the present invention is 
shown as if in use by a martial arts participant who is holding a board 10 
to be broken by another participant. As shown, the sheath 12 encloses the 
full digit set of the user's hand, thereby protecting the portion of the 
hand extending from the finger tips to the knuckles. The pointed detents 
14 provide frictional gripping means to hold a board or other object 
tightly and steadily while another martial arts participant strikes a blow 
with a hand, a foot, or even a cutting blade in an attempt to break the 
object. 
The sheath 12 of the hand protector is made of a tough, substantially 
nondeformable, abrasion and cutting resistant material, such as plastic or 
metal. In the preferred embodiment, the protective sheath, comprising an 
underside 18 and a semi ovoid, dome-like portion 16 molded together, is 
composed of a plastic material. By curving portion 16, impact against it 
will slide off to avoid injury to the hitter. Ribs 22, as shown in FIG. 3, 
are provided for additional strength. As illustrated in FIG. 4, pegs 20 on 
the dome-like portion 16 are inserted into holes in the underside 18 of 
the sheath 12 which are adapted to receive the pegs 20 during the molding 
process. Also, the dome-like portion 16 may be covered with a padding 21 
to further protect the kicker. Alternatively, a metal such as brass would 
be suitable. 
A gripping plate 24 forms the outer surface of the underside 18 of the 
sheath 12. Gripping means on the outer surface of the gripping plate 24 
includes a plurality of detents 14 for registry and frictional gripping of 
the object to be held, such as the board 10 of FIG. 1. A firm and steady 
grip on the object may be maintained by frictional engagement of the 
user's digits with the inner surface of the underside 18 of the sheath 12 
and by encircling the palmside of the hand around the edge of the board 
10. Further, in the preferred embodiment, to prevent slippage of the hand 
within the sheath during a martial arts maneuver, the inner surface of the 
underside 18 is textured roughly. The rough texture 26 can be applied 
during the molding process or by adhering a suitable non-slip material, 
such as rubber, to the inner surface of the underside 18 of the sheath 12. 
Flange 28 extending perpendicularly from the gripping plate 24 is provided 
as additional gripping means and support for the object being held as 
shown in FIG. 1. Another function of the flange 28 is to provide further 
hand protection for the user. In particular, the flange covers a portion 
of the palm side of the user's hand and effectively separates that hand 
portion from the board. The likelihood of hand injuries are thereby 
decreased substantially by increasing the area of the hand which is 
covered by the protective sheath 12. 
As shown in FIGS. 2-3, a support member 30 within the interior of the 
protective sheath provides further gripping and supporting means. Support 
member 30 extends perpendicularly from the inner surface of the sheath and 
is thus aligned with the user's digits. Being centrally located within the 
interior of the sheath and aligned with the user's digits, the user may 
grasp firmly the support member 30 between the two middle digits. 
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a gripping bar 32 may 
be provided. As shown in FIG. 5, a concavo-convex bar is attached to the 
inner surface of the underside of the protective sheath 12. By grasping 
the bar within the sheath, the user is able to maintain a tighter and a 
steadier grip on the object being held. Advantageously, the gripping bar 
32 not only provides additional support, but further prevents slippage of 
the users hand within the sheath 12. 
While the above description discloses the preferred embodiments of the 
invention, it is anticipated that changes may be made without departing 
from the concepts disclosed herein and, therefore, it is intended that the 
scope of this invention be limited only by the appended claims.