Shin Guard

sports safety · protective gear · athletics

Protects your shinbone. Shin guards cover the front of your leg where your shinbone is close to the surface. This area is easy to hit during sports, so the guard absorbs impacts that could otherwise really hurt.

Used in many sports. You'll find shin guards in soccer, baseball, hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket, and even mountain biking. Each sport uses them because legs get kicked or hit a lot in the action.

Required in combat sports. In kickboxing, mixed martial arts, taekwondo, and karate, shin guards are either required by the rules or worn by fighters to stay safe. Since these sports involve lots of kicking and striking, protection matters a lot.

Worn by choice or rule. Some sports make athletes wear shin guards because it's in the official rules. Other times, players choose to wear them anyway because they know it keeps them from getting injured.