I train in traditional Shotokan Karate, and I am currently San-kyu(First Brown). These gloves were exactly what I needed for our sparring, and haven't let me down yet. I've been punched by someone wearing them, and I'd say that they do their job. I like the padding on the back of the hand, as it allows backfist attacks, while not impeding movement. I can reccomend these gloves to anyone who wants to do karate sparring.  

Though they are the cheaper pair of gloves, I expected a bit more out of them. I got the largest size available, and they still seemed to be a bit too small. The padding also seems to be a bit low quality. You get what you pay for and in this case, it isn't much.  

I know these gloves are low priced so you shouldn't expect much but they were a lot worse than I thought. The gloves have very little foam, and the foam is real soft, I don't think it will provide much protection for you or your opponent. I don't think I can even do a back hand because there's no padding there.  

These gloves are exactly what I need for competition. They look and fit just like the ones I'm use to using.  

Just like I used to use when sparring over 15 years ago. They are just what you need for sparring in shotokan. They have quality materials and stitching.