Why wear a Rashguard for MMA and NoGi grappling?
Often I see new students wearing a T-shirt or tank top to NoGi grappling or MMA, so I thought I would take a minute to explain the benefits of wearing a rashguard.
There can be nasty bacteria that cause skin infections on mats and training partners and this bacteria can get on your body through cuts and scrapes. The first benefit of wearing a rashguard is for protection against cuts, scrapes, and rashes.
Unlike
BJJ, in Nogi & MMA clothing is not used for choking or controlling
your training partner. Baggy T-shirts should be avoided to protect
fingers and toes from getting caught up and broken. When training no gi,
try to cover as much skin as possible to prevent these issues. I would
prefer to not have someones armpit hair touching my face and I’m sure most
people feel the same way, so that’s something to consider when you’re
choosing what to wear to class.
Although less expensive, T-shirts, underarmour and other tight shirts are likely to rip during training and are not anti-bacterial. Rashguards have smooth stitch finishing to prevent chafing and high performance tensile fabric for comfort and flexibility. You’ve probably tried mat crawls in a wet T-shirt, it is not ideal.
Another
benefit is keeping your body dry and muscles warm, for maximum
performance. Rashguards wick sweat away from your body which many
studies have been done on the benefits of compression wear and how it
can give you a competitive edge. Read here for more (http://www.bjjee.com/
If you compete, being IBJJF compliant is also important. The IBJJF requires that you wear a rashguard that is minumum 10% of your belt colour. ( http://ibjjf.org/uniform/ ). The entire Hayabusa rashguard collection is 100% compliant with the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and competition regulations.
Not all rashguards are created equal, and
Hayabusa rashguards stand out as the best for a reason. Developed for
superior performance and comfort, they embody the cutting-edge of
technical apparel design and materials. Rashguards are not required for
training, but they’re definitely recommended.
They are a natural anti-microbial technology shown to provide superior anti-odor performance for the lifetime of the garment.
They are also beneficial underneath a BJJ or Judo Gi for a variety of reasons.