Back in September I wrote about wearing a cup when practicing Jiu Jitsu. I decided not to wear a cup back then because of the following two arguments:

1. In a street fight you won’t have time to put on a cup.
2. When you don’t train with a cup, you get accustomed to it.

I still think both of these are true, but I’m a bit wiser now and have  reconsidered my position on the issue.

First, I have become accustomed to rolling without a cup. It is almost as if I have developed a “six sense” for avoiding trauma to that area of my body; however, I don’t know if I’ll ever be smooth enough to avoid all contact or impact.

In fact, it’s statistically likely that some contact or trauma is inevitable to that area of the body if you train long enough without a cup. So this is my take: I’m now “better and wiser” for not wearing a cup for a while, but because there will always be a risk of injury, I’m going to now protect myself. But I’m also wise enough to not let the fact that I’m wearing a cup affect my Jiu Jitsu. Or put another way: I am still going to pretend like I’m not wearing one.

This is because the point above about not wearing a cup for a street fight is still very true. That’s the thing though: in a street fight, you won’t have time to put on a cup. But in class, you do.

Wearing a mouth guard is always a good idea when practicing Jiu Jitsu. I wear a mouth guard regularly I was excited when Elite MMA asked me to review Shock Doctor’s Power Gel-Nano mouth guard.

The Power Gel-Nano is a heavy duty mouth guard with a high-quality look and feel. Looking at its packaging, one would get the impression that the Gel Nano is Shock Doctor’s “deluxe” item, like the nicest car released by by Honda or the most powerful laptop released by Apple.

Description

The mouth guard features a plastic frame encasing the gel mold material, which is the material surrounding the teeth while the mouth guard molds to your mouth. Both materials change shape when setting, but the design of the product ensures that your teeth don’t really touch the frame itself, only the inner gel mold. The mouth piece is designed to provide more insulating gel mold material than other mouth pieces.

Most quality mouth guards feature a frame for structural integrity, which often act a “skeleton”, giving the product form and structural integrity. A key difference in the design of Gel-Nano, however, is that its frame is bigger and more pronounced, surrounding the wearer’s teeth and gums at a deeper level than many other mouth guards.

For some wearers, this is bound to make the Gel-Nano feel larger then a typical mouth piece. There is a positive consequence to the large frame: it gives the wearer a more confident sense of protection. In fact, when I wear this mouth guard I have virtually no fear experiencing a mouth or tooth injury.

The Gel-Nano mouth guard also provides some indentations in the gel mold for the lower teeth, both for some front teeth and rear molars. Other mouth guards I wear regularly, including the Shock Doctor Gel-Max mouth guard (also available at Elite MMA), don’t feature dramatic indentations for the bottom teeth. These indentations in the Gel-Nano help the mouth piece feel more secure and protective, but it makes it harder to talk. Then again, no one wears mouth guards to give speeches or communicate effectively.

The Gel-Nano’s Trade-Off

While it is obvious the Gel-Nano mouth guard is meant to be an ultimate, premium mouth guard in terms of protection, you will likely trade some comfort for this protection. It does feel large –annoyingly so at times – but it’s something I mostly only notice when I’m not participating in a physical class activity.

Because of this the Gel-Nano is probably not going to be replacing my Gel-Max mouth guard when drilling grappling technique or rolling, but it is a very strong contender to replace it when I practice stand-up self defense and take-downs (I normally have my head gear and mouth guard case accessible in class). When we start doing activities which I feel warrant stronger protection I’ll grab the Gel-Nano. I’m slowly finding myself getting accustomed to the sense of protection it provides despite the size.

The protection does feel top notch. I couldn’t imagine fighting MMA (or sparring in Muay Thai or boxing) with anything else. I expect many professional MMA fighters have it on hand and use it regularly.

Pros
- Deep indentation in the gel mold surrounds more teeth and gums, providing greater protection.
- Deeper mold indents for lower rear molars add extra stability
- Feels well-made and of high quality
- Feels more protective and insulating than other mouth guards

Cons
- May feel large or uncomfortable to some people
- Related to above: for people with smaller mouths, the amount of gel mold in the mouth guard may also be excessive
- More difficult to mold to mouth.

Some Advice…

Although not related to a the review above, I did want to share a bit of advice: when you pick a up a mouth guard, make sure you follow its molding directions as accurately as you can. About 8 months ago I let mouth piece get too hot in the molding process: the result was a deformed mouth guard beyond salvation.

About a week ago the toenail of my 4th toe – the one next to my pinky toe – was consideraly derailed during a sparring session. About a third of the toenail was missing but it didn’t really bother me at the time. When I stopped moving around I soon noticed something didn’t feel right.

I wasn’t used to the feeling of having this toenail torn; and at the time, it wasn’t obvious to me why my toe felt so odd. The toe felt sore rubbing against its “neighbor” toes and was a bit swollen. I was investigating the toe and someone asked me what I was doing; I explained, and he suggested my toe could possibly be broken. Another student suggested it was “mat toe.” It was later clear that it was only a missing toenail (thankfully).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/briangaid/ / CC NC-SA 2.0

Shortly after I didn’t think much of it.

The following week – a couple classes ago – another student was sparring. He stopped after a few moments and began favoring his toe. “What’s the problem?” someone asked; “I broke my toe” he responded.

His fourth toe – the same toe I had some issues with the week before – was jetting out at strange, akward angle. It was clear the toe had seen better days.

Taped Toes

I have always noticed some students taping their toes before class. Some do regularly, some never do. At first the vulnerability of toe injury wasn’t very obvious to me, but I’ve now spent enough time on the mat to know better.

I wonder if it’s about time I start taping my toes to prevent this type of injury – or at least seriously consider it.

I have been doing some online shopping for a new gi or kimono. As stated in a previous blog post, it is not always a fun process. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that most gi and kimono manufacturers don’t cater or market to thin people. In fact, if you are thin, lanky – or even worse, both, you are going to have an extremely hard time finding a gi or kimono that fits. Period.

I consider myself skilled in Internet research. I’m persistent and usually successful when motivated to find something – a product, a video, a web page – so I am surprised I am unable to find more gi and kimono brands that have sizes more appropriate for trim people.

To illustrate my point, here are some examples of gi sizes from some random brands and sellers I found online. Consider that I’m 5′11 and just over 160 lbs; which size of this “Keiko Raca Gi Kimono Limited” would I buy? Here are the sizes in the said link:

Here’s another example – the 2010 Gameness Pearl White Single Weave Gi. The size chart:

What about the Atama Mundial Model #9?:

Most people I’ve communicated with – even people from gi and kimono sellers – generally recommend I buy size A3 and shrink it down. Sometimes this can work, but it means taking a gamble that I can fix the gi without over shrinking it. If I can’t get the size down or it shrinks too much, I’m out $150. No sellers I am aware of will return a washed gi.

Gi Sizes, Body Sizes, And Body Mass Index

It’s clear that gi and kimono manufacturers target people larger than me. But how much larger? To answer this question I’ll reference a concept known as “BMI” – body mass index – that assigns a numeric value to a person’s weight in relation to his or her height. It is considered overly simplistic and is not an indicator of health, but at least it’s something for thinking about how much people weigh. For example, in sports like Jiu Jitsu, people with high BMIs normally have higher BMIs because of muscle mass.

Apparently, gi and kimono sizes are usually made for people with higher body mass indexes (BMI). See for yourself; here is the BMI chart from Wikipedia:

If you refer to the chart above with attention to almost any gi manufacturers’ size chart, you will notice almost all assume a majority of their market has a large BMI. For some reason – warranted are not – gi and kimono manufacturers are assuming that the majority of Jiu Jitsu practitioners are buff, overweight, or both.

This confuses me because it runs counter to my experience and common sense. While people of all shapes and sizes do Jiu Jitsu, the sport absolutely has its share of thin competitors. Still, for whatever reason, companies have overwhelmingly sized their gi and kimonos to fit people with larger BMIs, and largely glossed over the thinner Jiu Jitsu competitor.

But to the gi and kimono manufacturer it has to make sense – because if the sizes did not accurately portray their market, sales would decline, and they would have changed their sizes years ago. That, or maybe no company has yet to adequately sell gis or kimonos that would fit people with a broader range of BMIs.

The question still remains: if trim people like me are going to try and buy a gi, where are should we look?

Options And Ideas For The Thin

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xharekx33/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I am aware of two brands that occasionally sound like a decent choice for thin people: Keiko Raca and Mkimonos. I’ve never purchased or trained in either, although I have tried on Kieko Raca kimonos owned by other students.

I emailed Jiu Jitsu Progear with suggestions for gis for thin people. They suggested that people with tall/slim build may do well with Keiko Raca; that they usually feature a longer cut to accommodate the thin and trim build. This may be valuable advice but it this seems to be counter to the sizing chart for Kieko Raca shown above.

When I tried on another student’s Keiko Raca A2, the chest and waist portion of the gi felt great, but the arms did feel short.

The option I have heard is good for thin and skinny people is Mkimonos – especially their Lutador Americano label. They even warn about this on one of their product pages.

Unfortunately, while Mkimonos has a pretty good reputation for customer service, I’ve experienced some road bumps in communication with them. I have been very close to purchasing their “White Lutador Americano Hybrid Weave Gi” a few times, but it never seems to be available, even after assurances that it would be.

Putting Out the Call

There is obviously a shortage – or chronic miscommunication – between gi sizes, manufacturers, and thin people who do Jiu Jitsu.

I am actively looking to purchase a new gi, but I want to be sure that what I purchase will fit well.

If you are aware of – or represent a gi or kimono label or brand which you think would fit a skinny person well – please let me know. I am anxious to let people know what I find.

It is hard to train over the holidays.

Class schedules may be different at your school, class attendance can be inconsistent (especially if you live a college town), and finding time to get yourself the the gym can be a challenge – especially when you have the misfortune of working some between Christmas and the New Year.

I was able to train some this holiday season (I’m defining “holiday season” as a few days before Christmas to New Year’s) but I wish I was able to train more. For reasons previously mentioned, however, it has been a bit tough.

Which is why today was such an epic day. My gym’s schedule is back to “normal” and I got a some great training in. Everyone is pumped to train and it will be much easier to train regularly once again.

The holidays can be a nice break, but some things you don’t always want a break from.