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MMA Clothing: Tap Out Board Shorts Review

Alright check out these shorts with a camo design that you can buy at your usual place for mma clothing.

mma clothing: tap out shorts

If they look familiar its likely because Tap Out shorts are seen on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other mixed martial arts organizations. Tap Out sponsors several well-known fighters including Keith Jardine, Stephan Bonnar, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes and even Kimbo Slice. They of course, wear this mma clothing inside the octagon (and probably outside as well). Wearing Tap Out mma clothing then allows fans to identify with their favorite mixed martial artists, particularly those mentioned.

The particular shorts in the photo may be very familiar to certain people. Yes, former welterweight champion Matt Hughes wears camo shorts in the UFC but it’s not exactly the one in the photo. If you’ve ever wanted to purchase Tap Out shorts for mma training or just for everyday mma-related clothing, you may have come across the camo design. Why? Because all the other cooler and louder color schemes are usually sold out or sized out. (No research was done there; just my personal experience when shopping for mma clothing so please do not quote me on that.) So if you’re not one to go for loud designs and are okay with camo design the shorts in the photo can be an option for mma, bjj and submission wrestling training or even everyday wear. Keep in mind though, that mma shorts do not have pockets if you decide to use them outside the mats. Oh yes, for kickboxers you can conveniently perform a high kick while wearing the shorts to Muay Thai class. (Convenient that is, if you are flexible enough. Wearing the shorts does not guarantee easy high kicks, low kicks or submissions despite the name.)

Tap Out shorts like the one above are among the more expensive type of mma clothing with prices ranging from under US $40 to over $60. In this reviewer’s personal experience, the board shorts are durable enough after nearly a year of constant use (at least once a week). The laces can be hidden and are of high quality. They are not the kind to loosen up into shreds after numerous training sessions and washings. Are they worth the amount of money you would give up to purchase a new pair of mma shorts? It depends on how big US $40 is for you to drop on a pair of board shorts. One advantage is your kimura defense improves. Hell if you’re going to hold on to $40 mma clothing to prevent a chickenwing lock on your arm during mma sparring. You’ll think of a another escape or better, avoiding the guard pass that makes that submission possible altogether.  Still, they definitely make a good gift as clothing or gear for an mma fan, athlete or weekend warrior.

MMA Gear Review: Everlast Grappling Gloves

Since my fellow MMA gear reviewer, Gary, reviewed Everlast boxing gloves, I got the idea to take a look at and write about my own Everlast mixed martial arts grappling gloves. The kind of mma gear I have is colored black with white linings. According to online merchants, these gloves are made of durahide and not from leather. (Vegans won’t be griping about cow-killings here.) It is open palm in design for easier grips. A velcro strap that tightens the mma gloves is located dorsally (i.e. the part of your hand you’re looking at when doing normal push-ups). There are some oriental characters on this strap but I am unable to translate them. Check out the gear in the photo.

This particular pair of mma gloves from Everlast are a bit tight around the knuckles but otherwise work well enough. Plenty of padding is present and they can be tightened so as not to slip off during mma training, i.e. bag work, focus mitts, sparring. One should not be in a hurry removing the mma gloves though. This is as previously stated, due to them being somewhat tight around the knuckles.

During groundfighting or submissions training, the Everlast pair are about as comfortable as other mma gloves. That is, you really don’t care because you have to pay attention to your training partner. That being said there is nothing particularly uncomfortable about this mma gear from Everlast.

As with all mma gloves, applying the rear naked choke is not as easy when having no gloves becase of the additional thickness when needing to slip the hand area beneath a training partner’s chin/ neck area. In addition, holding a training partner’s wrist provides a good grip due to one’s hands being wedged on the partner’s glove, a technique that cannot be pulled off in no gi submission wrestling.

Some other net reviews of Everlast boxing gloves have negative reviews calling the product “Neverlast” instead. This reviewer however, found no such problems with this pair of grappling gloves. At only $39.99, it’s also a lot less expensive than the standard $60 mma gloves found elsewhere.

MMA Gear Review: Everlast Gloves

Everlast is a company that has been around since 1910. Since then it has been synonymous with boxing and boxing equipment.  Boxers however, are not the only ones that have been using Everlast’s equipment.  Muay thai fighters, and also MMA fighters have been using Everlast equipment for many years.  Which brings me to review some great quality gloves, which are available from Everlast.  I was turned onto these pair gloves by my muay thai instructor about a year ago.  He has been using this particular pair of training gloves for a few years and was raving about them.  I took his word, as he has many muay thai fights and mma fights under his belt and he vouched for their quality and ability to hold up through the most intense training sessions throughout the years.

Unfortunately his pair of gloves was stolen from his car, so when I decided to buy mine I also was buying another pair for him.  Let this be a lesson to everyone; keep all training equipment in the trunk of your car or bring into your house.  I ordered my pair and his through the Everlast website.  Each pair of gloves was $89.99 plus shipping.  These gloves are made of top quality leather and have an air vent in the middle of the palm to promote airflow.  But the best features of the glove have to be the 4 layers of protective foam and the thumb lock. 

I never had a glove with so much padding in the front.  This is very important when sparring or hitting the heavy bag.  As hand and wrist injuries can quickly end a training session or prevent a fighter from fighting.  Another thing that I noticed and was echoed by my instructor was how snug they fit around your hand really enclosing your hand in the glove.  The loop feature provides some great wrist support.  Here is a picture of the gloves.

For over the past year these gloves are still in great condition and are worth money.  Big props to Everlast for producing some great gloves, and thanks to my instructor for his great suggestion

MMA Gear: Fight FX Shorts

In my quest in finding a pair of quality and affordable MMA/grappling shorts, my search lead me to groundfighter.com.  It’s a website known for producing a variety of grappling, bjj, mma, and conditioning videos.  From such stand outs and legends, Mario Sperry, Marcelo Garcia, Robert Drysdale, and the list goes on. This site also features a pair of MMA/grappling shorts, Fight FX.

These shorts are listed at $29.99 plus shipping and handling. Some detail pictures of the shorts are shown below.

MMA Fight Shorts

Fight FX shorts are also the same pair worn by Marcelo Garcia during the 2007 Abu Dhabi submission wrestling world championship.  They are also seen being worn by Robert Drysdale during his filming of his instructional video.  I would lie if I said that those little tid bits didn’t influence my decision, but they weren’t ultimate deciding factor.  The price of $29.99 was the ultimate and decisive factor!  But in all seriousness Fight FX claimed to have flexible groin panel made of stretchable material. Funny how price can decide whether or not you should purchase mma gear? So I decided to take the plunge, but was a little apprehensive with the slits on the side of the shorts, but still went ahead with my purchase.  These shorts are available in both black and yellow; I decided to go with the black pair.  About a week or so later I received them in the mail.

I was rather impressed with them, and about a year later I still am!  They are very lightweight and very durable.  The only fraying that I have seen is from one of the logos, which are on the both sides of the shorts.  This is my first pair of shorts with the slit on the sides, which made me apprehensive at first.  Now, I appreciate the slits on the sides as I feel they give me some extra room and mobility.  The drawstrings for these shorts are on the inside of the shorts, which are accompanied by a stretch waistband.  They also have a Velcro closure with rubberized logo plaque over the Velcro.  All these ingredients make for a snug fit around the waist.  

MMA Fight FX Shorts

As mentioned the main reason I was interested in this pair of shorts was because of the construction of the groin area on the shorts.  The entire area is made of a stretchable material, which eliminates the seams from the area. This is very similar to the Sprawl shorts.  This material also provides some breathing, as the material is very similar to a wicking material that many rash guards are made from.  Unfortunately I do not have any pics of the area.

Fight FX has developed some affordable, good quality shorts, which can also be worn during a muay thai session.  I hope there is more of affordable, and great quality mma gear to follow from Fight FX.

MMA Clothing: Ouano grappling shorts

I bought the Ouano “grappling shorts with belt” online at $30.00 plus tax. The merchandise along with other mixed martial arts clothing (mma) I ordered arrived earlier than the shipping schedule given.

The design is simple and although the shorts can be worn by anyone as beach wear, leisure wear mma clothing or as actual mma gear, they are likely meant to show the wearer’s rank in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Colors are available in blue, purple, brown and black which corresponds to the ranking system in BJJ. This is similar (but not identical) to the type of state athletic commission-approved shorts seen worn by UFC lightweight champion, BJ Penn.

MMA gear or MMA clothing: Grappling shorts with belt

The board shorts are grey all over with the Ouano logo on the lower left leg. This emphasizes the  main feature of this piece of clothing made for mma. A colored belt lines the waist area of the mma shorts. Two tails appear to hang from what would be the knot of this colored belt. The “knot” is the area where the Velcro pieces are located. No part of the belt actually protrudes from the board shorts. The “belt” is meant only for display purposes. That is to say one cannot actually hold the colored belt lining of the mma shorts for a kimura defense as one would a belt worn with a jiu-jitsu or judo gi. The belt is as much separate from the shorts as one’s collar is from one’s shirt.

Several washings of the Ouano shorts have not changed the product much. (I forget if I wash my mma gear and clothing in the pile with bleach or not.) The color of the belt lining is barely lighter. As with all new garments, washing these mma shorts with other similar colors is highly recommended.

Functionally, one can move well with the shorts and I can say nothing negative with respect to my movement while wearing this particular mma gear while rolling on the mats or performing high kicks.

After more than eight (8) months of use, at about once or twice a week, the grappling shorts have no tears or thinning areas. I would gladly wear this kind of mma clothing to the beach or mats anytime.

MMA and BJJ Gear | Brand names vs. No Names?

Are there any major differences between branded and non-branded mma and bjj gear?  Ok.  There are definitely a number of horrible non-branded mixed martial arts companies, but what about the average martial arts equipment manufacturer?  Or better yet, what about the manufacturers who actually make mma ear products for big mixed martial arts brand names, who also provide their own lesser known line of items (but, they are really the same exact thing as branded named training gear).

For instance, a lot of bjj gis are made in China or Pakistan.  Other than Brazilian made gis, other manufacturers are likely to work with manufacturers in the China or Pakistan.  Howard Combat Kimonos are Ouano Bjj gis are two of those companies.  But, did you know that these same manufacturers sell the same exact gis (with only slight differences) with no names, and for a much cheaper price at different online stores?  In fact, if you’re resourceful enough, you can buy direct from these manufacturers to save a lot of money if you don’t care about brand names.  I personally don’t care for brand names as long as the mma gear or bjj gi I use works well. 

So, I wouldn’t worry too much about getting a brand name.  Just make sure that the mixed martial arts or brazilian jiu jitsu clothing, apparel or equipment you check out are durable and of a decent build.  If you’re buying a mma glove or bjj gi, try it on, see how it fits.  If you like the fit and the look, and the material is ok, then go for it.  Don’t be a prey to all of the hype.  Save some money when you buy your equipment.

Kinesio Tape MMA Gear

What is Kinesio tape or Kinesio taping?  In the 70s, Dr. Kenzo Kase decided to improve his therapy in the treatment of injuries and acute and chronic illnesses.  He experimented with different tape materials, but he found them to be unsatisfactory as they did not achieve the results he wanted.

Dr. Kase started to use different material and tried differing taping techniques.  He noticed the skin’s function as the body’s largest reflex organ.  Kase saw in the muscles not only the ability to react to changes in the environment but also the potential to support the body’s own healing and regeneration processes. Hence, the muscles not only make movement possible but also microcirculation, warmth, optimal neuromuscular impulses, etc. Source

Kinesio taping treatment is useful for mixed martial artists.  It’s a mma gear item that provides support to muscles, increases microcirculation of fluids, relaxes tense muscles, and reduces pressure on receptors. Some areas of application include: Sports physiotherapy, Pain Therapy, Lymphology, and Neurology.

Conventional taping is mechanical stability and functional immobilization to protect joints and muscles. The tape used limits range of motion and microcirculation, which isn’t recommended for mma fighters who value flexibility.  Kinesio Tape, on the other hand, provides full range of motion for the skin, joints and muscles so as to encourage the body’s own healing mechanism.  The tape material does not interfere with microcirculation as does traditional sports tape. It actually encourages faster healing and draining of tissue liquids.  Kinesio tape is much more durable and adheres to the skin much better than your standard tape.

Kinesio tape allows healing and alleviates pain by lifting the skin from the fascia. The unique elasticity of the tape allows for a joint to flex while maintaining the skin lift providing the relief. The durability and skin adherence properties give it this unique ability.  By lifting the skin it allows your body’s fluids to move freely and drain if needed. It also alleviates pressure on muscles and connective tissues.

The tape generally runs around $10 to $15 a roll.  Books are available to learn about kinesio taping, but they are normally written for medical professionals.   Nonetheless, you can still learn the basics.  Learning the basics will make a difference between you missing mma class or going to train mma.