Rupture claims they have developed the most advanced rash guard in the world, yes I know that’s a bold statement. Is it true, or just marketing fluff? Read on Gear Junkies and find out!

Durability

Just check out the washing instructions to the right, I’ve yet to see a rash guard that tells you to basically wash it however you want. I did not dare to wash this one in bleach to test it out, but I assume they would have a lot of complaints if it were not true. I can say though, this is a very durable rash guard. I have no worries throwing this sucker in with my knee brace or other Velcro gear items. I did have a small stitching issue on the cuff of the left sleeve, but I fixed it and have not had an issue since. Be sure to watch the video review because I talk about it more there.

I wore the Rupture PTSi rash guard out hiking once this past summer and it worked great. I was off the trail a bit and was weaving my way through two pine trees. A low hanging branch had snapped off close to the trunk of one of the trees, and as I passed between them the sharp edge caught my arm. I thought for sure that it had snagged and tore a hole in my rash guard because my arm was pretty sore from it. I reached down and felt nothing, I looked it all over in astonishment, but I could find nothing wrong with the rash guard. Later that night when I got home I looked at my arm and that tree limb had actually scraped me hard enough to draw blood. I don’t think any of my other rash guards would have come away from that without any signs of damage. Now that’s durability!

Below is the video review, but please head on over to the website http://www.bjjgearjunkie.com to read the full written review and check out more pictures.

What a cool concept and sick design for a Bjj rash guard. Often times skilled fighters and Bjj players are referred to as “beasts” or “he/she is such a beast!” Props to Manto for tapping into the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu culture and producing this product. I first saw this rash guard on Dean Lister at the 2011 ADCC event as he smashed through his divisions. Now I know what everyone is thinking, but I can tell you that just because you put this rash guard on and step out on the mat, it does not make you a beast. I learned this the hard way while reviewing it!

Below is the video review, but please head on over to the website http://www.bjjgearjunkie.com to read the full written review and check out more pictures.

Whenever I am looking to buy a gi or any brazilian jiu jitsu gear, I’m always hesitant because I’m forced to buy it online. I think there are only a handful of actual stores across the US that you can walk in and physically touch these products. I try and search around the web for reviews or videos, but hardly find any that really make me confident in my purchase. So I decided to make a website that will be the leading place for people to go to read and watch reviews on the products and gear before they buy them.

There will also be a user submitted video gallery featuring videos of jiu jitsu. This will help people browse by category to find the cool vids without having to sift through all the junk that is currently on youtube. I look forward to this part especially because I think it will be cool for people to see their video of a competition match featured on the homepage and in the gallery.

So thats the skinny on the new project. Please check out the youtube channel, like it on facebook and follow on twitter – @bjjgearjunkie

Once the website goes live you will be able to find it at www.bjjgearjunkies.com.

If you would like to see any bjj gear reviewed shoot me an email at info@bjjgearjunkie.com

Sometimes after a roll I have tons of thoughts like “man I wanted to do this or that, but just couldn’t.” Or sometimes I think “maybe if I was just a little bit stronger or faster I could have swept that person.” This last class though was not like that. I stepped off the mats with an empty mind, and a feeling of everything is where it should be. This is what I consider a great rolling session.

This is what I have been trying to do for this past year really. Life on and off the mats has been crazy in 2010. When I say crazy I mean some good and some bad, but that is life and you have to go with the flow. Since this is a BJJ blog I’m not going to bore you with the off the mat stuff, but let me fill you in on the Jiu Jitsu happenings of 2010. First of all I have stepped into a teaching roll with my girlfriend Bri who I often post about. We continue to help carry the Foundry flag with all of our team mates. At first I thought maybe teaching would take away from my learning progress, but I think at this point I can say that it hasn’t. Having to prepare class and research moves 4 days a week forces you to constantly think about Jiu Jitsu. I think always thinking about Jiu Jitsu makes you think outside the box and develop your game in areas you normally wouldn’t.

We have coached our team so far at 3 local tournaments this year and The Foundry represented well at all of them. This is a great feeling, when you teach someone how to do something and then see them apply it, and then see how happy they are. That is such an amazing feeling. Here are the highlight videos from two of the 3 events. The Freestyle Grappling Open and the Maine Skirmish. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, and I got my purple belt last night

There comes a point in your Jiu Jitsu journey that you know most of the basics. Before when you were a white belt something as major as a triangle was totally new and amazing. Then as the more you progress, the more you learn, and less is new. This is perfectly normal and all part of the progression of your skills. What needs to change to get past this, is your out look on training. Instead of focusing so much on that thrill of learning something new, focus on playing the game. You now have a large toolbox to draw from so get enjoyment out of molding your game to defeat another persons game. Use the tools to your advantage and work on applying them in the right situations. You could know a million techniques, but that won’t help you if you are not confident passing the guard.

Jiu Jitsu is a very flexible art, that’s just one of the things that makes it so great. Sometimes we just need to be flexible ourselves with our training.

Here is an awesome video I found to motivate you to get back on the mats!

It feels good to have accomplished one of my goals. This goal doesn’t help me on the mat or anything, but it does help out my club and all of the students who attend. I hope they like it as much as I do. Sometimes setting small goals for yourself in Jiu Jitsu can prevent you from getting burnt out. Sometimes I will set a goal for the month, maybe even the week or sometimes down to the roll I’m about to have. Even if it’s sometime like pulling off a certain sweep, progress is progress, no matter how big or small. If you do this for yourself I think you will feel more successful with your Jiu Jitsu journey.

This does however mean that there are fewer classes where someone is actually teaching and instructing me. This part makes me depressed because I have this fear that my Jiu Jitsu may stagnate and that I will not progress as rapidly as I should. On the other hand though I have noticed that in preparing to teach classes its helped me tune some areas of my technique that I don’t normally use every class. So in that respect I see some growth in my game. How do you feel about this? Does teaching tighten up your game? Or does stepping up into a teaching roll tend to bring your game down? I would love to hear everyone’s view on this.

Oh by the way, Ferdum subbed Fedor last night. JIU JITSUUUU!

Here are a video of me rolling recently as well. I have the black Gi top on. Enjoy.

My first impressions of the Gi when I first opened the package were I was surprised how light the Gi top was. Also that both the top and the bottom were pretty stiff and it was going to take a while to break them in. After trying it on I was pleasantly surprised at how snug it fit for an A2. I am currently not training for any competitions so I weight about 165 and I’m around 5 8′. My Atama fits so baggy it feels like I’m wearing a trash bag while training. The Dragao fits more like my Koral Lite which is an A1. Again this was a good thing and it didn’t shrink any after I washed it twice in cold water and air dried.

After rolling in it for the first time last night, I can say that the top softened up pretty fast and was comfortable to wear over a rashguard. The pants on the other hand are a bit suspect. They are good in terms of length, but they are a bit baggy around the waist. When I tie them there is a bit of balloon action going on. They are still stiff and I think it will take many washings before they will relax a bit. I’m still not sure I like them yet or not. They may be good for training, but not for competition. I’ll make sure I touch more on this in part 2 of the review. Now on to some pictures!

I hope everyone enjoyed the first part of this review. If anyone has any questions or needs any measurements, I would be happy to answer or assist.