I will be honest here.  I am a guy.  As such, when I started up the FIYF store and started getting shirts made, I was thinking about shirts for me.  Quickly, however, it became apparent that I needed to get some shirts just for the girls (mostly when I was asked, repeatedly, to carry a shirt for girls).  So I have been working hard to rectify the situation.  With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that the FIYF store is now carrying a new shirt: The Lotus Warrior Babydoll T-shirt.  Keep in mind that this is a very small run, so only a limited number are available.  If the demand is high, I will get more made in the future.

I promised that there would be more posts this month and I meant it.  To follow up my review of the mouthguard last week, I was sent a pair of Combat Sports Gel Handwraps from the folks at Boxing Depot.com.  Now, I am a striker by nature and by training, so this was right up my alley.  Also, I’m not generally a fan of gloves or handwraps – I tend to train bare-handed (yeah yeah, I know).  So it takes a lot for a product like this to impress me.  That said, I was definitely impressed.

Let me start out by telling you a little bit about these.  Most gel handwraps are simply like a glove, but filled with gel.  These are a little bit different – these have both that gel glove component as well as a traditional wrap.  This means you get that ultra-important wrist support as well as the hand/knuckle protection.  The gel padding, which is roughly 1/4″ thick, covers your knuckes and your fingers – not just your knuckles as is common.  Again, this means improved protection.

Ok, enough about the technical stuff.  Let’s get down to the experience.  These are really nice handwraps.  I put them through some pretty extensive use on my heavybag, and my hands were none the worse for wear afterwords.  Now, I did experience some rub burns on my fingers from the wraps when I used them alone (that is, without wearing regular gloves over them), however I have found this with every other wrap I’ve used as well.  I did not have the same issue when I used gloves over them.  Aside from that little detail, my hands were extremely well protected throughout.  The added wrist support also paid off.  It helped me keep my wrists straight, preventing injury.

These wraps seem to run for anywhere from $19.95-24.95.  In my experience, that is pretty reasonable, especially when you consider that it is really two products in one.  I do wish that these were a little more practical to use by themselves (without gloves over top), but I understand that this is a weakness of all the products in this segment and not just these, so I cant really hold it as a negative.  All in all, I would highly recommend them to anyone who does any sort of bag work.

Interested in buying a set?  Head over to Boxing Depot.com.

Looking for more Martial Arts Equipment?

A few weeks ago the folks over at Elite MMA.com sent me another goodie to review, the Power Gel-Nano Mouthguard.  Reviewing something like a mouthguard is pretty tricky, so I called in some assistance.  To test this bad boy out, I had the help of Joe Cunningham of Yamasaki Woodbridge.  Read on to see the verdict.

One of the biggest issues is getting a mouthguard that forms properly.  An improperly formed mouthguard is uncomfortable, and can cut your mouth.  The way this is usually handled is either by having a very soft mouthguard that is ultra-flexible (which obviously trades off some of the effectiveness), or by having a more rigid piece that does not mold as well.  The Power Gel-Nano Mouthguard tackles this issue by having a fairly flexible front end, but a harder back end to provide good concussion protection.  It is not unique in this feature, but what is fairly unique is the fact that the harder back end still molds well and does not cut up your mouth.  This is a huge selling point.

Another big issue with mouthguards tends to be breathing.  They do the most good when your mouth/teeth are closed, but this limits your ability to breathe out through your mouth.  This piece, thankfully, has a slot in the front which is intended to be used with the included tether (for those people in sports which require helmets) – but it serves double as a handy breathing vent.

In short, Joe reports that this is one of the best mouthguards he has ever used.  At $17, it isnt especially cheap – but this is not an area I would skimp.  A good mouthguard is the key to a fighter’s safety, and can mean the difference between taking a good hit and getting KO’d.  This is definitely a product we both highly recommend.

Interested in buying one?  Head over to Elite MMA.com.

Looking for more Martial Arts Equipment?

I know that December was a pretty slow month for the site.  I spent a lot of time trying to get new shirts made (and this has been a success!).  That said, I plan on making it up to you all this month – starting today.  Not only do I have the results from UFC 108 for you here now, but later on today I will also get the first product review of the new year online.  Enjoy!

Oliveira beats Gunderson with a unanimous decision

Ellenberger beats Pyle with a TKO in Round 2

Munoz beats Jensen with a TKO in Round 1

Miller (Cole) beats Lauzon (Dan) with a submission in Round 1

Kampmann beats Volkmann with a submission in Round 1

Dos Santos beats Yvel with a KO in Round 1

Miller (Jim) beats Ludwig with a submission in Round 1

Stout beats Lauzon (Joe) with a unanimous decision

Daley beats Hazelett with a TKO in Round 1

Evans beats Silva with a unanimous decision

I know I’ve been bad about getting these posted lately, so today I am making sure to be at least relatively on top of things.  Here are the results from last night’s UFC 107.

Belcher beats Gouveia with a TKO in Round 1

Wiman beats Nelson with a unanimous decision

Hendricks beats Funch with a unanimous decision

Palhares beats Linhares with a submission in Round 2

Johnson beats Garcia with a submission in Round 1

Grant beats Burns with a TKO in Round 1

Struve beats Buentello with a majority decision

Florian beats Guida with a submission in Round 2

Fitch beats Pierce with a unanimous decision

Mir beats Kongo with a submission in Round 1

Penn beats Sanchez with a TKO in Round 5

I know I’ve been promising a new shirt in the store for a while now, and I am a man of my word.  I am pleased to announce that the Alley Ninja Shirt is now available in the FIYF Store.  As always, the shirt is printed on high-quality American Apparel 2001 shirts.  I honestly think it might be the best-looking shirt we have.  Check it out, let me know what you think, and keep coming back for more t-shirt announcements!

Ok, I am trying to make up for missing the last UFC – so here are the results from yesterday’s match.

Hathaway beats Taylor with a unanimous decision

Etim beats Gugerty with a submission in Round 2

Osipczak beats Riddle with a TKO in Round 3

Siver beats Kelly with a TKO in Round 2

Gustafsson beats Hamman with a KO in Round 1

Winner beats Delgado with a KO in Round 1

Pearson beats Riley with a TKO in Round 2

Brown beats Wilks with a TKO in Round 3

Bisping beats Kang with a TKO in Round 2

Hardy beats Swick with a unanimous decision

Couture beats Vera with a unanimous decision

Hey guys, I know I’ve been pretty bad lately with posting stuff up.  I even missed the last UFC.  I got a new job, which has me on the opposite side of the country from home for a while… and while I’m here, my ability to get stuff done is limited.  That said, I still have some exciting news.

1. Advertising is going away.  You probably noticed that the big ad on the left of the main page is gone.  I know the site looks a little ugly right now with nothing really over there, but dont worry I’ll get it fixed.  There are still ads in the forums for now.  I will work to get rid of those soon.    The amazon affiliate ads/links might stay.  I havent decided yet.

2. There is a new t-shirt.  No, I havent updated the store yet to offer it, but the Alley Ninja Shirt is at my house.  It is no longer a black shirt – it is now grey.  I will get the store updated, and the shirt available for purchase when I get home in ~2 weeks.

About a month ago, I got an email from the folks over at Elite MMA.com asking if I would be interested in reviewing the KD Elite Knee and Elbow Strike Bag.  I know I’ve said before that I love freebies, and so I stayed true to myself and agreed.  What can I say?  I am a simple creature.  Anyhow, I’ve seen what there is to be seen with this bag, and I’ve finally finished evaluating it.

To start off, the KD Elite Knee and Elbow Strike Bag is really a combination of a target shield and a mini heavy-bag.  You hit it with your knees and elbows  You can punch and kick it too, and I promise the police wont show up, but it was intended for the knees and elbows.  It is small enough to be good for some accuracy training, but bit enough to really throw yourself at.  As always, though, you have to ask if it is actually any good.

This bag is made of impact-absorbing foam, canvas, leather, nylon, and something that I think is wool.  At the time of this writing it is on sale for $29.99, which seems to be a pretty fantastic value.  Beyond a few threads here and there coming out from the handle stitching, this bag is rock solid.  My students and I abused this bag every way we could think of, and it just kept coming back for more.  For the pricetag, you dont generally expect this sort of durability, but the KD Elite Knee and Elbow Strike Bag certainly delivers.

The bag features four different handles on the back (two horizontal and two vertical), as well as some rings to hang it.  These work extremely well, but are also probably the source of my biggest complaint.  The nylon straps you hold on to have what appear to be pieces of rubber garden hose on them, to help keep the straps from killing your hands.  This is great, but they look cheap, and your hands still tend to rub on a lot of nylon anyway.  I think a little more work here could go a long way.  Also, when you are not hanging the bag, the nylon straps and rings meant for hanging flail about a lot when the bag is struck.  We found turning the bag upside down reduced the risk of being hit in the face by a metal ring, but I think it would be better off if these were removable somehow.  That said, we did find one (probably unintended) use for the rings.  If you hold the rings and face the bag towards yourself, you can do solo knee practice – and it works ASTONISHINGLY well when used this way.

This bag seems primarily designed for practicing your knee strikes.  I know they say you can use it for elbows, and you can, but until you get the bag broken in properly, the wool/foam padding combination is very stiff and can be quite jarring when you strike it.  You dont have this issue with knee strikes, but once you get it broken in it is fine for your elbows as well.  It sounds like more of an issue than it is – it gets broken in reasonably quickly if you’re making pretty regular use of it.  Just be careful when throwing those elbows – if you miss the bag you can wind up elbowing the
person holding it in the face, which isnt a lot of fun.

So, is the KD Elite Knee and Elbow Strike Bag any good?  Is it worth the $30 pricetag?  Yes.  This is a reasonably cheap training tool, but is also surprisingly high quality.  If you are prepared to spend some time initially just getting it broken in (and figure out how to not get hit by the rings), you will be very happy with it.  This isnt a must-have for every martial arts school, but I would definitely recommend it.  If you are just practicing/training yourself, then it may make less sense as you do need two people for most uses, but with a friend or training partner you wont have
any issues.

Interested in buying one?  Head over to Elite MMA.com.

Looking for more Martial Arts Equipment?

I didnt manage to catch this UFC live, as I would have preferred, but that doesnt mean I’m going to miss updating all of you other folks who missed it as well.

Belfort beats Franklin with a KO in Round 1

Santos beats Filipovic with a submission in Round 3

Daley beats Kampmann with a TKO in Round 1

Griffin beats Franca with a TKO in Round 2

Escudero beats Miller with a KO in Round 1

Drwal beats McFedries with a submission in Round 2

Miller beats Lopez with a TKO in Round 2

Lentz beats Oliveira with a unanimous decision

Story beats Foster with a submission in Round 2

Marshall beats Brilz with a split decision

Matyushenko beats Pokrajac with a unanimous decision

Anjos beats Emerson with a unanimous decision