Hey! I have recently begun working out at a vale tudo school over the summer, and have been adjusting from gi to no gi grappling. One of the hardest parts of the transition has been adjusting to wearing shorts, instead of my long gi pants. The vt school has the square interlocking rubber mats on the floor, which have ended up tearing some of the skin off my knees, making it very painful to continue grappling. Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice on what I should do to avoid these scrapes, or how to get them to heal faster? I know I could wear knee pads, but I find them very unconfortable and I feel they limit my movement. I also could wear my gi pants, but I would rather not give my opponent's that extra handle on my body. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Get some decent quality wrestling knee pads, they really shouldn't restrict your movement at all. Brute or Asics are the way to go. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/sm-brute-equalizer-wrestling-knee-pad--pi-1078498.html http://mvp.com/sm-asics-zd361-unrestrained-wrestling-knee-pad--pi-1306778.html
Man, I have the same problem, so this thread is real useful. Two quick questions: First, how do you know what size you wear, and second, will places like sportsmart/sport chalet carry them, if I don't want to order online? Thanks!
most sports places should carry them.. But your not going to find the best quality there. Ordering offline will save you money and you will get the best product available. Just ask around and your research.
knee scrapes suck. i have dodgy joints so i wear my knee bandage things. they just slip on and dont have extra padding like wrestling knee pads
I know a couple of guys that grapple in gi pants (for no gi). You could also try using the rashguard leggings.
Any sports retailer selling wrestling gear would likely have some decent knee pads available. Asics, Adidas and Brute are the brands you want to be looking for though. And don't get the shitty piece of foam in some elasticated crap pads either, you'll find they'll slip around too often.
I had the same problem. It was painful for a few weeks, but I just went with it, and now I don't feel a thing.
Its gotta be Knee pads all the way! i ripped my knee's to shit about 3 weeks into when i started no-gi and it was a killer! you could go down the "knee's like callassis look" or you could just buy the pads, most pro's i know always train in them. just my 2 cents worth!
If you choose to go with the knee pads, your knees will never toughen up, and you will always need them. It sucks to have torn up, sore knees ( i remember the tops of my feet killing me as well), but everyone has to go through it. It's like building up calluses to play guitar; once you build them up, you'll be all set.
I've been doing both gi and no-gi for about a year. But, I started out strictly no-gi for about 3 yrs and I have calluses on my knees, and I NEVER scrape them anymore. I would recommend letting that happen since they are small and not bothersome in the least. You can't even tell they are there. I tried knee pads but hate all the damn readjusting.
