MMA fight wear, too flashy?

mogway

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When i first started bjj, i bought all the MMA gear i could get my hands on, bought so many t shirts, kimonos etc....
As time went by and also after going to brazil, I realized that that shit was not for me. All the brazilians who were training in the academies all had some older skankier kimonos which they would use till the end. You wouldn't see anybody with shiny new red kimonos etc... Honestly the only guys I saw with all the fight wear and the colourfull kimonos were the gringos, foreigners.
Also, you rarely see pros or top level bjj guys wearing fightgear when they go out, and only the guys with no game or who don't even train really dress up all geared up. That's why when i go out i dress more low key, and I let my jiu jitsu do the talking not my flashy gear. What do you guys think about this? Are you dressed up in fight MMA gear from head to toes or you low key?
 
I think the fact the Brazilian economy is weaker and gis aren't fashionable but more an investment for training may play into why only pros and foreigners have shiny new top of the line gear.

I own a few couple of items of clothing MMA related I wear out (Punishment tank top, Submit T shirt, a couple of nogi USA items) but most of my wardrobe is T shirts and jeans I got from the mall rather than Brazil.
 
how flash your gear is dosen't improve your fighting, however well fitting decent kit does help you train longer and harder. quallity kit pays off and is worth the investment. as for red kimonos, people who wear them, i totaly agree with you in that they should be shot
 
I wear my fight shorts out but they aren
 
I feel more like a fighter when i put on the Sprawls and Ounos. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. You dress like a professional, you feel like a professional. It helps the mindset.
 
In defense of the red gi....
It's like driving a car.... some people will drive a skoda or fiat while other want a bmw or saab....others want a Ferrari or a Mercedes. Its down to personal taste and affordability. At my club I have a student who is pretty loud and has only trained for a few months and yet paid top whack for a red Gameness. I'd jump on any student who gave him a hard time for wearing a piece of clothing he wanted and was proud of.

As for streetwear, well I'm a little biased because I sell the stuff but eitherway, just about any piece of clothing you wear identifies itself as being of a particular brand and in the UK you see people down every high street wearing football shirts of their favourite teams, rugby shirts, golfing shirts and jumpers etc. Why shouldn't the MMA/BJJ fan/practitioner be any different? It comes down to pride and wanting to stand out.

With the Brazilians and the gi's, most Brazilians I know would snatch your hand off for a new Gameness or Atama. As someone else said, its the economy and the cost which makes this impractical plus the hot climate favouring lighter gi.
 
I know what you mean Fightgear. I remember a few years back, when i wanted to improve my throws, i joined a judo club 4 three months. You should have seen their faces when I came with my turquoise jiu jitsu kimono full of patches and my judo white belt. They told me to put on a more uniform style kimono for class. I guess it sucks to have those kind of restrictions while training.

Although some of MMA T shirts with their loud logos : " Tap out or pass out", " " Bad ass street fighter" make me laugh especially when u see the troll that usually goes along with that. I like the more subtle ones though.
Peace.
 
Wear whatever the hell you want, so long as you're training who cares.

BTW Roy, what belt are you in BJJ? just out of interest.
 
Wearing MMA related clothing on the street, to me, means supporting the sport. Its like when people wear football/basketball jerseys or other sporting team apparel. It doesn't mean they neccessarily play the sport. My granny wears a Fokai Damashii shirt, does that mean she rolls?

I honestly think some of the designs out right now are more gawdy than flashy. Some of these gi's look like cheesy billboards. I see more patches on gi's than I do on cub scouts. LOL, maybe they should start awarding "arm lock" patches or "I know the Kimura" patch to put on gi's once they master the technique - similar to when boy scouts get patches when they learn to build a campfire.
 
I own some t-shirts with BJJ/MMA related design. However i try to mix my clothes so one day i could go out wearing a BJJ t-shirt while the next day i use something totally informal and none related.

Also i like Promotions t-shirts. I like it because they don`t show anything beside the companies logos like Shooto, Pride and UFC.
 
i get worried wearing mma stuff outside of my acadamy because i kinda feel like im showing off and asking for trouble from idiots
 
"i get worried wearing mma stuff outside of my acadamy because i kinda feel like im showing off and asking for trouble from idiots"

That's why I wear them :)
 
I kinda think the whole streetwear thing is dorky, but like was said before its really no different than wearing football jerseys and stuff. The only concern I would have about wearing stuff in public is what if you run into a crackhead thats going to rob you and off the bat he shoots you because your rocking a "I'll beat the hell out of you shirt" just to save himself the trouble of you maybe beating him down?
 
I like wearing MMA gear outside because I like people to know what I do and that I'm proud of it. The one thing I don't like is people who see you wearing fight/MMA stuff and take it as an invitation to be an Ass hole, but in some senses it's to be expected... I also like to wear it when I train as sum1 said earlier you feel more professional which I think is great motivation. I'll also admit that sometimes it is about showin off lol. I mean I used to walk to the local chip shop after Kendo in most of my armour, just to see the look on ppls faces ha ha ha. It is good for meeting ppl who share an interest in MMA or Martial Arts though. I mean everytime I see sum1 wearing a Ju-jutsu shirt or something I usually offer atleast a greeting depending on the situation (i.e. if they're rushing in the opposite direction, or standing at a bus stop)
 
I am kind of on both sides of this one. I just ordered a bright red gameness gi when I'm a complete noob to BJJ. But fuck, I don't want to train in crap just because I'm new, ya know? I saw the gi and thought it looked awesome, so I figure I'll spend the extra money now instead of dropping $60 now and then buying another gi later. I felt better when a couple other guys in class had blue, black, red gis (all of them Koral o_O). I also have been rocking my Sprawl shorts and stuff too, which are pretty loud.

As for streetwear, I don't like a lot of the MMA stuff, but it's a personal preference and not related to MMA. The stupid shirts that are some variation of "I'll kick your ass HAR HAR" printed on a shirt, but to me it's the same as all of those No Fear shirts that are talking crap in the context of baseball and football etc. I do enjoy wearing shirts of fighters and orgs, I liken it to wearing a jersey like other say.
 
The Real Chris Brennan said:
"i get worried wearing mma stuff outside of my acadamy because i kinda feel like im showing off and asking for trouble from idiots"

That's why I wear them :)

If we had half your skill then it wouldn't be an issue. There will always be pricks who want to fight you because of what you're wearing. I would think wearing mma related clothing would indicate you trained and would deter them but some people just need to be beaten.

Nothing wrong with wearing mma-related gear in public, though I only wear some Sinister shirts/hoodies in public and occassionally some shorts. Nothing like walking down the street in your vale tudo shorts and a tank top or rash guard.
 
Tommy-Sambo said:
I kinda think the whole streetwear thing is dorky, but like was said before its really no different than wearing football jerseys and stuff. The only concern I would have about wearing stuff in public is what if you run into a crackhead thats going to rob you and off the bat he shoots you because your rocking a "I'll beat the hell out of you shirt" just to save himself the trouble of you maybe beating him down?


Related story, my profesor was telling me about his friend in Rio who was on a bus headed to the academy. On the bus sitting next to him was a guy with a conceled gun, he knew he was going to rob the people on the bus. He engaged the guy in conversation and convinced him he was a thief too and that he should get off the bus because this was 'his route'. SO the guy with the gun gets off and goes to the next bus. What did the jiu-jitsu guy do before anything else? Made sure his gi and black belt was totally hidden from sight because he knew the guy would have shot him in a second if he thought he was a threat to him.

As for the clothing debate, most designs are cheesey as all hell, with stupid muscule bound characters and dumb slogans. I will only wear the shirts of my academy and this one gameness pitbull shirt someone gave to me, otherwise, I keep myself low key.
 
yes
where im from if you walk around with a silly hunter t shirt with lots of slogans on it your just asking for fucking grief
i wore a tshirt once to college once with some bjj emblems on them and every cunt wanted to talk to me that day.
i dont need the hassle
 
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