Tuesday 8 January 2013

Fighter Fashion... or lack there of.

So I was watching Invicta 4 the other day, talking to my friend Tee, and we noticed the wide variety of apparel the fighters were wearing.  We talked about what we wore / would wear in a mma fight, and what works for jiu jitsu.  She mentioned off hand that I should blog about it, and so that's what I'm going to do!

Women's MMA has a wide range of apparel that seems to be allowed. You see girls fighting in jersey style shirts and board shorts to shorts that barely cover their butt cheeks and small sports bras, and everything in between!  It's interesting to see the variety and creativity that goes into everyone's outfits but I've got to wonder how they decide sometimes. Men's MMA has pretty strict rules about what's allowed,  board shorts or vale tudo shorts.  Wrestling "shorts" were allowed... until the Dennis Hallman fiasco.

Now, some people are probably going to be insulted by the rest of this post, if you are one of the girls who wears very little to fight, you probably don't want to read anymore haha. You'll probably call me a prude and be all "I can wear whatever I want that I'm comfortable fighting in" and that's fine.

Now, at Invicta, there was 3 wardrobe malfunctions. There was ass crack, a thong, and a nipslip. Two of those in one fight! From the same fighter! You would think that wearing leggings to fight in would be fairly safe, but they seemed to be a bit loose or something b/c they rode a little low and we saw a bit of bum. Leslie's sports bra also had some trouble, I don't think anything got on camera, but the people in the live show definitely saw more than they expected!  The thong incident belongs to Alexis, her fight shorts seemed to have a similar problem as Leslie's and we all got a peek at her lovely black thong, I suppose it's good she was wearing something underneath!

So, why do these kinds of things happen? Do the fighters not get their fight outfits until a few hours before the fight or something? I guess with having to get sponsors printed and everything they don't get to test them out, but man, I would be talking with my providers after malfunctions like that!

So what is the ideal outfit for fighting? It’s one which allows the fighters to have proper mobility and not be restricted by their outfits and also show off their ridiculously sculpted bodies - which they have every right to, they work their asses off and they should be flaunting it.

Shayna's outfit allowed for a lot of movement and didn't move at all. No idea what's different from her shorts and Alexis and Leslies. Her sports bra/top definitely had more coverage then a lot of other fighters and was tight enough to stay in place, but didn't seem to cause any restrictions or anything either. Seems like the best of both worlds.

When I was fighting MMA, I wore compression shorts, with board shorts over top on the bottom and 2 sports bras and a long sleeve rashguard on top. Paranoid much? Big time. I would be mortified if I had a wardrobe malfunction, but I guess that's just me.

The same thing happens, to a lesser extent, in BJJ. Lots of girls wear just a sports bra under their gi, and I got to say, I'm a little jealous of their confidence!  Like in MMA, I wear compression shorts under my gi pants, and a sports bra and long sleeve(or sometimes short sleeve) rashguard under my gi.  Funny thing, did you know in the IBJJF rules it specifies that thongs aren't allowed to be worn under gi pants. I assume they mean as the only thing under your pants, but it's still funny. It's also funny that this rule is only for the women. I guess they haven't had to specify it for the men yet. No commando allowed either.

I do see the appeal of wearing a thong, you know you’re going to get wedgies doing jiu jitsu (and MMA) so why not make it as little fabric as possible?  No one likes a big ol’ wedgie. I find some pairs of shorts, and underwear, cause wedgies a lot worse than others. I haven't quite figured out what the cause is, but I know some of my shorts never ride up, and some do. I wish I could keep them straight.

I did get a sweet pair of capris the other day from Tussle that I'm looking forward to rocking for nogi jiu jitsu. I'm going to be wearing a pair of shorts underneath them though, b/c they are a tad to big and I think if I’m shrimping and stuff they might scrunch down and make me moon everyone!!

For the tops, I don't find wearing a rashguard under my gi to be restricting at all, I like the moisture wicking abilities it provides, and also, the more of my skin that's covered, the less chance of catching something nasty off of the mats.

This all reminds me... where do you girls find good sports bras? I have a hellova time finding decent ones. Tee pointed me to under armors $70 ones, and I’ve got to say, the fact that they have cup and band sizes instead of just small medium large is a big selling point. Just because I've got a medium size rib cage doesn't mean I've got big boobs!!

So, what do you wear? Is there anyone out there as paranoid as I am????

11 comments:

  1. Yep, just as paranoid. Compression shorts under gi pants, long sleeved rash guard under the jacket. And I modify my leggings to put in a drawstring to keep them up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oooh good idea on the draw string! I didn't think of that. I should do that to my new capris.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Try Moving Comfort bras, they WILL.NOT.MOVE. Can't beat that! They are a pain to take on and off, but who cares - I've had them yanked HARD by toes/fingers/whatever, and no a single flash ever. Also, they are moisture wicking fabric instead of cotton. As well, most of their styles have light padding which helps someone as almost flat as me look normal. I have a medium ribcage too... the Alexis style is my favorite for Jiu Jitsu, hands down.

    When I'm at goal weight, sure I'll walk around in just my sports bra (which has really good coverage actually)! But most the time I'm 5 pounds over, which has me back in my under armour tank tops ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. nothing seems to be as good as doubling up - bras & shorts, but it can feel restrictive
    Where do the Japanese girls get their bras from? Megumi Fujii's sports bra looks super functional.

    ReplyDelete
  5. is moving comfort a brand? or a product from another brand?
    I'd love to know where fighters like Megumi get their gear! who's got a connection?

    Here's a comment I got in a private message, she didn't want everyone knowing what she wore under her gi (and I totally understand that, ahaha, that's why it's under something ;) ), but said I could share it with everyone so it could help people out:

    Here a comment I got from a private message:

    I tried champion, underarmor and lululemon but by far the best sports bra is surprisingly victorias secret 'runway' bra from their vsx line. I always thought their stuff would be more fashion oriented vs performance but I have been pleasantly surprised. Anyways with that bra the girls aren't going anywhere and there's no underwire and the additional padding prevents everyone knowing when you're cold. Their sports underwear are equally awesome.. I train in their sports thong with spandex high rise shorts. Got sick of a regular pair of briefs bunching up. Anyways try out the VSX line.. . Some of it is on sale right now (just did a restock).. their pants and running jackets are as good as lululemon in terms of fit and cut and quality except cheaper

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with you on this. I am not a fan of just having on a sports bra under my gi in training and in competition. Frankly, this is a male dominated sport and I don't think it is very appropriate to have your tata's hanging out for everyone to see. Personally, when I am training I wear work-out capris and a rash guard underneath my Gi. At tournaments because I need to cut weight, I wear a 1 piece bathing suit. I love the bathing suit because it keeps everything in place and there is no chance of showing more than you should. I think women fighters in general need to be more aware of their surroundings. Unless you are putting yourself out there on purpose to get some attention, there is no need to flaunt it all and risk a wardrobe malfunction. Yes it is a bit prude, but covering up is never a bad thing :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah the "nip slip" was a bit more than a slip... she had her whole boob out for the last 10-20 seconds of the round! I would have been mortified.
    Loved the article, I agree fully. Ronda Rousey had a near nip slip in her fight on Saturday as well, which I entirely saw coming (I mean seriously, who wears sports bras that tiny?! Especially with nothing over top!)
    In no-gi I used to wear mid-thigh length spandex shorts with board shorts over top. Over time I found many styles of board shorts to be restrictive, and the ones that worked well for me no longer fit. I usually wear the same spandex shorts with short underarmour shorts over top. The material is really free, I mostly wear them as a second "just in case" layer, especially since all my spandex shorts tend to ride up from mid-thigh to just under the booty haha. For the top I just wear a sports bra and short sleeved rash guard (I don't know how people wear long sleeves, isn't it hot?)
    For gi maybe it's reckless but I wear my spandex shorts underneath and just a sports bra for the top. My old gym didn't allow anything under the gi for guys and girls could have a sports bra and non-baggy shirt underneath. I never owned a rashguard back then so I just wore my sports bra and I guess I got used to it. I've never had a problem, but then again my boobs are pretty small :p
    As for your other question, I have tried EVERYWHERE for sports bras. My favourite of all time was from La Senza, but they no longer make them. Underarmour, Nike, and no-name Zellers type brands all squished and hurt. Lululemon was expensive and not much better. The best I've found are from Aerie, they're comfortable, adjustable, and can't fall off if they come undone. The only problem is they have metal adjustors for the straps, so I couldn't wear them for an MMA fight.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the Feedback Quincy! it's crazy what they wear in the cage eh? I think with Ronda, as you noticed, she was sponsored by the UFC, and all her gear and UFC all over it, so you can guess who's idea it was to wear that top. As soon as she walked out I was like "That isn't her normal top! this is going to be trouble". She had an issue with shorter then usual shorts a few fights ago, and in the post fight she was like "I'm never wearing shorts this short again!". So it seems like she's aware, but perhaps is being pushed to wear less by various people.

    When I need new sports bras, I'm going to check our Aerie. they sound similar to the VS one that was recommended by another friend of mine. The no metal rule is a pain in the ass.

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh my.... the "nip slip" happened to me, unfortunately (I've been lucky with my gi pants) It was my second tournament, so I didn't know any better. I only had my sports bra, which was really tight, under my gi top. I was under my opponent's side control, then when she did a knee on the belly my left one popped out! I can still hear some of the guys saying "oooohhhh!" *smh. To this day I still don't know how she pulled down my sports bra doing a knee on the belly...Lesson learned. WEAR A RASH GUARD over your sports bra when you compete.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh my Kaycy! thanks for sharing your story! Hopefully there are girls out there thinking "should i wear something over my sports bra" and they will learn from your misadventure!

      this past Invicta card didn't have as many wardrobe malfunctions, but we definitely saw some side boob, and the fight was paused for re-adustjment.

      Zoila and her opponent both need different fight wear.

      Delete