Blog o’ the Jimmy

Volleyball knee pads for BJJ

My bony knees don’t enjoy stiff mats. Well, they are a bit temperamental when it comes to a lot of things nowadays.  When I studied Iaido, I was introduced to the benefits of volleyball knee pads  when kneeling or sitting Seiza on hardwood floors.

There are a number of knee pads out there, but to protect all angles your knees might experience I highly recommend volleyball pads, especially these Asics pads.  They’re even roomy enough to accommodate my knee sleeve.  You loose some range of motion, but that has just encouraged more stretching.

So here’s an update on the my Padilla & Sons Light Weight Gi.

It kicks ass.  With summer in full swing and training in a 2nd floor gym with no A/C I am very thankful for this Gi.  It wasn’t until now that I realized how nice this thing is.

Action Shot:

Padilla & Sons Light Weight Gi action shot

That’s me on the bottom.  Just a great, light weight Gi.  I’ve had it since March 2010 and no tears or frayed edges.  Gets washed after every class.

Wore my VX2s at class for the first time tonight.  Didn’t get hardly any crap from anyone which actually really surprised me.  Killer J seems to get a lot about his.  It’s how I heard about them actually.  If everyone wouldn’t have been talking about them I don’t know if I would have noticed.  Maybe nobody gave me crap because I’ll talk ‘em to death?  Dunno.

Anyway, here is how it went:

• Feet got really sweaty, but didn’t notice it until I took them off.  This was no big deal for me though; I wear a neoprene knee brace and volleyball knee pads under my Gi so a little extra perspiration is no biggie
• Insane traction.  Very noticeable.  Helped me a lot during take down practice tonight.  When positioning for throws I was not able to rotate on the ball of my foot very easily though.
• My ankles felt a bit of strain.  Not sure why. I don’t know if these were the cause of this or I started out tweaking them.
• Between some of the toes on my right foot it felt like I was wearing flip flops.  The material felt like it was biting in.  I didn’t take the time to make any adjustments which could have alleviated this.
• Most importantly, no road rash.  Feet look the same as when I started class tonight.  I really like that.

Threw em in the wash with my Gi tonight on cold. GrappleSock is very clear that these need only cold washing and no dryer action. Next class I’ll make some adjustments if I feel anything uncomfortable and see how it goes.  So far I like ‘em.

My pair of GrappleSock VX2s showed up yesterday. Shipping was free and they  got here quick. Here are my first impressions:

1. Light weight and comfortable
2. Takes a minute to put them on the first time if you’ve got messed up toes
3. Grip like rock climbing shoes
4. Can’t really tell you’re wearing anything after you put them on
5. Feet sweat slightly from the neoprene, but not like wearing wet socks.  I used to windsurf in wet socks all the time and even with all the water they’d feel a little funky now and then.

Picture time

The reason I purchased a pair of these was because I’d like to not get Ring Worm or any other funky infections/parasites while training.  I rarely if ever leave class without at least some rug burn,  and I don’t like rolling with anyone that has open sores on their feet. So, I can’t in good conscience expect someone else to put up with mine.

What I noticed right off the bat was how grippy these things are.  They grip better on my floor than a pair of sneakers.  Hardwood is different than wrestling/BJJ mats; yes, I understand this.  I’m guessing it’ll be similar.  The grip is not from the little bead looking things,  but from some kind of non-slip treatment they’ve sprayed on the bottom of the socks.

Anyway, I’m happy with my purchase so far.  Being Father’s Day I’m gonna skip class, so Monday or Tuesday I’ll give em a shot.

Finally got to try out my new Gi today, and I really enjoyed it! I had mentioned in a previous post that my Koral MKM seemed to feel like cardboard for the first 30 min of class. Well, the Padilla felt the same way BECAUSE I don’t run them through the dryer.

To compare the Koral MKM to the  Padilla Competition Light:

1. Both Gi tops are great! The Koral is a bit heavier than the Padilla, but really isn’t that noticeable.
2. The collar on the Koral is a lot stiffer than on the Padilla, so it feels like it presses into my neck a bit which did make the Padilla feel a bit more comfortable.
3. Arm length on both the Koral and Padilla is perfect for me.
4. The Koral A3 is an A4 in the Padilla.
5. The pant material for both the Koral and the Padilla is the same.  The length on both is perfect for me.  The BIG difference is in how they wear.  With my Koral, occasionally it feels like my pants are giving a little plumber crack.  The Padilla pants never gave me this feeling ever.  I attribute this to the rope used as a draw string.  It has a bit of an elastic quality to it that I think helps keep the right amount of snug.   The Koral belt loops are a bit wider spaced that on the Padilla.  This keeps the draw string from riding up on your sides on the Koral.  The Padilla draw rope rides up on your sides slightly.  Not very noticeable though.

All in all, I am very happy with both of my Kimonos.  With the Padilla being almost $100 cheaper than the Koral, I’ll be a bit hard pressed to go that high again when I can get almost the same Gi for less.  I am still a fan of Koral though.

Only thing I’d like to see on the Padilla are a few patches.  I totally dig patches!

I received my copy of Ginastica Natural for Fighters today from BJJMart.com . I like to live life from my gut feelings, and once again it was the right thing to do. So far I’m seeing a bridging of the Hatha Yoga and BJJ worlds, something I’ve been desperately craving. I taught Hatha Yoga for a little over 2 years and from that experience I can see how much it influenced the creator of Ginastica Natural.

I can’t believe how excited I am about this.

Okay, so my Gi showed up today and here are my first impressions:

1. Soft and comfortable. My Koral even after 20+ washings still feels like I’m wearing cardboard for the first 30 min of class.
2. Size is perfect, with the arms just a little too long. According to their instructions this kimono will shrink up about 1 inch after washing.
3. The collar doesn’t bite into my neck like my Koral MKM does. But it’s still still plenty stiff.
4. The pant draw string is frigg’n BRILLIANT!!! Typically the draw sting is made out of the same material as the pants. The draw string on these pants is rope. Runs smooth.

Okay, so I’ve taken this week off because of an injury so I’ll be trying it out Sunday.

I’ve been looking for exercises that are specifically geared toward enhancing my BJJ here lately. My only other exercise outside of BJJ currently besides hiking is Turbulence Training which I enjoy immensely, but I’d like to get back to a more Hatha Yoga-ish, body weight approach. Although Craig Ballantyne (TT creator) has created body weight exercises I want more movements that are relevant to BJJ and a flowing hatha yoga.

Well lucky me, a fellow blogger provided some insights to his personal BJJ practice and I was thus introduced to Ginastica Natural. The inventor is a BJJ practitioner himself. Check out the following vid:

Well, that was enough to grab my interest so I ordered the DVD Ginastica Natural for Fighters yesterday.  I’m excited to see where this avenue takes me.

I gave Padilla & Sons a call today to ask a couple questions. I also noticed they have a Light Weight Competition Kimono for the same price as the Gold weave and I found it mighty enticing.

I believe it was Betty that I spoke with. She answered all my questions to my satisfaction, and made the suggestion that I go with an A4 instead of an A3. I’m 6’1″ and 206 lbs down from 215 lbs after 3 weeks of calorie observation. My goal weight is 190 lbs by end of April.  Since I’m right in the middle of the A3 and A4 she suggested to go big for starters and if I tried it on and didn’t dig it I could exchange it for the A3.  She made it very clear that since these are cotton they will shrink some from washing, but they have detailed instructions on how to deal with this.

Order the A4 white light weight competition today.  Totally stoked!  Gi with shipping is $104 .

So I’m back in the swing of things, hitting 2-4 BJJ classes now a week (hopefully more soon) and I’ve come to realize that one Gi is definitely not enough. My Koral MKM Gi totally rocks, but washing it everyday and letting it hang dry is not working out very well, and there is no chance my Gi will ever be placed in a dryer (I get nightmares just thinking about it). I’m going a bit soggy to class now which ain’t cool.

I’m thinking I’m gonna try something I haven’t seen much of but have read only good reviews. Padilla and Sons has a Gold Weave that looks mighty enticing, and at $95 dollars looks to be quite a deal. Their customer service is claimed to be top notch so I’m going to give them a call here today and see what they recommend as for size and see how it goes.