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.

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.

I recently saw from Georgette Oden’s blog links to vids about the Tozi Pass

I gave this a try last night. We were practicing from position. I almost pulled it off first try! Frigg’n rocked!

Here is what I attempted: