Whats the point of wearing a rash gaurd for grappling?

Rash guards are a great invention. They came originally from the space program but then made their way into sports via American Football.





They tend to have two uses in MMA/BJJ (and therefore other grappling/gi arts);


1. When worn under a kimono/gi they will stop you getting sore arm pits, neck, etc by acting as a barrier between the rough gi material and your skin. My company used to sell them and manufacture them and we also found that a lot of ladies wore them in preference to t-shirts under their uniforms. They looked better and held everything in place better than t-shirts.


2. When worn during MMA fights/practise they pull moisture (sweat) away from the body while allowing the air in. This allows your body to cool better than normal and warm up quicker. Compared to a t-shirt, they allow much less in the way of 'handles' (the ability for your opponent to grab your clothing to manipulate or restrict you). Additionally, they are tougher (well, good quality ones are!) than t-shirts and will last a lot longer.





On thing is for sure though, they need washing after each use. Those things with stale perspiration on them are TOXIC.





Also, they look pretty good providing you get a good quality one (such as Gameness, Sprawl, NoGi) just don't buy ones which have too much in the way of design images on as most will bleach out or peel off after a couple of washes.

Whats the point of wearing a rash gaurd for grappling?
Helps wick moisture away from the skin. Don't want to get a nasty rash training before a fight.
Reply:when you roll the mats cause abrasions on your skin. I tend to get them on my shoulders. If the mats aren't cleaned regularly bacteria from people sweating can cause staph infection. Rash guards help guard against this.
Reply:'cause it looks cool. ;]