Groin protectors – use them, and avoid inadvertent injury in combat

Any good Jiu Jitsu or MMA instructor will tell you to go in for groin protectors.

This might surprise you, since blows to the groin are illegal in these disciplines. Groin protectors – use them, and avoid inadvertent injury in combat Any good Jiu Jitsu or MMA instructor will tell you to go in for groin protectors.   This might surprise you, since blows to the groin are illegal in these disciplines. And it’s a fact that no one will strike you in the groin on purpose while training at MMA or Jiu Jitsu – but the simple fact is that a great many Jiu Jitsu and MMA techniques do leave the groin vulnerable, and you can inadvertently take an elbow or knee (or if its MMA, even a foot) in the groin, which, needless to say, can be very unpleasant.   As a matter of fact, it is mandatory to wear a groin guard in many Jiu Jitsu and MMA training academies, but even if it’s not, you should consider the problems that can arise from taking serious injury to the groin. The variations on groin guards You can either buy groin protectors that are a simple cup, or a cup with a strap, called a jock strap. While the standalone cup can do for games like baseball, for a highly active sport like Jiu Jitsu, I would really advise you that you buy the cup with the strap, as this will ensure that the cup doesn’t move around as you execute different techniques.   I find that this is crucially important in sports like Jiu Jitsu and MMA, because if a cup shifts badly, it can itself cause injury if the groin area is then struck. The best protectors will have a sleeve or flap into which the cup slips, so that it can be removed for comfort when you are not in the ring or on the mat. So what sort of cup should I buy? Except for steel cups, this isn’t a high technology area, so just about any cup manufactured reliably is quite adequate. Try to go in for a groin guard that has a hard cup, but whose sides are padded. This spreads the shock from a blow, and also prevents rashes from the friction caused by a hard cup. How about compression shorts? Compression shorts are often designed with a pocket or flap that can fit a cup. This is a great system, because it ensures that the cup stays in place far more reliably than any other system. The only problem is that the shorts can cost considerably more than a cup with a strap.   Nevertheless, I highly recommend this. Even better, compression shorts are usually made of material that draws sweat and moisture away from the skin, making them very comfortable to wear. Steel Cups The steel cup is designed to ward off heavy blows, and are best for full-contact striking sports like kickboxing or Muay Thai. These steel caps are perhaps not needed for grappling sports like Jiu Jitsu, but are nevertheless a very durable alternative to ordinary cups, and can be used, though I recommend that they be used with compression shorts so that they don’t move around.   Top King and FBT both have good steel cups.   The best sort of groin protection (there are a few of this type out there) uses both a jock strap and compression shorts to hold the cup in place. This offers the most reliable protection, because it is almost impossible for the cup to move around.   There are even more sophisticated groin guards that use gripping panels to keep them in place – they are expensive, but do work. But to my mind, compression shorts with a cup insert are perfectly acceptable in most combat arts.