Fighter — top_cat

You've probably heard it before: "The only way to improve your jiu jitsu is by training jiu jitsu." Well, yes, that's true. You can't expect to get better at jiu jitsu by NOT training jiu jitsu. However, adding strength training to your regime provides a multitude of benefits, even if you're not a serious competitor.

Here are five reasons strength training can help your BJJ:

Muscle Endurance - We've all been there. After a couple hard rolls... or your first match at a major competition... your knees feel like jello and your grips are non-existent. Jiu jitsu can only go so far in developing your muscle endurance, and odds are, you're working only a select few muscle groups (those that you use with your particular game). A varied strength training program can take your muscle endurance to the next level and gives you control over your progress through increased weight and resistance.

Explosive Power - Whether you're a guard player or a top gamer, there are moments in which you need fast, explosive power behind your techniques in order to catch your opponent off guard and secure a more dominant position, or even a submission. Just as with muscle endurance, it's hard to consistently develop this just through jiu jitsu. Strength training enables you to develop your explosive power on a regular basis and in a controlled scenario, so that you can see and measure your progress.

Injury Prevention - Jiu jitsu puts you in some really strange positions - either by your own volition or because your opponent put you there. On top of that, regular training puts a lot of stress on your body, especially your joints. Strength training prevents injuries by strengthening the stabilizing muscles around your joints, providing added protection when you find yourself in compromising situations. Additionally, the stronger you are, the more you are able to control your opponent's movements, including any overly-aggressive and uncontrolled movements that could cause you harm. 

Injury Rehabilitation - So the worst has happened: you're injured. Whether it's a serious injury or a minor one, strength training assists in injury recovery in a number of ways. In the case of a serious injury, the muscles around the affected area weaken due to lack of use, while other muscles have become disproportionately stronger due to compensation. Strength training helps to correct this imbalance. Strength training also allows you to keep training - certain uninjured areas of the body, of course - and maintain a moderate level of fitness while you're recovering. Additionally, the stronger muscles you've developed prior to an injury also aid in injury recovery by providing added protection against further injury while you're healing. 

Expanded Range of Training Partners - Finally, simply being stronger will increase your range of potential training partners, as you will be able to train more effectively - and safely - with people who would ordinarily be much stronger than you. Yes, without strength training you are free to train with whomever you want, but the operative words here are "effectively" and "safely". If you're constantly being smashed because of your lack of strength, that training partner is doing nothing for your personal growth within jiu jitsu, and indeed may even injure you and set your training back.

We hope you've been convinced that a supplemental strength training program will aid in your jiu jitsu growth and development. 

Train on. Oss. 

Anytime you see a jiu jitsu gi model in its umpteenth version... you know it's a good one. Unpopular models fade and disappear from the market, while the popular ones get better and better. The Kingz Kimonos Comp 450 V5 is no exception. One of Kingz' most popular gis, the Comp 450 V5 is the best yet! 

Read on to get the scoop...

Material:

The Comp 450 V5 features a mid-weight 450 GSM (grams per square meter) Pearl Weave top, and 10 oz cotton drill pants, both made from 100% pure cotton. This gi is the perfect balance between weight and durability. While some practitioners may prefer lighter weight gis, those gis do tend to shrink more and they don't hold up as well when it comes to the daily grind. 

Cut: 

We love the Kingz cut. With the V4 and now the V5, they have improved upon their earlier versions with a nice tapered, streamlined profile. This is incredibly popular with competitive jiu jitsu practitioners as it provides less material for your opponent to grab, as well as non-competitive practitioners because, well... there's less material for your opponent to grab. Period. Just make sure you choose the size that's right for you, or you may end up looking like a hipster in your skin-tight gi. Luckily for you, Kingz offers a ton of great sizing options, including "H" (husky) and "L" (long) sizes.

Design: 

Kingz always strives to keep their gis looking fresh and modern. With the Comp 450 V5 they haven't strayed too far from the aesthetic of their highly-popular V4, but they've definitely given it some edge. You'll note that the medieval lion symbol that was on the skirt of the V4, is a more prominent element in the V5. It is included in the pattern of the yoke lining, in the newly designed jacket and pant labels, and is even embroidered on the inside of the Kingz Crown logos on the shoulders (the coolest part of this gi in our opinion!). 

FM Rating: 

We definitely give this gi a 5 out of 5, for both quality and creativity. 

Trian on. Oss.

So you've tried a class or two - have suffered the indignity of the "loaner" gi - and have now made the life-altering decision to join a jiu jitsu academy. Welcome to the party. But exactly what kind of training gear do you need?

Here's our "starter pack" list of key items for the beginner practitioner: 

• Gis - Unless you've joined an academy or gym that only offers no-gi training, you'll need a gi. Actually, make that two... At least. Yes, gis can be expensive, but if you plan on training more than once every few days, you'll need a fresh, clean gi to wear while your other dries.
• Rash Guards - Even if you don't plan on trying no-gi - which is silly, you should at least try it - some academies require you to wear a rash guard under your gi, for sanitary reasons. If you do plan on doing no-gi, rash guards help keep you from getting mat burn, ringworm, or other mat-bourne illnesses. Again, at least two is advised. 
• Grappling Shorts - For those open to no-gi training, especially if you're male, a couple of grappling shorts to pair with your rash guards is necessary... Unless you plan on rocking the rash guard/spats combo, which is cool, too. 
• Compression Shorts/Spats - Regardless of whether you're going to train only gi, only no-gi, or plan on training both, compression shorts and/or spats is absolutely necessary. For gi training, you will want to wear something under your gi. Your training partners will thank you. 
• Flip-flops - If someone hasn't already told you, you shouldn't walk around barefoot while you're off the mat. Between traveling from the locker room and back, and getting on and off for water breaks, you'll need something to slip your feet in and out of easily.
• Reusable Water Bottle - Unless you enjoy standing in line for the water fountain during water breaks or in between rolls, you'll want to have your own water nearby. 
• Anti-Bacterial Soap - Whether you shower at the academy - if you're lucky enough to have one there - or you shower at home, you'll want a good anti-bacterial soap. You may have the cleanest academy in the world, but the fact is, you're rolling around in close contact with other people whose hygienic practices are not known to you.  
• Nail Clippers - You should already have these, but it's not a bad idea to carry an extra set with you. With your busy life, and likely close-toed-shoe job, it's easy to forget about the last time you clipped your toenails. Don't risk scratching your training partner with your gnarly ogre feet. 
• Gear Bag - Considering all of the above, you'll want a separate gear bag just for your jiu jitsu gear. This not only helps keep everything in one place (so you don't forget some crucial piece of attire while you're rushing out the door in the morning), but it also keeps that sweaty, pungent post-training smell from infecting the inside of your car on your way home. 

Of course, as you continue on your jiu jitsu journey, you'll find you might need a number of other things, but these are the core things that every jiujiteiro should have.  

Train on. Oss. 

Especially if you've never done it before, the thought of "yoga" might conjure images of long-haired, new-age hippies contorting themselves into strange positions while incense trails billow about the room. Indeed, you may even scoff at the idea of integrating yoga practice into your training regime.

However, many jiu jitsu athletes - many high-level performance athletes in general - have found yoga to be incredibly beneficial to their training. Here are five reasons why: 

Flexibility - Whether or not you're a 10th Planet nut - and a fan of all guards rubbery - increased flexibility is immensely important to your jiu jitsu training as it improves your range of movement. This is important not only for techniques that you might employ, such as berimbolo, or other inverted positions, but also those that your partner/opponent employs. Greater flexibility will help keep you from hobbling home like a 90 year old after he/she folds you like an accordion. 

Balance - A lot of yoga movements, even those that may look pretty easy, require a significant amount of balance, especially those in which you move slowly from one form into another. The more you do yoga, the more your balance improves. This directly translates into your jiu jitsu "base", allowing you to maintain greater composure and control over your body, particularly your center of balance. Of course, this helps most in preventing your opponent from sweeping you or taking you down, but it can help in your passing game as well (think the Flamingo pass). 

Muscle Endurance - Increased muscle endurance isn't restricted to the realm of strength training. Because yoga consists of a lot of balancing, slow movements, and holding positions for long periods of time, it is extremely useful in increasing your muscle endurance. Indeed, because yoga involves eccentric contraction of the muscles, while strength training primarily involves concentric muscle contraction, it develops endurance in a distinct and - if you already supplement your jiu jitsu with a regular strength training - complementary way. 

Respiration - A lot of yoga styles - think Vinyasa - require that you pair your breathing with the movement of your body. Because breathing is such an unconscious bodily function, we often take it for granted during increased physical movement. Few deny that cardiovascular training is important for keeping you from getting out-of-breath during jiu jitsu, by strengthening your heart, lungs and circulatory system, but the kind of breathing involved in yoga also helps, by developing a lower respiratory rate, strengthening the diaphragm, and training you to employ conscious breathing techniques. 

Mindfulness - Mindfulness isn't just some feely-good yogi term. At its root, mindfulness is the "basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us." Sound familiar? This is definitely something that we exercise during regular jiu jitsu training. Yoga also helps to develop this, and combined yoga and jiu jitsu training can accelerate our ability to be mindful, whether we're on the home mat or the competition arena. 

Hopefully this article has given you some valuable insight into how yoga might benefit your jiu jitsu training. 

Train on. Oss... and Namaste.

The vast majority of jiu jitsu gis in the market today are relatively plain... aside from the logo, maybe some designed patches and nice embroidered details, there's usually not much more to it.

However, nearly every major brand offers at least one gi model with a fully designed interior. The Maeda Brand Akashio Jiu Jitsu Gi has to be one of the coolest we've ever seen. 

Like most of Maeda Brand's products, the exterior of the Akashio limited edition gi is streamlined and elegant. The adornments are never over-the-top, and the patterns and color ways are always very appealing. 

What makes the Maeda Akashio gi special, however, is the interior of the jacket. 

First of all, the name Akashio comes from the Japanese for "red tide", which alludes to this imagery of an ocean stained red by the blood of one's enemies. Kind of badass, right? Playing on that, the main image is from an ancient Japanese painting of two samurai warriors engaged in mortal combat on a pebble beach, into which the distinctive Maeda emblem logo and stamp logo have been incorporated. Across the yoke and the interior of the lower lapel is a pattern depicting seagulls over a blood red tide (patterns are highly popular in Japanese art, fabrics, and general iconography). 

Taken as a whole, the design appears as a work of art... you might even be tempted to frame it and hang it on your wall.

But it's far from being a delicate piece of wall adornment. The Akashio is constructed to withstand even the most rigorous training. The jacket is a relatively lightweight 480 GSM Pearl Weave Plus (a tighter, stronger weave than regular Pearl Weave), the interior sublimated lining is made from Cool Max fabric (a mesh type fabric that's lighter and wicks moisture better than a rash guard liner), and the pants are made from a mid-weight 10 oz cotton drill pants. 

Whether or not you plan on using it, the Maeda Akashio is an excellent addition to your gi collection. We give it a solid 5 stars out of 5. 

Train on. Oss.