Cliff Keen Headgear

Draining my ear after every class sucked. But wearing headgear sucks a little less. I am not a big fan of wearing headgear to protect my ears, but found that it was essential to keep my training comfortable. After I tired of draining my ears, around 14 or 15 times, I decided to purchase some headgear. I looked online high and low and there were very few vendors who carried the headgear that I thought would be good for me. It is a specialty item which means that people do not usually carry it, including Walmart or Canadian Tire... ;)

I was looking at the Cliff Keen Tornado Headgear because of all the reviews I read. I checked out eastbay.com who had all the stuff I wanted, but the cross border duty rep and shipping was 35+ dollars. That was almost the cost of the headgear I wanted so it was not going to fly. Note to US companies and our glorious Canadian government; US/Canadian currency parity and the current state of cross border duties kills international consumer shopping.

Jonathan, a Purple belt at our club hooked me up with his gear temporarily until I could score my own. I was thankful, but wearing headgear felt like rolling in a fish bowl. It was worse than wearing my mouth piece for the first time after a few months of naked teeth. But for the good of my ears I continued.

So, I was set on the Cliff Keen Headgear and could not find a suitable vendor in Canada or the US until I went to the source. I went to http://cliffkeen.com and found my first choice; the black/black/black Tornado Headgear. Their online transaction did not work for Canadian shoppers, so I called. The sales lady was real nice, used to taking large orders from universities, schools, and other organizations, asked how many I would like to order. I said, "One black/black/black Tornado Headgear please". She laughed and took my payment info.

Three weeks later my gear arrived at the grand total of $46.00 Canadian; around $25 dollars less than the final cost of EastBay.com. I tried them on and was instantly happy with how they felt and these things were so well designed, I could actually hear very well. I returned Jonathan's gear and rolled with my new gear the day I received them. There was a world of difference with these things; comfortable, unobtrusive, and after my third roll, I was somewhat unaware I was wearing them at all.

I love my gear and am happy I put the ear needles away. I may continue to wear them even after my ear finally heals up. Thank you Cliff Keen!

Ous.

Tape - My New Best Friend

I am back in class now after taking off 3 classes to recover from a hand injury. I was a little nervous when stepping back on the mat because the guys on our team are so good, you miss only one class, you get your ass kicked when you come back.

My concern was not for my stamina because I stayed active while in recovery. My concern was for my hand. Because I had a pretty bad injury with my thumb 5 or 6 months ago, I know what it is like to not have full use of an essential tool for fighting. But how do I contend without the full use of three of my fingers and a messed up wrist. The answer: very carefully.

The key to avoiding re-injury in this case was imobilization. Over the past few weeks of trying to understand what motions caused pain, I figured out how to best effectively tape my fingers together to allow me a desired range of motion while still protecting the healing parts. In this case, two pieces of tape in between the first and second and second and third nuckle holding my index finger and middle finger together. My index finger acted as a splint for my other three injured finger nuckles. And I had full use of my hand.

So at this point, when I see the professionals tape up, I know that there is a reason. And understanding how to tape an injury just right is an essential art in our kind of combat sport. The best part; 6 rolls of hockey tape at Canadian Tire for just 12 bucks. For that price I can get injured every day of the week and twice on Sunday and never go bankrupt buying tape. Thank you Canadian Tire!!!

Ous.

Dragao Kimono / Gi

When I first started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I wore a Judo Gi. It was quite heavy but did the trick. But after I realized that I wanted to study further I decided to purchase a Kimono (Gi) for training as it was more "Jiu Jitsu". I did a great deal of research on all different types of Kimonos and found a company called Dragao in Brazil.

After talking with some of my classmates about Kimonos I decided to make the purchase. Rather than purchase it from a MMA store, I wanted to go to the source. The mark up of many of these stores was unreasonable. As well, dealing with an intermediary can sometimes be a pain in the butt; there are some horror stories floating around.

I visited the Dragao Kimonos website and made my choice; the "Arm Lock" Kimono. I chose the A-2G which was perfect for my 5'9 height and 168lbs build. I made my order, paid around 100.00 USD and 32.00 USD for basic economic shipping. All toll, 132.00 USD for a top of the line Kimono. Shipping took around a week and a half; I was surprised it got here so fast.

I have been wearing this Kimono for over 4 months now and love it. The more I washed it, the better it fit. The only complaint I have is the canvas pants are sometimes difficult to take off after training because of the sweat. The positive side effect of this is I get a second work out taking my pants off after class.

Ous.