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by Jessica Robeson

There's a reason why BlitzKick hand picked Sharkwear Sports to be its premier vendor - it's the best!

As a self-proclaimed point fighting connoisseur, I'm very picky about what stuff I bring to the ring. I believe that gear and uniforms make a difference in tournament performance because they influence how the competitor feels. Can anybody really do their best when their shoes hurt, gloves don't fit right, and their uniform is too restrictive?

The Sharkwear Uniform

Starting with Sharkwear Sports' most unique product is the uniform. If you haven't tried sparring in a polyester stretch uniform, whether it is Sharkwear's or another leading brand, this will probably be one of the most important changes in fighting you've ever made. It sounds so simple but you'd be surprised at the difference in going from cotton to "stretchy" polyester. For me, there is nothing worse that fighting in a thick cotton uniform that gets heavy after sweating in it. Why weigh yourself down? And if you are a high kicker, you are sure to experience a "pull" from the cotton uniform as you throw your kick. It's almost like your leg is getting "checked" by your own uniform. Whereas, if you put on a loose fitting and stretchy uniform, there will be nothing but the limitations of your own flexibility holding you back from throwing a 180 degree kick to the sky.

So why do I like Sharkwear's uniform over the other brands? Quality... in a nutshell, but let me be more specific.

Double Stitching

I never gave a darn about fabric stitching until my other two uniforms started unravelling at the cuffs shortly after I bought them. I'd like to believe that my other uniform was falling apart because I'm such a powerful fighter who pushed my uniform to the edge. Then I started to hear my friends complain about the same problem with their uniforms (there goes my extreme powerful fighting fantasy). So I examined the stitching on both uniforms closely and found that the reason why the Sharkwear uniform stays together is because of the double stitching.

Thicker fabric

Aside from keeping you warmer in between rounds, the thicker fabric helps cut down your level of self consciousness if you choose a uniform in a lighter color. Let me put this another way...imagine wearing a white uniform and some other color undertgarment. In a Sharkwear uniform, only YOU know the color of YOU undergarment, not the crowd behind you as you are throwing an axe kick in the ring.

Stainproof

I don't claim to be an expert on chemicals, but I do know that nothing can be more irritating than ruining an outfit with one little accident. For me, I spilled red wine on a white uniform and left the stain there for week (please don't ask me how I got wine on a uniform. LOL!) But after I put a little stain remover on it and put it through the regular wash, there was not a purple trace to be found. It was like magic.

Shrinkage

100% Polyester always shrinks...the question is how much. The easiest way to tell if a poly uniform has shrunk is to look at the seams for "bunching." When I did my comparison, Sharkwear came out on top. In fact, it didnt even look like it shrunk after I put through the dryer several times.

Word to the wise... I believe that Polyester uniforms should have vinyl silk screen designs on them rather than the traditional embroidering. Vinyl silk screen looks cleaner on poly fabric, whereas traditional embroidery looks best on thick cotton traditional gis.

Sharkwear Sparring Gear

I'll probably have to write a separate article on the pros and cons of specific types of sparring gear. But for now, I'll just briefly touch on the traditional foam dipped sparring gear versus the fancy European stuff (e.g., SAP and TopTen)

Gloves and Footpads

I don't know about you guys, but I would go through a pair of foam-dipped hand and footpads every 6 months. I'd attempt to extend the useful life of my gear by putting visually unappealing duct tape on the rips that would just keep getting larger. Sometimes the foam dipped outer shell would become slightly detached from the equipment, which would leave scratches on my opponent upon impact (this made me a little bit less popular with my sparring buddies). However, with my SAP gloves, they don't wear out and they don't scratch people. Besides, SAP gloves are closed-finger, so there's no issue about poking someone's eyeball out.

I know that SAP gloves cost twice as much a foam dipped gloves, but I would argue that they last for more than twice as long, which makes them more cost-effective. I wouldn't surprised if my SAP gloves lasted me years and years rather than just months like the foam stuff.

Headgears

I don't think I can make the same argument about useful life of foam dipped head gears versus those made of bayflex like SAP and Top Ten. After all, if you are the type of person whose foam dipped head gear is wearing out a little too fast, then you might want to consider doing more blocking while in the ring. ;-)

That being said, if you have a teenager (or even just a spacey adult) who has a tendency to leave gear in the trunk of their car during the hot summer weather, you will notice cracks in the dipped foam near the chin and thinner parts of the structure of the helmet as it deteriorates with temperature extremes.

The real reason to cough up over $100 for a headgear is that it just looks COOLER. I know that fighting is not a beauty contest per se, but those old foam headgears are the martial arts tournament fashion equivalent of wearing a brown cordurouy 3 piece suit a la Napolean Dynamite. Besides, if I see my opponent decked out in the latest and greatest equipment and uniform, then subconsciously I will automatically assume that they have the latest and greatest sport martial arts sparring techniques, which adds to their intimidation factor.