Brazilian Fightwear Grappling Shorts

Once upon a time, I would’ve scoffed at the notion of wearing grappling shorts. I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to training gear, and I prefer to keep things simple. The good (and I mean they are really nice) people at Brazilian Fightwear sent me some grappling shorts to check out, and I don’t think I can train in anything else anymore.

When I pulled them out of the bag, the first thing I noticed was that these shorts were solid. Every detail, from the construction to the screenprinting is noticably well put together, and the fabric felt substantial.

Front

Back

The shorts are constructed from 100% polyester microfiber, and virtually every panel is designed to stretch. This was my main problem with wearing board shorts—nylon doesn’t stretch, and sometimes they get stuck and can tear at the seams. In addition, the sides of the shorts have slits where shorts are most likely to “stick” to your leg. The stretchiness and slits on these shorts do two things: 1) Allows the fighter FULL range of unrestricted motion; 2) Makes these shorts super comfortable.

Slit sides on each leg allow for wider range of motion

All the seams where the shorts are more likely to tear are triple-stitched just in case you’re so ridiculously flexible that you can stretch the material to the limit. If that wasn’t enough, higher-stressed seams are reinforced with additional stitching.

Triple-stitched inseam with reinforcement (white thread)

The velcro front enclosure has a slightly different design from your average boardshort. BFW also uses the usual velcro+tiestring method, but the string is over slightly off-center to the right which makes it less likely to come apart or get caught when you are working from your guard. The string runs through very thin grommets, which I found to be a very nice detail which adds a bit of comfort while you’re rolling.

Front velcro enclosure

Attached to the inside of the waist is a small pocket designed to put your mouthguard in. I’m not too sure how useful this feature is, as I don’t use mouthguards, but it looks like plenty of room for one. I’d imagine that digging in your shorts for them every time you want to put your mouthguard on might be a little annoying, but I guess it’s better than putting them down anywhere in your gym. Some guys I know just stick it on their ear. The pocket can be useful for keeping cash. It’s always fun to buy food after training and see the look on people’s faces when you hand them sweaty money.

Inside pocket for your mouthguard

After wearing them around and training in them, I have to admit I’m hooked. I’ve never owned a pair of shorts that have so much freedom of movement. Brazilian Fightwear has put some serious thought into these shorts, and you can tell they were designed by fighters for fighters. I’ve been told that Paulo Filho will be wearing a pair tomorrow at Pride Bushido, so keep an eye out for them.