The boys at BFW sent me a rashguard to check out, so here goes!
Let’s look firstly at the competition. Surf rash guards and Underarmour. While both these options work fine, I’ve found that they start to wear down rather quickly after extended use and care. I’ve got Underarmour short sleeve tops that began breaking down after just a few washes. These BFW rash guards are burly. I’d guess that they’re about twice as thick as its competition.
The screen printing is just as rugged as the fabric itself. It looks like it’s some sort of rubberized paint that stretches so it doesn’t crumble with repeated use.
The stitching… the stitching is pretty crazy. I’d say borderline extreme. Almost as extreme as the athletes that wear them. XTREEEEEME!!! Just kidding. The thread they use is heavy duty to begin with, and the stitch pattern is difficult to see because it’s so dense. Bottom line is that it’s pretty much indestructable at every seam, so you don’t have to worry about anything coming loose.
If you’re not into the rah rah Brazil colors, BFW has some other options available as well. The rashie also comes in a long sleeve. Go check ‘em out!
Erik Paulson is one of the trailblazers in early MMA, being among the first to train and compete in hybrid martial arts. He’s like a modern day Bruce Lee, putting together the best aspects of BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai, Catch wrestling, Sambo, Savate, and JKD into a fighting system he’s dubbed Combat Submission Wrestling. His expertise in leg locks makes his groundfighting style really dangerous since everything from the waist down is vulnerable to dozens of attacks in any given position. Seriously, his knowledge of leg submissions is encyclopedic. You’ll see him coaching and working Josh Barnett’s corner at Pride events. Erik is a super cool guy too. Very down to earth and just a good human being.
Oh, and if you ever get the chance to take one of his seminars or visit his school down in Anaheim, you might want to take a notepad because you’ll learn like 20 different techniques in the span of an hour. He definitely makes it worth the money.
It looks like his site has had a facelift recently, and there are some Grappling Magazine instructionals available for download showcasing some of his no gi submissions:
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