white hayabusa mma glove

Hayabusa is a brand who have very quickly managed to become synonymous with style & quality in both their clothing and equipment range. This  is one of their two offerings in the MMA competition glove market and is quite a different design to the excellent Fairtex MMA glove.  One thing that immediately stands out with this glove is the style, its good looks will definitely score points with the fashion conscious MMA market. This MMA glove is available in both black and white versions with the red piping and distinctive Hayabusa branding. The attention to detail is good with finger cuffs and wrist straps well covered to avoid scratches and cuts whilst fighting or training.  The knuckle area is rounded and I think this is generally well designed to maximise comfort and it would be fair to say they have achieved a very nice fitting glove.

In terms of protection the padding tapers off more than it does on the Fairtex FGV17 over the finger area which will afford a little less protection over the actual fingers but the padding is good over the all important knuckle area so this I think is all down to your striking style.  The interesting bit starts when you turn to the palm area which has what Hayabusa call a Y-Volar™ design which is essentially a little strap that crosses the palm allowing the maneuverability of a completely open palm but preventing the glove moving around which I think is a nice touch. The Thumb is left completely free which is definitely of an advantage to the grappler as opposed to the additional padding afforded in the Fairtex over the thumb which would more suit a more striking based proponent.

The only real beef I have with this glove is the quality of the leather which is certainly a lower grade than say the Fairtex. The label describes the glove as 65% leather which I assume discounts the areas which are not leather at all such as  the Velcro straps, they have a little bit of a plastic feel to them but this should not really take away from the fact they are essentially a good piece of kit.
All in all this is a very good MMA glove and ties next to the Fairtex FG17 for this months’ crown.
Build Quality 7/10     Style 9/10     Design 9/10    Comfort 9/10    Value 7/10
Available at: www.fightstoremma.com

Beware MMA Brands, the mainstream is coming

There I am watching the popular TV build up show “Countdown to UFC 124” The main focus of the show is the welterweight fight between George Saint Pierre and Josh Koshcheck which for any mixed martial artist would be an interesting match but for someone interested in the evolution of the MMA industry I feel this show had a few more points of particular interest.

The amiable French Canadian MMA super star George Saint Pierre during his interview is wearing a rashguard. Not particularly interesting in itself but amidst the array of brands on offer to a guy at the absolute pinnacle of his career which brand he chooses to endorse or indeed be endorsed by is Under Armour......

Under Armour are not an MMA brand, there is nothing on the rashguard that mentions the sport its intended for nor indeed does Under Armours website even mention mixed martial arts.  No UA are an athletic brand focussing on mainstream sports so what does this mean for MMA?

There are a whole host of MMA brands out there who simply build a brand and print their logo onto an array of not so well made apparel whilst often claiming to be leaders in the sport however the brands they often strive to be like have very separate division between their “real” sports equipment and clothing and the cheaply made fashion items aimed at the general public and fan base.

A company whose new line of clothing I think shows some development and evident investment in fabrics and design is JACO Clothing who not only are boasting some of the world’s best fighters as endorsees but are also producing clothing that is not just run of the mill with a brand logo printed on it.
Their new line of rashguards are a good example of this both through how the garment is pieced together and in the quality of their build.  It will be interesting if JACO can steal a little of the fire that Canadian Brand Hayabusa have build up whom have a lovely graphic design department but in my view lack any real depth in their production, Indeed they are certainly no better and in many cases no different to any of the multitude of other MMA brands, their mma rashguard being a good example.

Throughout Josh Koshcheck’s interview he wears the relatively new MMA brand Dethrone Royalty which is a new street cool fashion brand who could obviously afford the $100,000 a year fee for being an official UFC sponsor.  The scene cuts over him training in the gym with a guy holding Twins pads and wearing a Twins belly protector who don’t spend the $100,000on a UFC sponsorship.

Brands like Ecko, Lonsdale, Under Armour, Everlast and others are entering into the MMA market from other sports who will look to bring more money and sports technology expertise into the already packed MMA arena.  The days of just printing “Fightwear” onto a fairly standard piece of sports apparel could well be numbered as athletes look for genuine design in their choice of clothing as opposed to just the coolest logo and best known endorsees.

New Thai boxing Lines arriving for the Summer, new Muay Thai brands hit UK Shores

Should we have called ourselves “Fight-store-Muay Thai”? When we picked the name for “Fightstoremma” it was always the intention to build an equipment and genuine training clothing store not one of the many MMA “fashion” style stores but the limits of what we could find URL wise meant that the MMA tag had to be added to the original intention of “Fightstore” That’s all history now but we have certainly become known for our Muay Thai kickboxing equipment and clothing and are building many friends in the Muay Thai and boxing community as well as in MMA.

Summer at FSMMA has seen the arrival of a whole new batch of Top King Muay Thai shorts and finally a re-stock of the rare and very popular Top King K1 boxing trunks. We endeavoured to stock the entire range of available Fairtex Thai Shorts when they arrived in May and have cleaned the distributor out of many lines such has been the response.

We were one of the first companies in the UK to back the new Thai brand TUFF (not to be confused with the Tuffwear gloves seen in UK) Their Thai boxing shorts and excellent Muay Thai Tee shirts have been very well received and we are looking forward to restocking them soon.

Twins special is always a good seller and despite their rather extreme price rises at the start of the year we have seen a steady growth in demand for this brand.

Finally we announce the arrival of ARJARN Muay Thai, a new Thai based brand who already are seeing massive interest in Thailand due to uncompromising quality and sharp design.  They certainly could be the Top King of 2011/12 and with the arrival of a limited stock in July we at Fightstoremma are excited to see the UK’s response to this excellent new Thai manufacturer.

Revgear Sports arriving July

Revgear Sports although not well known in the UK Revgear sports have been distributing and manufacturing Mixed Martial Arts Equipment and MMA Clothing since 1996 and until last year were responsible for distributing Badboy into the UK.  Revgear have slowly built a reputation for quality gear and apparel in their native USA with well known endorsees such as Brazilian MMA fighters Ronalto Sobral and Fabricio Verdum.

Fightstoremma are happy to announce they will be stocking some key products from this well thought out and true “Fighters” brand such as their excellent Thai Pads and innovative Thai Shinguards as well as a range of their high quality MMA shorts.  Over the coming weeks we will be introducing a few new US brands that are not so well known in the UK but are genuine products and still holding their integrity for real fighters unlike some of the more “mainstream” brands that are now producing for mass market appeal and losing their connection with the sport.

Lonsdale Boxing Launch new range July 18th
The UK’s premier boxing company Lonsdale are to release a complete new equipment range on July 18th 2011.

Steeped in British boxing history Lonsdale bring their range bang up to date with a new look and feel which is sure to be a big hit with the boxing community however they have also expanded the range to include the sports of mixed martial arts and Muay Thai introducing Thai Kick Pads, a Thai Style belly pad and several types of MMA gloves including an interesting MMA sparring glove.
One of Lonsdale’s selling points has always been the depth of their range producing equipment which is often hard to find elsewhere and the 2011 catalogue doesn’t disappoint here with a fine array of focus mitts, heavy bags and gym equipment for every combat sports genre alongside some really nice coaching equipment such as the “heavy hitters” body protector which is sure to find its way into both boxing, MMA and Thai gyms up and down the UK.  A spokesman for Lonsdale commented that there has already been much interest in Europe for their new MMA range.
With the massive rise in popularity MMA has seen over the last few years and many of the MMA brands moving some of their traditionally apparel based focus over to producing equipment it will be interesting to see how a brand such as Lonsdale who is so linked to boxing will be accepted into the MMA and Muay Thai communities as it broadens its appeal for these markets too.

MMA Shorts

GO back in time 10 years in the UK and finding a pair of MMA board or fight shorts was to say the least difficult. Most MMA fighters at the time were using surf based gear such as Quiksilver or O’Neill (rash guards too!) Who’d have thought there would be such a market in MMA shorts now!

Come 2011 No such problem exists with hundreds of offerings to choose from with old school brands such as Tapout, Sprawl and Badboy competing against newcomers such as Venum & Hayabusa Fightwear.  So what actually makes a good pair of MMA board shorts?

Truth is that there are very few differences between a pair of surfing shorts and a pair of MMA Fight shorts the main ones really are in the styles and some minor innovations with the MMA sport in mind. Some have slightly wider legs such as Tapout  whilst others sport splits in the legs to allow high kicks. Sprawl shorts went with elasticated waists whilst many opt for the less forgiving “board” style with a simple tie at the waist often to the side. Fairtex put a little lining inside the shorts whilst Jaco use a little lycra in the actual material to allow some give in the shorts themselves.

Much of this is down to actual comfort preferences which have very little practical advantage.  The only real defining factor I can see in differentiation in MMA shorts is durability and avoiding anything that may cause discomfort whilst grappling. Tapout went through a phase of adding big rubbery fastenings at the front of their shorts which was copied by many later on. I always felt this was an uncomfortable and unpractical “innovation” with no actual practical use, ties being much more effective and certainly not causing discomfort to the user.  One of the new kids on the block “Jaco” who boast some big name endorsees have been very innovative in their use of fabrics and materials with a kind of hybrid between board shorts and vale tudo trunks but to date they have not been particularly well received perhaps down to their being different and straying from the pack.

Whatever your choice look for shorts that are hard wearing and comfortable everything after that is pretty much fashion!