Some sports, like skiing, hockey, and F-1 racing require a lot of gear. Mixed Martial Arts is pretty cheap. But the days are past when all you needed to train was black speedos, a cup (preferably your own), a mouthpiece (preferably your own), and a mat.

First principle, higher end gear costs twice as much, but lasts more than twice as long. Cheap gear is actually a poor value. And it does not work very well.

The first thing you should get (if you are a guy) is a good cup. Here is why. Read it, because they’re worth it.

My Groin, a Short Story
by Rob Lachlan

I’ve been practicing judo for about a year, and I’ve never seen any of the guys at my club wearing groin protection. Last week I had an experience which has led me to give the issue some serious thought. I posted my story at another forum, and many BJJ people told me I was crazy to train without a cup. In retrospect, I agree. Anyway, here’s my story:

On Monday night (July 31) at judo we were doing randori and I got hit with the non-textbook version of uchi-mata. My randori partner was very apologetic, and a few minutes later (maybe ten?) I felt good enough to do a few more minutes of randori. And then for 2 days everything was peachy.

Thursday at noon I started to experience pain in my right testicle, pain which got very bad very quickly. It was the worst pain I had ever experienced. I vomited once from the pain before getting a ride to the hospital, and several times thereafter. After waiting a couple hours to be seen, I was examined by a doctor who set about trying to figure out which of two possible problems was causing my testicular pain:
1. Epididymitis: An inflammation of the convoluted duct which lies on the posterior surface of the testicle
2. Torsion: a twisting of the spermatic cord that supplies blood to the testicle.

The latter is generally more immediately dangerous. Based on my response to the cremasteric reflex, a test where he scratches my inner thigh, he concluded that it probably wasn’t a torsion.

They sent me home with a morphine shot, and with instructions to get ultrasound done and see a urologist the next day. The morphine did nothing, besides making me feel a little warmer. The pain abated only very slightly.

Ultrasound the next day indicated that I had no blood flow in the right testicle; a torsion had occurred, twisting the blood vessels which supplied my right testicle and cutting off blood flow. And as soon as that discovery was made, I started getting extremely efficient service. Within an hour I was being prepped for surgery (at a different hospital as it happens), and being warned that should the testicle have died (a distinct possibility) it would have to be removed. I called my girlfriend immediately before being moved to the OR, and we agreed that this was disconcerting.

The last thing I heard before going under was a nurse asking “Do I have gum on my face?” I think that the question was directed to the anesthetist, but I never got the details, as a few seconds later I began to feel very heavy and lost consciousness, amid the general hilarity.

Within a few seconds of waking up (to the best of my recollection) I asked if my testicle had been saved. Three times I repeated this question, and each time I was reassured that yes indeed, my torsed testicle had been fixed and was still healthy. Within an hour after waking I was feeling great. This time apparently, my injury repaired, morphine was able to work its magic. And I was left with a strange craving for frozen yogurt shakes. I had two.

Currently I’m swollen and a little bit sore. I’m only starting to walk normally again. But who cares? I still have two testicles.

And the cup you should get is Diamond MMA, because they’re worth it.