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Bad things can happen to your groin in MMA.
A lot of thought goes into buying loose fit fight shorts, with consideration given to comfort, fit, and styling. Your groin protector is a vastly more important, and which one you buy should be considered accordingly. It is not sufficient to buy what ever is on sale at Dick’s Sport Goods. (Dick heheheh)
If you have the wrong fight shorts, you are just a little closer to being like GSP. If you have the wrong cup, well, read below:
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 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.
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There are a variety of groin protectors available. The simplest thing to do is go with no cup, but this is reserved for the lucky and the strange. And Judo players. Wearing no cup is simpler if you think life would be simpler with one ball. Otherwise, buy a cup. And if you have a cup already, buy a better one.
The most basic groin protection is a supporter and cup. If the cup is not curved under, when kicked, it can act as a upward guillotine (not the choke the knife that removed critical part of you). Always use a tuck under cup. Even with a tuckunder, the supporter and cup is not always completely secure. Check this video out at 22 seconds.
The problem of loose cups is corrected by the one piece Groin-Abdominal Protector, These can be worn inside or outside fight shorts, or gi bottoms. They are an improvement over a regular supporter and cup, but can still shift during training, creating a potentially life altering circumstance.
Boxers in training make use of a large No Foul Protector, characteristically worn on the outside of clothing, that protect the groin, kidneys, and abdomen. Models for kickboxing make room around the hips for kicking. The bulk of these cups, and the degree to which they are unsecure, make them poor choices for Mixed Martial Arts training.
Thai Boxers use an all metal cup, held in place with string. This is extremely secure, and protects your groin with metal, as it should be. If you had a million bucks, you would keep it in a metal safe right? And which is more valuable, would you trade your entire groin for a million bucks? The Thai Cup however is somewhat uncomfortable, and requires a second to help you tie it correctly. Most guys don’t want another guy helping them put on a cup every day.
An excellent solution is the compression short, with a built in pocket. Cups of various shapes and materials can be inserted. One absolutely superior choice is the Titan Alloy metal cup, which is unbreakable, and comfortable, two words of great importance to the region. The compression short holds everything where it should be, through the toughest training and fights.
Recently, Diamond MMA developed an amazing cup specifically for MMA. Below, the Diamond MMA CEO puts his organ on the line.
You are the king of your groin. Provide it with a proper castle.
