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A rash guard, also known as rash vest or rashie, is an athletic shirt made of spandex and nylon or polyester. The name rash guard reflects the fact that the shirt protects the wearer against rashes caused by abrasion, or by sunburn from extended exposure to the sun, as sun protective clothing.
A rash guard shirt is usually worn by itself when surfing in weather too warm for a wetsuit to prevent chafing from sliding on and off of the waxed surface of the surf board. A surfboard's wax holds sand from the beach that can rub against a surfer while paddling out to the break, or legs while sitting atop one's board.
Rash guards also offer some protection from the sun (measured by its Ultraviolet Protection Factor) and slight protection against jellyfish stings and are sometimes worn under wetsuits to prevent chafing. A rash guard helps to prevent irritation caused by rapid impact with surface water and waves as well.
A rash guard by itself is used for light coverage in warm weather for many other watersports including surfing, canoe polo, scuba diving, snorkeling, freediving, wakeboarding, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, kayaking, stand up paddle surfing, or swimming.
There are also lower body rash guards, which are similar to compression shorts to be worn under the surfers' boardshorts, but more specialized for surfers.
Rash guards are thought to have originated in Australia, [1] where they are commonly referred to as "rashies" or "rashys".
Important features of a rash guard include flatlock stitching and multi-panel construction. Flatlock stitching creates a seam where the seam allowances lies flat to the garment instead of hanging loose from it. It is made by adjusting the overlock or the thread overedge stitch. Flatlock stitching increases the strength of the garment for intense exercise or recreational activities. Multi-panel construction and different material for separate body parts sewn together in panels allow the user increased mobility wet or dry versus the conventional tee shirt construction.
The combination of products used to construct a rash guard differ slightly depending on the designer. The use of nylon and spandex create a garment that is lightweight, quick drying, flexible, durable, naturally antibacterial and water wicking.
Some variations include the following:
Swim shirts are relatively new to the consumer market, but are growing in popularity. They are generally more loose fitting [2] and casually worn. Their primary purpose is to offer an alternative to sunscreen to protect the wearer's skin from the sun's UV radiation and possible skin cancer. Many swim shirts carry a UPF rating of 50+, which blocks out over 98% of the sun's harmful rays. Many people find that sunscreen isn't always enough because it is often not used properly and some have skin allergies or sensitivities to chemicals in sunscreens. Children's skin can be especially sensitive to the sun and sunscreens. Many children, and parents, find it is much easier to put on a swim shirt as it is loose and easily slipped on. There are also zip front rash guards available which makes slipping in and out of them even easier, especially when wet. [3] Furthermore, it is comfortable and yet gives sun protection. [4] Even though the name generally applies to water sports, people use swim shirts for an array of activities: swimming, boating, golfing, tennis, gardening, playing in the sprinklers, water parks, beach trips, pool play, rivers and lakes, water skiing, surfing, snow skiing, sledding, skimboarding, in mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and even as normal everyday clothing.
Many practitioners wear rash guards underneath a gi or as a stand-alone garment for training in various grappling sports and mixed martial arts (MMA). The potential, but not proven, benefits for this include:
In most cases, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and MMA rash guards are thinner than traditional rash guards meant for surfing or diving. They also don’t offer UV protection. Over the years MMA rash guards evolved and most have the following distinct features: enforced stitching; a gel panel on the bottom of the rash guard to keep it from rolling up while sparring; fewer stitches, and a mix of 80% polyester and 20% spandex. They also carry unique designs, usually martial arts-centered but not strictly.
In competition, BJJ athletes are allowed to wear rash guards with long or short sleeves. Some organizations and promotions, like IBJJF, require the participants to wear a solid color - usually black, or black with at least 10% of their belt color. [5] Other organizations allow the competitors to wear a rash guard of their choice. The same rule goes for gyms and academies with each one setting their own requirements from their students. [6]
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a diving mask, and swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn. The snorkel may be an independent item or integrated with the mask. The use of this equipment allows the snorkeler to observe the underwater environment for extended periods with relatively little effort, and to breathe while face-down at the surface.
A skin-tight garment is a garment that is held to the skin usually by elastic tension using some type of stretch fabric. Commercial stretch fabrics ('elastomerics') such as spandex or elastane came onto the market in 1962, and revolutionized many areas of the clothing industry. A wide variety of clothing may be made to be skin-tight, and it is common for clothing to be skin-tight for some uses, such as in stockings, bodystockings, swimsuits and women's bras.
A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. Its purpose is to provide thermal insulation and protection from abrasion, ultraviolet exposure, and stings from marine organisms. It also contributes extra buoyancy. The insulation properties of neoprene foam depend mainly on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material, which reduce its ability to conduct heat. The bubbles also give the wetsuit a low density, providing buoyancy in water.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting, and submission holds. BJJ focuses on taking one's opponent down to the ground, gaining a dominant position, and using a number of techniques to force them into submission via joint locks, chokeholds, or compression locks.
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations or for particular types of suit, including swimwear, bathing suit, bathing attire, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie, or swimming trunks, besides others.
A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply, but in most cases the term applies only to the environmental protective covering worn by the diver. The breathing gas supply is usually referred to separately. There is no generic term for the combination of suit and breathing apparatus alone. It is generally referred to as diving equipment or dive gear along with any other equipment necessary for the dive.
Submission grappling, also known as submission wrestling, submission fighting or simply grappling, is a competitive martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates elements of various grappling arts such as various wrestling styles, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Submission wrestling is practiced both as a competitive sport and as a training method for self-defence and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Boardshorts are a type of swimwear and casual wear in the form of long loose-fitting shorts that are designed to be quick-drying and are generally made from strong and smooth polyester or nylon material. Originally known as surf trunks, later as Jams, and occasionally in British English as swim shorts, boardshorts are a style of men's and, more recently, women's summerwear.
Cycling shorts are short, skin-tight garments designed to improve comfort and efficiency while cycling.
Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
A burkini is a style of swimsuit for women. The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands, and the feet, while being light enough for swimming. This type of swimwear was designed with the intention of creating swimwear for Muslims who observe hijab in this way. The amount of skin covered is about the same as the person wearing a wetsuit and a swimming cap.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi is the training uniform adapted from the judo keikogi for use in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A gi, meaning dress or clothes, is composed of a heavy cotton jacket, reinforced drawstring pants, and a belt which communicates rank. Some schools require the jacket and trousers to be the same color, while more relaxed schools do not enforce matching top and bottom color. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi is often referred to as kimono by Brazilians. Some Jiu-Jitsu schools avoid using a gi and instead focus on no-gi jiu-jitsu; 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu is an example of this.
A swim brief or racing brief is any briefs-style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming, diving and water polo. The popularity of the Australian Speedo brand racing brief has led to the use of its name in many countries around the world to refer to any racing brief, regardless of the maker. Occasionally, the speedo genericized trademark is applied to square cut swimsuits, but in general the generic term is used in reference to swimming briefs. Swim briefs are also referred to as competition briefs, swimming trunks, bathers, togs, racer bathers, posing briefs, racing briefs, and colloquially in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as budgie smugglers.
MMA clothing refers to the sportswear worn in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition and training, and branded fashion clothing related to the mixed martial arts scene. As MMA becomes a mature sport, brands dedicated to it have worked toward specializing clothing that improve an MMA athlete's training and competition.
10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is a non-traditional system of Brazilian jiu-jitsu developed by Eddie Bravo. It's a no-gi based style so the fighters use rash guards as their main fighting wear. 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu fighters are know to employ unorthodox guard positions and a distinct focus on leg lock attacks.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system signifies a practitioner's increasing level of technical knowledge and practical skill within the art. Colored belts worn as part of the uniform are awarded to the practitioner. The ranking system shares its origins with the judo belt-rank system, but the Brazilian system incorporates some minor differences from Judo such as a division between youths and adults and the issuance of stripes and degrees. Some differences have become synonymous with the art, such as a marked informality in promotional criteria, a focus on competitive demonstration of skill, and conservative promotion.
Rener Gracie is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt instructor, coach, and inventor.
Nicholas Curson is an American strength and conditioning coach, founder of Speed Of Sport gym in Torrance, California. Curson has been involved with various S&C training modalities since the mid-1990s, as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, competitor and instructor. Since late 2009, he has specialized in Eastern Bloc influenced Marinovich Training Systems and works closely with Russian–born neuroscientist and neurophysiologist Dr. Igor Lavrov of the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy and currently a Mayo Clinic principal researcher. Curson describes himself as a sports performance specialist, since he is not credentialed with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certificate.
Viking Wai Chun Wong is a Hong Kong born fashion designer and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner.