Some people like to make out that the clothing that they wear to training doesn’t matter. These are the people that just wear any old t-shirts and a mucky pair of shorts to training and loudly tell everyone that you don’t need MMA shorts and that you don’t need the latest rash-guards. These also tend to be the people (liars) that claim that they don’t care what belt they are, that belts don’t matter, clothing doesn’t matter, blah blah blah.
A good, solid rash guard or two will be the first thing on your MMA clothing shopping list when you start. But that doesn’t mean you need to break the bank to do it.
Cheap BJJ Rash Guards Reviewed
Best Overall – TSLA Men’s Cool Dry Compression Base Layer Short Sleeve
When purchasing your first rash guard, you don’t want to settle for any old thing. You’ll want to pick something that actually looks good, something that you actually like. With this top from TSLA, you’ll tons of options to choose from, with a wide variety of sizes to fit you perfectly and 30+ colour options. You have the ordinary plain colour options like black, grey, white, red, green, etc. but you also several different camouflage colours and even a digitised white model.
Whatever your style is, there’s something to suit you here in this offering.
Despite being skin-tight, this rash guard actually safeguards your skin from harmful UV rays by more than 99%. Which is the equivalent to being bare-skinned and slathered in factor 50 sun cream.
Best Ranked – Elite Sports Full Long Sleeve Compression Shirts
Something to be aware of is that some companies produce their rash guards with the BJJ belt colours. So a rash guard with blue accents for blue belts, purple accents for purple belts, etc. So err on the side of caution as some gyms and competitions won’t allow you to wear a higher belt colour than you are ranked.
Elite offers all the aforementioned belt colours as well as other great colours such as black/red and black/grey. All options look sleek and stylish. No over the top garish graphics or obnoxious colours/stylings.
The compression material actually helps boost your recovery as it increases blood flow. This is a great edge over people who don’t wear such compression material, as you’ll be better recovered for each session.
Best Size Range – Sanabul Essentials
Sanabul are just one of those companies where the exceptional quality of the gear just doesn’t add up with their low, low prices. At this price point, you could afford to stock your wardrobes with a different rash guard for every day of the week.
Like many BJJ rash guards, these are available in the matching BJJ belt colours though Sanabul also offers a vibrant red accented rash guard as well.
Size-wise, Sanabul produces this top from sizes as low as X-Small, all the way up to XX-Large. No matter your height, weight and size, Sanabul have you covered.
Best Design – Fanii Quare Training Shirt
For those of you who like their clothing to be a bit more out there and a bit more garish, these are the rash guards for you.
The torso (front and back) of this rash guard is available in either plain black or plain white. But after choosing from black and white, you can choose from a massive variety of sleeve designs. Most of the designs look like they could be actual sleeve tattoos with too many different styles to mention. These rash guards just simply look great; you can wear them during no-gi in all their glory or relatively hidden under a BJJ gi for when you prefer a more muted look.
When not being used in hard training, this compression shirt is also tight and thin enough to be worn as a base layer underneath your clothes for when the weather begins to dip.
Elite Sports Short Sleeve Rash Guard
If you loved the look of the Tesla Short Sleeve rash guard but prefer your tops to be long-sleeved, then you’re in luck.
This is basically identical to the short sleeve… but with longer sleeves. You have the same massive amounts of colour options, the same protection from bacteria, infections and UV rays and the same great comfort.
Tesla recommends you order one size up to what you would normally order if you prefer a regular fit, or your usual size if you prefer what they refer to as an extreme compression fit. This choice is ultimately down to you and your own personal preference.
This top is designed for all seasons; keeps you cool in summer and keeps you warm and toasty in the winter.
Overall
In BJJ and grappling and MMA, clothing does matter. Things like fight shorts and rash guards are specifically designed to make your BJJ training as effective and enjoyable as possible. They’re actually safer than using ordinary gym clothes too. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to catch fingers, toes and feet in the pockets of ordinary shorts during training and actually break them. Or to get your digits accidentally wrapped up and caught in someones ordinary, sweaty t-shirt and have it tweaked as you fight to pull yourself free.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with wearing ordinary clothes when you first start. But you will want to start wearing proper gear as you get deeper into training. It really does make a difference for both you and your partner. Once you wear a rash guard top at training, you won’t want to go back to a normal, sweat-soaked, uncomfortable t-shirt. Rash guards, as the name implies, also help to prevent your skin from coming up in rashes and can prevent you from getting nasty infections such as ringworm and even staph infections.
Wearing a rash guard rather than an ordinary t-shirt really can’t be underestimated. You might think that it’s not that big of a deal… until you actually wear one and then you won’t believe you ever trained without.