What is a Rashguard and why Should I Wear One?

A rashguard is used in Mixed Martial Arts for both hygiene and protective reasons. It is a must-have for any sport where there is contact or grappling. A rashguard doesn’t hold on to water or sweat like a t-shirt will either, so you can roll without it weighing you down. They were originally used for surfing but when people noticed how useful they were everyone started wearing them for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

A Rashguard Can Help to Prevent Injuries

They are designed to be skin tight and therefore, prevent people from getting their fingers or hands wrapped up in the material during training which helps to stop anyone from getting small joint injuries, such as bending your finger back.

You can get both longsleeve and shortsleeve rashguards but the long sleeve version is definitely the most popular. This is because it fully covers your arms and will protect you more. They are not just for no-gi though and it is even a good idea to wear them under your BJJ Gi.

Wearing a rash guard is great for helping to prevent any cuts or scrapes you may get from training. Things like people catching you with their fingernails or toenails while you roll is a really common problem in the sport. The most annoying thing is that there isn’t much you can do yourself to stop this as it’s usually one of your teammates who catches you.

Wear A Rashguard To Protect Yourself.

Rashguards are also great for protecting you against any possible mat burn. I’m sure you’ve all experienced going back to training after some time off and you end up catching all of the skin on your feet as it’s lost toughness. Or when you visit a new gym that has a different type of mats down and the same thing happens. This can also happen to you back, shoulder and arms so it’s better to be safe than sorry and keep yourself protected.

Your rashguard will also cover any small open wounds or breaks in the skin that you already have. This will reduce your chances of getting common gym infections, such as Ringworm. This is caused when bacteria gets into an open cut and sometimes this can get quite nasty.

If you don’t look after cuts properly this can even cause you to get a staph infection. Another important reason to wear a rashguard. If you are unsure what Ringworm is click here to find out more in our beginner’s blog that covers Hygiene.

Why Hayabusa Offers More

Most rashguards are pretty basic is their design but there are a few that have some unique characteristics. Like all of the new Hayabusa rashguards. Which have a silicone waistband to keep your rashguard in place and stop it rising up while you are training. So you can focus more on what you are doing next rather than having to mess around with your top.

Geo rashguard with silicone waistband

Another really unique design that you can only get from Hayabusa is the honeycomb stretch feature in the new Fusion rashguard. Two separate layers of different coloured material have been sewn together in such a way that when you put the rashguard on it stretches to reveal an amazing design. We have some new Fusion rashguard designs coming out soon. So why not sign up to our mailing list and get a notification when they arrive in.

Colour changing Fusion rashguard

And the Hayabusa Odor Resist rash guard uses a renowned fabric called XT2®. This rashie uses co-extruded silver threads which prevents sweat eating microbes from growing on it. Which in turn helps to protect you. You can find out more about the Odor rashguard here.

Just as rashguards are important for keeping your upper body and arms protected, spats do the exact same for your legs. If you are not sure what spats are, then have a look at our blog here. Or check out our brand new Geo range.

The Marvel Hero Elite Series Rashguards

The only thing that’s more important than keeping yourself protected while training is doing it in style. And The Marvel Hero Elite Series seems like the only logical way to do that. You can bring three of everyone’s favourite Marvel Character’s too life.

The Punisher, Captain America and Iron Man all have their own shorts and rashguards available now. The Universe will always need more superhero and you can finally be one with this range.

Iron Man Hayabusa set

Most rashguards nowadays are colour coded. This basically shows off what rank belt you are. So obviously, you can get white, blue, purple, brown and black. I just thought I would mention this as I have met quite a few people over the years who unknowingly bought a rash because they liked the colour or it was on sale and ended up getting put to the sword because everyone thought they were a purple belt instead of the white belt they actually are.

We have looked at a lot of the rashguards in the Hayabusa range today and the thing that we believe sets us apart from the competition is the variation that we offer and our innovation. Most companies stick to the standard colour ranked rashguards whereas we have some truly unique options available for your all. If you would like to find out about spats and why they are important as well then click here to go to our blog about them.