Good Cup, Bad Cup?

I did my fair share of bare knuckle training as a youth. That is one reason why I am in favor of preventing injnuries when possible.
I'm just saying it can be a crutch that you feel naked with out. :) ha ha. you see, I just made a funny ;)

But seriously, imagine one of your students getting hit, out on the street, in the groin for the first time ever, and then what may or may not follow. You would have to ask yourself if the constant wearing of the cup caused some bad habits to develop to the point where they weren't worried about it? Should we, at least, throw them out there on the training floor without a cup once in a while? Just to get a feel for the reality of there is a guy that is trying to kick you in the groin, and you aren't wearing a cup... Now Go! :)
 
I'm just saying it can be a crutch that you feel naked with out. :) ha ha. you see, I just made a funny ;)

But seriously, imagine one of your students getting hit, out on the street, in the groin for the first time ever, and then what may or may not follow. You would have to ask yourself if the constant wearing of the cup caused some bad habits to develop to the point where they weren't worried about it? Should we, at least, throw them out there on the training floor without a cup once in a while? Just to get a feel for the reality of there is a guy that is trying to kick you in the groin, and you aren't wearing a cup... Now Go! :)

I'm willing to volunteer to be the kicker if you'd like to try this... :)

You've had all the kids you want, right? Your insurance won't cover a vastectomy and this is your alternate plan?
 
Fortunately in Hapkido we rarely use our genitals as a fulcrum. We do however encourage low kicks which can really be a recipe for disaster. And yes the white belts are the most dangerous folks in the dojang.

LOL... well, protecting the troops is important. But, yeah. According to IBJJF rules, a cup actually offers a physical advantage. In addition to the obvious ones, it provides a hard fulcrum when applying an armbar that you won't have otherwise, making it much, much easier to snap the elbow.

Some local tournaments allow them, as do some no-gi grappling tourneys. But if it's an IBJJF or compliant tournament, cups are a no-no.
 
I'm just saying it can be a crutch that you feel naked with out. :) ha ha. you see, I just made a funny ;)

But seriously, imagine one of your students getting hit, out on the street, in the groin for the first time ever, and then what may or may not follow. You would have to ask yourself if the constant wearing of the cup caused some bad habits to develop to the point where they weren't worried about it? Should we, at least, throw them out there on the training floor without a cup once in a while? Just to get a feel for the reality of there is a guy that is trying to kick you in the groin, and you aren't wearing a cup... Now Go! :)

No, I think it's a very bad idea. Perhaps in very specialized cases, where you're teaching hard-core students who *are* going to engage in street combat, maybe the military or police.

But me, I'm over 50 and I have to go to work in the morning, as do most of my dojomates. I am not going to run the risk of getting seriously damaged for the sake of 'realism' in this sense. Even getting kicked in the crotch with a cup on is no picnic, and injuries are both common and expected in the dojo, so I can certainly live with some amount of risk and damage (my lower lip is hanging down a bit this morning because I ate a punch last night in the dojo). However, I am not going to expose myself on purpose to serious damage on the chance that I might get kicked in the groin in a street fight. It's not like I present my groin to an attacker and say "Here, come kick me, I'm Iron Balls McGinty!" We still learn to keep our groin protected and to defend properly to avoid being kicked there.

I wear a cup. If you don't want to, hey, that's your call.
 
This may be a British humour thing but the sheer amount of double entrendres in this thread is highly amusing!
 
Hmm I`ve never used a cup and the family jewels are probably the only part of my body that has not been hurt in at least a mild way during training. Don`t know if I am just good at defending the spot or maybe the target is too small? :uhyeah:
 
No, I think it's a very bad idea. Perhaps in very specialized cases, where you're teaching hard-core students who *are* going to engage in street combat, maybe the military or police.

But me, I'm over 50 and I have to go to work in the morning, as do most of my dojomates. I am not going to run the risk of getting seriously damaged for the sake of 'realism' in this sense. Even getting kicked in the crotch with a cup on is no picnic, and injuries are both common and expected in the dojo, so I can certainly live with some amount of risk and damage (my lower lip is hanging down a bit this morning because I ate a punch last night in the dojo). However, I am not going to expose myself on purpose to serious damage on the chance that I might get kicked in the groin in a street fight. It's not like I present my groin to an attacker and say "Here, come kick me, I'm Iron Balls McGinty!" We still learn to keep our groin protected and to defend properly to avoid being kicked there.

I wear a cup. If you don't want to, hey, that's your call.
Here's my take... In my experience, a cup mitigates or prevents DAMAGE, not pain. There are enough nerves down there that I've generally experienced some discomfort from a low blow unless I'm wearing something like Red Man gear. But -- again, in my experience in real fighting and training, when you've got some adrenaline going, you often don't notice the shot at the time...
 
Here's my take... In my experience, a cup mitigates or prevents DAMAGE, not pain. There are enough nerves down there that I've generally experienced some discomfort from a low blow unless I'm wearing something like Red Man gear. But -- again, in my experience in real fighting and training, when you've got some adrenaline going, you often don't notice the shot at the time...


I think this is an important point to remember for those who advocate kicking/striking to the groin as a primary, fight finishing self defence technique. Also if someone attacks you they are nearly always going to be prepared to be hit there so will not go in with that area open to attack.
 
I think this is an important point to remember for those who advocate kicking/striking to the groin as a primary, fight finishing self defence technique. Also if someone attacks you they are nearly always going to be prepared to be hit there so will not go in with that area open to attack.
They are great fight starters as well. :)
 
I've yet to own groin protection for sparring that was even remotely comfortable. Most were mildly distracting at best and some were just plain awful.

So I am in the market as it were. Who has a good cup story and a bad cup story? Which cup brand is best?

Sorry, no stories to tell..lol...however, I 2nd the one that Bill mentioned...shockdoctor. IMHO, while they may seem a bit pricer than others, well, if you're going to spend the money for protection, may as well spend it on something thats a good quality.
 
Fortunately in Hapkido we rarely use our genitals as a fulcrum. We do however encourage low kicks which can really be a recipe for disaster. And yes the white belts are the most dangerous folks in the dojang.
In BJJ, even when doing an armbar, it shouldn't go straight across the groin, either. But when you use a cup, it adds to the height of the fulcrum and there's no penalty of pain to keep you honest and doing the technique correctly.
 
In BJJ, even when doing an armbar, it shouldn't go straight across the groin, either. But when you use a cup, it adds to the height of the fulcrum and there's no penalty of pain to keep you honest and doing the technique correctly.

I've seen what happens when the guys do an armbar that's straight across the groin. I tell them not to do it that way but often they ignore me ( I'm female what can I know about 'fighting') and the look on their faces is gratifying.
 
How many of you use the external one that goes outside the pants we call a turtle makes a great Jason mask in a pinch in the DoJang for training ok but in public espeacially tournament and the top does not hide is rather tacky?

Never used one but was looking at them online. Kind of looks like a big foam diaper. Well that would lighten the mood. Who wants to spar diaperman?
 
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