Rashguard review-- the Honey Badger by Meerkatsu/Tatami

Tatami is releasing the 2012 version of Meerkatsu's Honey Badger rashie at the end of July, and it can be reserved here at the Tatami site, or here at Budovideos.  It costs about US$57.

Tatami has this to say: "The Honey Badger rash guard pays homage to that [most?] fearless of animals, the Honey Badger.  Made famous buy [by] the viral youtube videos the Honey Badger's famous slogan is "Don't give a S*@T," so if you leave it all on the mat and are the last person standing in training or competing, you are a Honey Badger. Only the finest materials are good enough to bring out the superb detail of the Meerkatsu Honey Badger rashguard [and] that['s] why we have used Italian inks and a high density polyspandex material, all dye sublimated for an extraordinary finish."

Honey badgers are pretty badass, I must say..



But is Tatami's rashguard going to live up to its spirit animal's reputation?  I put one through the wringer to find out.

The short version: Super cool artwork, sublimated dye design that will never flake or peel, and superior construction and manufacture make this a quality product worth the price and a much better choice than generic UnderArmor.

The long version:  I received a size small from Meerkatsu for this review.  We're friends on facebook, but otherwise unaffiliated, and I received no extra swag.

I liked that it didn't have a smell to it (sometimes rashguards have a chemical scent to them and require prewashing before first wear... not this one.)

Along with the rashie, the package contained a handful of cool stickers displaying Meerkatsu's talents.  Nifty!

These rashies are longsleeved and crew necked.  Much nicer than "surf" style rashies with their mock turtlenecks, I'd say.  The fabric, 80% polyester and 20% spandex, is sleek and smooth, resistant to pilling even with daily use under a gi or as nogi attire, on tatamis or puzzle mats.  Grody rough feet failed to snag on this as well.  The fabric is a good bit thicker than  your lightweight UnderArmor rashguard, but not noticeably warmer.  It snaps back to shape quite well, even after untrained apes grab on to it whilst rolling.

I'm 5'2" (36-28-38) and the small seemed just right as far as my shoulders, chest and waist go -- but the body was quite long on me.  To fully display the glorious snarling maw for the camera, I had to pull the hem down over my behind.  I am sure this is great news for long-torsoed people who hate rashies pulling up during rolling... this has all the length you need to stay well tucked in to your grappling shorts.

This is how long the sleeves are on my arms, pulled all the way down.

And this is how much extra length there is, when I wear it normally.  Notice that there is a "stripe" of lighter grey fabric on the inner aspect of the sleeve.

When I don't pull the hem down, the rashie rides up comfortably around my waist, but it seems to lose a little of the intimidation factor.  Call it "truth in advertising" when I wear it.

I like that the shoulders are raglan-style which makes them accommodate a wide range of shoulder widths and is extremely comfortable-- no chafing in the underarm area. The design on the back loses a little punch because I'm so shortwaisted, but I think it still looks great.  One arm displays the Tatami logo.  The other side has Japanese characters and the honey badger logo.

All the seams are made with an interlock stitch that has stood up to heavy use and machine washing very well.  I will say maybe I'm a bit of a princess, because the inside of my arms noticed the seams and felt a little itchy, the first five minutes of wearing the rashguard.  However, I quickly became accustomed to the sensation and didn't even notice the seams for the rest of my training.  No rash or abrasion was apparent when I took it off (hence, I think, the term "rash guard.")

I have a handful of rashguards from other companies, academies etc and find it really annoying when the artwork flakes and peels.  Two of my rashguards are dye sublimated and despite 3+ years of heavy use, have never peeled or flaked.  Why not? The artwork is first printed onto large sheets of high-release paper substrate. Then, images are transferred onto the garments using heat and pressure. Heat converts the solid dye particles into a gas (a process known as sublimation) and the pressure bonds them to the polyester content of the garments. The dye is absorbed by the garment, which differs from the screen printing, where the ink sits on top of the garment. So you know this awesome honey badger will be snarling just as brilliantly years from now.  Probably more brilliantly that you will be!

I've machine washed it, on cool, warm and occasionally hot-- maybe 30 times?  and machine dried it (on medium) every time.  I don't mind abusing my stuff when I'm testing it.  This rashguard did not act like a victim.  Apparently, honey badgers tolerate any water temperature without shrinking and machine drying just makes them-- dry.   I'm impressed. 

BJJGearJunkie did a video review of this rashie here and a written version here.  WhiteBeltAcademy posted lots of photos with his first-impressions review here.

If you get one, I think you'll be happy!

Pan-seared tuna with quinoa salad

If, like me, you're dairy-free, you can skip the feta cheese in this dish-- it's mostly a garnish, and the tomato/olive mixture is still pretty tasty.

 

4 5-oz. boneless, skinless tuna steaks
salt and pepper
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, put through garlic press
2 cups cherry tomatoes (any color), halved
1/3 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh basil

2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh oregano 
1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese 

 

Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange the tuna in the skillet in a single layer and cook, turning once, until done to your liking (3 to 4 minutes for medium rare, depending on steaks' thickness). Transfer the tuna to a large plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot and garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until golden-brown, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, olives, basil, oregano, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper; cook until warmed through and the tomatoes are just softened, about 2 minutes more. Remove the skillet from the heat and gently stir in the lemon juice.

Transfer the tuna to plates, top with the tomato salad and feta, and serve.

I like to eat quinoa instead of pasta since I've been on this gluten-free thing, and I keep a tupperware box of cooked quinoa in the fridge so I'm ready to go with dinner.  Quinoa can be a good side dish, or if you add enough stuff to it, it makes an excellent base for a dinner salad.

Yummy add ins for quinoa-- pick 3 or more, and stir thoroughly:
baby spinach
shredded kale
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
chopped red onion
cherry tomatoes
peas
shredded carrots
corn
black beans
chopped pears or apples
dried fruit (especially craisins)
nuts-- almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds are my favorites
diced fennel
goat cheese, gouda, or colby jack

Street vs. sport.

So, while I haven't been training much "pure" jiu jitsu this month at all, I have been dropping in on some judo classes and some kajukenbo classes, both run by old friends.  It's been fun because I get to see a wholly different group of tendencies.  Judo people have no problem giving up their back (well-- the ones I play with) and neither do wrestlers.  However, I know judo matches get set back up on feet fairly quickly, and my kajukenbo friends seem to rely on the view that "if this were a real fight, I'd just punch you out."  And everyone looks at me as the representative from Brazilian jiu jitsu and wants to test themselves (even though I'm "just" a girl.)  So I get to spar a variety of opponents who don't do "the right things" and I have to find responses to them.  As a result, my jiu jitsu is getting a little garbled up with more street-y stuff and less sporty stuff.  I think Helio would approve.  I just keep telling myself (as I wrassle around with a 19 yr old kid, 6' tall and 215 lbs, and no training at all) that if they're not submitting me, if they're not in a position to punch my lights out, then I'm winning.  I might not be "beating" them-- but if they can't beat me, in the end I have succeeded.

Rener and Ryron just posted a video on a similar topic-- it's on the long side (22 min) but worth your time.



When I started jiu jitsu, I pooh-poohed the boys at my academy who seemed overly focused on "if I get in a bar fight" type situations.  When asked, I emphasized that I was NOT training jiu jitsu for self defense, but was exclusively interested in the sport aspect.  And, I had attended, and later taught, so many womens' self defense seminars through the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in my city, that I really felt quite confident I could handle myself in a "stranger attack" type situation even without jiu jitsu.

But when I started training with Donald Park, I began to see that I would do a great disservice to this art that I love, if I did not practice the self defense aspect of it.  Sure, I don't go to "that kind of bar" often if ever.   Sure, I doubted anyone would attack me, mount me and start punching away.  But what if?  How embarrassing if I were training jiu jitsu for years and got beaten up! or worse, got taunted by a 19 yr old kid after a judo class!

So I happily prioritize self defense.  And you should too.

I will say this-- guillotines! loop chokes! arm drags! take the back!  soooooo much fun against big strong 19 yr old apes ;)

A beautiful thought, a call to action...

My instructor's blog post on Saturday was inspiring and, yes, felt a little bit like a horoscope entry-- you wonder whether it was written for you because it feels incredibly specific and topical and appropriate.

Lately I've been pondering my lack of motivation to go train.  What I have come up with is a combination of-- feeling fat and out of shape (this is getting better now that I'm back to working out 7 days a week and often doing two-a-days)... being tired at the end of a long work day and not wanting to train at 8pm (my old academy had early am, lunch, and 5pm classes and I would be home by 9pm)... feeling like once I miss a couple classes, I'm too far "behind" everyone else....

But Donald's post helped me face an icky, ugly truth-- part of my reluctance to train is fear.  Fear of sucking and fear of people talking about how much I suck.  Over the weekend, I happened to have a conversation with a guy who trains at another school, about his experience when he visited another academy.  He alluded to a training partner's belt color (an advanced belt) and expressed disappointment over how this person's skills did not seem to match up to his belt color.  We've all heard comments like that, whether about people from other schools or not, haven't we?  I don't know about you, but they're the ones that used to galvanize me to train harder-- to make sure if someone from another school rolled with me, that I never let my instructor and my team down.  That I always repped them well. And yet now, my confidence has receded like the tide going out, and I'm afraid I've become a girl with a ratty blue belt who rolls like a ratty white belt.  That fear is my failure.

I am not close enough to my instructor to fancy myself his personal friend in the true sense of the word, but I feel I know him a little better now, and it is somewhat reassuring to know someone I respect so much has also failed. 

Thought I'd share with you the conclusion of his post:

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.

Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

-Tecumseh

Gluten free!? dairy free?!

On Friday my husband and I had a conversation with my Reproductive Immunologist.

[Side note:  When I was obsessed with jiu jitsu, for like the last 3 or so years of my life, I got a kick out of saying "my chiropractic neurologist" or "my myofascial massage therapist" or "my ortho guy".  But now that I'm a little bit obsessing with trying to make a training partner I can ALWAYS dominate, ha ha... I have a new set of specialists.  And the newest addition to that stable is the reproductive immunologist, who is tasked with stopping my body from killing the embryos it apparently doesn't like.  Anyway.]

This doctor walked us through the latest round of blood test results, gave me some good news (the partial DQ alpha match is not a problem; I won't need super-duper expensive injections to permit and maintain a pregnancy) and some bad news.  The bad news is, my body is agitated about something, and that agitation isn't good for implantation.  His advice-- the next time we try to conceive I should be on some prescription meds like prednisone and lovenox... also I need to be taking monster doses of antioxidants, fish oil and the ACE vitamins... and...

I should reduce or eliminate gluten and dairy from my diet.  "But I don't have any problems with gluten! or dairy!"

Yes, you do-- your cytokine levels show that something in there is agitating your body, and we suspect it's gluten and dairy.  So abruptly on Friday, I came to the end of consuming most yummy things.

No more cookies, sandwiches, Belgian waffles, cereal, cool glasses of milk, yogurt, fried chicken, pizza, pasta, potstickers, etc. etc. etc.

Saturday I moped around the house, eating inordinate quantities of fresh strawberries and roasted almonds by the handful.  Not the most varied diet but I survived.

Sunday lunch with our niece, I had quinoa/corn/black bean salad, with a roasted ear of corn, and some green beans.  The tortellini with pesto taunted me.

Sunday night at the Mexican restaurant I had fajitas on corn tortillas, no cheese, and I don't eat sour cream any way.  They were okay.

It really aggravated me for a while and I'm sure it will continue to do so.  But I am trying, because I want to have a little one, and maybe this is what it takes.

However, all you Paleo people can start telling me about how to make gluten-free flatbread if you want.  Please?  Or whatever it is you eat sandwiches on.  I know-- you're grain-free, not gluten-free.  I'm just hoping for suggestions, from anyone.