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Definitely illegal. IBJJF does not permit them, and all our tournaments up here ban them. Pretty sure you can be dq-ed if you try to wear one anyway at all our tournaments. Never rolled with one, but have taken my fair share of low blows. At one tournament, went for a guys ankle and his defence was to kick hard to escape....yea that didn't end well for me :P
Nothing like a little knee slice to the balls... You'll be fine without a cup. I don't wear one
Always wear a cup and didn't realise it was so negative comp wise. Wore one in my last competition and probably will again unless told explicitly otherwise. Have taken a few knee slices and just other falling/flailing limbs to the nuts and been so glad of a cup.
You gotta protect the McNuggets
True story from HQ about the importance of cups. There was a young man who never wore a cup. I repeatedly told him to wear a cup, at least six times over the year or two he was with us. Then one day someone went hard with a knee slice and smashed his testicles. They took him to the hospital where he had half a testicle removed because it was smashed to pulp. I've been through several serious, by jiu-jitsu standards, injuries including broken ribs and a torn meniscus that required surgery, and returned without thinking twice. My balls, however, I prefer not to endanger.
Some major tournaments make cups illegal, including Gracie Worlds and others. The argument is usually the cup makes finishing a triangle easier. It is true, sometimes you tap not to the triangle but to the cup. I'd rather we all took that risk than the other risk.
I have done no-cup tournaments and it scares the hell out of me. It changes the way you roll. I like playing half guard but without a cup you quickly realize that you have just put your opponent's leg in a place where he can do damage. I don't even like to roll at the gym without a cup. I'll hazard rolling without a mouth guard, but without a cup - very rarely. Nine out of ten times, I'd go home (although now i keep a spare cup in the locker, just in case).
So if you train with a cup and want to compete in a no-cup tournament, at least a month beforehand take the cup off to acclimate yourself to rolling that way. I think that not doing so hurt me when I did Worlds. It really bothered me during competition, especially once I pulled half guard.
When I first started I didn't wear a cup (I also didn't have one in shape) and I was new, but after taking a few knee slice passes too and close calls I went out and purchased one. I am cognizant of where I am when on top and try to avoid using it as a weapon.
Aw man. The early comments had me feeling a bit better about the no cup idea but then Scott comes through with the pulpified testicle story. I definitely will roll from now till the tourney without one but this may be the last one of this kind that I do. I too have suffered broken ribs, which to me, has been the most painful and longest recovery but there's just something about getting plowed in the nuts. Makes you feel like you need to go shit your intestines out. Thanks for the insight everyone.
Kevin, we meet either on Friday evening from 7:30-10:00 or Sunday AM from 10:30-12-30. This week we are meeting on Friday.
Actually a pretty common rule
theres horror stories about getting every part of your anatomy accidently fucked, dont be scared, what do have delicate tender baby balls or large tough man balls. :)
http://www.grizzlybay.org/June2008/BigBalls.jpg
you know what my coach said when i asked about the knee slide pass danger to the nuts? he said "yeah i dont let them do that! But i dont like to be flat anyway"