Should You Wear A Cup When Training?

For my first six or seven months of Jiu Jitsu I was convinced it was smart to wear a cup when training. This was confirmed when I racked my training partner with my knee – on accident, of course – and when my cup protected me from various impairments to my reproductive compacity when people passed my guard with various knee passes which would have otherwise may have been quite painful.

I was able to overcome the discomfort and considered myself wise for wearing one – and for better or worse – my Jiu Jitsu was probably a little more fearless because of it.

My thoughts on the issue remained consistent until I had a conversation with an instructor. He mentioned the following two points about wearing a cup when training:

1. In a street fight you won’t have time to put on a cup – and if you find yourself somehow wearing a cup you should consider yourself lucky – lucky enough to go buy a lottery ticket. As much as possible, you should be able and used to defending yourself without having a dependence on a piece of a equipment. This is a common-sense reality of street fights.
2. When you don’t train with a cup, you get accustomed to it. He said you “develop radar” and sensitivity – you begin to make adjustments that reduce likelihood of injuries to groin.

I pretty much immediately stopped wearing a cup after the conversation. I was a bit nervous at first, but he is right: you really do begin to account for your sensitivities when you don’t wear protection down there. And the more I think about the arguments for not wearing a cup when training, the more obvious and true they  seem.

I have done a complete 180 on the issue and I think my Jiu Jitsu and self defense is better because of it.

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