SubmissionFC ‘Hemp Ectasy’ Women’s BJJ Gi Review

Submission FC has brought to market the first hemp BJJ gi for women, the ‘Hemp Ectasy’. Submission FC kindly sent me a pre-production model for pre-review, and I’ve enjoyed ‘test-driving’ the gi over the past 2 weeks. The gi is available in white with green and pink embroidery and is listed at $159.99USD. This review is based on the F3 top and bottoms, which weigh-in at 1.4kgs on my scales.(1)

The Look


The Hemp Ectasy sits at the more minimal end of the styling-spectrum with touches of embroidery on the epaulettes, overlap, skirt and trousers. Branded embroidery in forest green and bubblegum pink arch from the collar over each shoulder, while the name of the gi in a cursive font adornes the overlap and rear skirt of the jacket, again in green and pink. A matching bubblegum pink stitching is used throughout. The strong pink is also used with the double belt loops and the cord drawstring.

The colour scheme is an interesting choice and I’m not aware of any other women’s gi with green in the palette. I like this idea, and think that the particular shades of green and pink – a kelly green and buff pink – on the logo work really well together. We’ve had this discussion before, dear reader, about the use of pink with women’s gi and I’m keenly aware that some of you love it and some of you less-than-love it. So, what are your thoughts on this combo?

Fit and Performance

modelling Hemp Ectasy BJJ gi
The Hemp Ectasy

The Hemp Ectasy is a comfortable, loose-fitting gi with a conventional tailoring that has the potential to work with a variety of body types. The trousers are roomy throughout, similar to a wide leg jean, and though generously cut, they avoid the somewhat disproportionate width to length ratio of some women’s kimono such as the Black Eagle Predadora or the OTM Supa Star. The jacket too, has a good ratio of width to length and has a more conventional length and cut, rather than the shorter cropped styles of the Predadora and Supa Star. As my review specimen is a pre-production model, I can’t comment on the final fit however I can suggest that the Hemp Ectasy’s fit is similar to the Fuji Victory, though the Hemp Ectasy has a wider trouser leg.

The Hemp Ectasy performs well on the mat and in the wash. A great feature of the Hemp Ectasy is the cord drawstring and double belt loops, which keep the trousers secure and in place; with a knot in the cord, it does not loosen. The cord supplied with the trousers is very long and can be trimmed to a suitable length for you. The jacket was a good length on me and wasn’t so long as to restrict my hips or too short to ride up. As I have a pre-production model, I can’t offer measurements as these are still in development, but I can confirm that the Hemp Ectasy is true to its preshrunk credentials and shows no significant change after several warm 60° washes.

Hemp v Cotton

Pundits of hemp laud the frabic’s environmentally-friendly features and suggest it is a sustainable material at industrial levels of production. Submission FC makes the following claims about hemp fabric:

  • Strength: Hemp is natures [sic] strongest fiber & is 4 times stronger than cotton
  • Antimicrobial: Hemp is naturally antimicrobial so it protects you from any bacteria, fungus or mold
  • Green: Hemp is natural and good for the environment
  • Breathable: Hemp is much softer and breathable compared to cotton & helps air flow
  • Comfort: Hemp fabric is smooth, 4 times softer than cotton & the most powerful humidity absorbing and ventilating natural fiber

There are no citations for these claims and while I’m not suggesting an intent to mislead, it would be fair to say that these are enthusiastic readings of the evidence. There is some controversy surrounding hemp’s credentials, green and otherwise, and, as it is often marketed as an ‘ethical’ choice for consumers, it is worth delving into them.

Hemp has been renowned as a strong and flexible fabric since its historical use as rope and canvas material. So while there is evidence of hemp’s toughness, my own research – limited and non-exhaustive as it was – could not find reliable confirmation of the 4x stronger than cotton claim. I did run across a Master’s thesis which investigated and compared hemp and cotton for use with furnishings, which suggested a slightly higher tear and abrasion rate for hemp over cotton, though it is unclear to me how these results may, or may not be applicable to hemp for use with clothing.

While hemp fibres may well have great antimicrobial properties, it is difficult to find quantified discussion of this from reliable online sources. There has been some work on the antimicrobial properties of hemp’s essential oils, but it is unclear if these properties are present in all hemp cloths. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note Georgette Oden’s review of the Datsusara Hemp Gi includes an non-scientific though intriguing experiment of ‘baking’ a wet post-training gi in the truck of a car in the Texas heat, a basic wash and voila, clean, fresh smelling gi.

Claims of hemp’s comfort, breathability and absorption are also hard to substantiate. While it may well be the case that hemp is more breathable and softer than cotton, quantified supporting evidence is hard to come by. Certainly, the gi behaves very much like a conventional cotton gi, as both hemp and cotton are natural fibres, and it breathes and absorbs well. Though it wouldn’t be possible for me to verify if this is to a greater degree than a 100% cotton gi (versus the 70/30 hemp/cotton blend of the ‘Hemp Ectasy’). Interestingly, there is some anecdotal evidence online to say that hemp diapers are more absorbant than cotton, so perhaps this fabric has better sweat-soaking potential than cotton, though it is unclear to what extent this can be proved and if it applies to blends.

The green credentials of hemp have been most thoroughly investigated and there is some evidence to suggest that industrial hemp production can be less harmful to the environment than industrial cotton growing, though to suggest that industrial hemp farming is actively beneficial to the environment is probably a bit out of step with the evidence. Hemp out-performs cotton on water consumption, acreage, and – when compared with non-organic cotton – pesticides and herbicides. So, if you’re looking for a more sustainable fabric for your gi, hemp is a good choice, though its advantages are largely negated when blended with conventionally produced silk or cotton; most hemp fabrics are a blend as 100% hemp tends to be rather rough on the skin. In the case of the Hemp Ectasy, which uses a bleached hemp/cotton blend, therefore, the environmental advantages of choosing hemp may be rather minimal.

By questioning some of the advantages of choosing hemp, I don’t wish to suggest that the gi isn’t a great serviceable piece of kit. The fabric of the Hemp Ectasy is comfortable, breathable, absorptive and in the short time I’ve been wearing it, performs well on the mats and handles washing well. My only point, and it is not specific only to this product, is that if your main interest as a consumer is sustainability, it is right to question the hyperbole around hemp and important to recognise that not all ‘hemp’ is equally sustainable or equally advantageous over all ‘cotton’. If you’re also interested in sourcing gi with guaranteed ethical labour practices, you’ve got a whole other set of concerns and barriers. In the final analysis, to me, Submission FC has used one of the new family of potentially more sustainable fabrics – such as bamboo, organic cotton and similar – to offer a unique product to the women’s BJJ gi marketplace, so even if the advantages of hemp are not fully recognised in this particular item, this is a positive step in the right direction and Submission FC should be recognised for that.

References

Cherrett, Nia et al. ‘Ecological Footprint and Water Analysis of
Cotton, Hemp and Polyester’. BioRegional Development Group
and World Wide Fund for Nature – Cymru, Stockholm Environmental Institute, 2005. PDF. 22 May 2013.

Miranda, DeeDee De. ‘An Evaluation of Hemp Fibre for Furnishing Applications’. Digital Collections of Colorado, Colorado State University, 2011. PDF. 22 May 2013.

Palmer, Brian. ‘High on Environmentalism: Can hemp clothing save the planet?’. Slate.Com, 12 Apr 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.

Style, Ruth. ‘Ask the Ecologist: cotton, hemp and bamboo – which is the green choice?’. The Ecologist.Org, 22 Jun 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.

Disclaimer

All reviews are based on my independent observations. I have no formal qualifications, I am not sponsored by any company and I do not endorse any one brand. If you chose a gi based on my review, please let the manufacturer know that MegJitsu persuaded you. This will not benefit me financially, but can help me to get more gi to review.

Credits

Thanks to Submission FC for offering me a gi to test and review.

(1) For reference, I am 166cm/5’4.5″, 70kgs/150lbs and have bust, waist and hip measurements of 96cm/37″, 86cm/34″ and 100cm/39″; this review is of the F3.

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Q3 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat: 21 July 2013 at Carlson Gracie Essex

Jolie Versatile
Jolie Versatile

Date: 21 July 2013
Time: 13:00-16:00
Location: Carlson Gracie Essex, 9th Legion Training Centre, Unit A2, Colchester Seedbed Centre, Wyncolls Road, Severalls Industrial Park, Highwoods, Colchester, CO4 4HT
Cost: Free

Our Q3 2013 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat will be held on Sunday 21 July 2013 and will be hosted by Jolie Versatile and the good people at Carlson Gracie BJJ Essex, Colchester HQ. We are pleased to invite women, aged 18 and over, to join our informal session of drilling and sparring. No grappling experience is required and the Open Mat is a great opportunity for seasoned players to train with other women and for women new to BJJ to try out the art in a friendly environment. The Open Mat is free of charge.

Email Jolie on joliedj@btinternet.com for more info.

Join the event on Facebook

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Postpartum Fitness for BJJ: Yoga for Mind and Body

As some women in BJJ will already know, the process of becoming a mother is very hard on the body and the ‘big joke’ is that just when you need to be in your best condition to cope well with sleep deprivation, nursing, and a constant cycle of picking up and putting down your baby, you find that your body has been pretty thoroughly traumatised. Add to this mix the circumstances of many of today’s parents who may have no local family to help look after the little person, and mom’s self care, recovery, postpartum fitness and well-being is not a straightforward proposition.

Meg doing yoga pose in garden
Top by Sweaty Betty and trousers by Asquith London

My husband and I have made decisions about child rearing and nursing that have meant less personal freedom in the shorter term. We also choose to live and work far from our families. We are a great team with a unified vision of our home, family, businesses, and also support each other’s personal endeavours. Overall, I feel good about our decisions and feel happy most of the time. Our decisions have had an impact on my ability to train, as childcare considerations don’t mesh with available class times, and this has had significant repercussions for my sense of well-being. Losing touch with BJJ since the pregnancy has meant losing touch with myself, to an extent, and I’ve felt dissatisfied and disheartened with my body over this period.

The baby weight is rather intractable. Slow progress is being made, nevertheless the person in the mirror doesn’t look like ‘me’. More importantly, she doesn’t feel like me. The feelings of energy, power, vitality, invulnerability, lightness, grace and general brick-house awesome – feelings generated and maintained by consistent BJJ practice – have been stripped away. I’m tired of being tired, of struggling with climbing stairs, of barely being able to activate my core muscles, of stiffness, of heavy feet and leaden legs. The greatest gift I received from BJJ, and what has most bound me to the art, is the superb fitness and well-being it imparts (ahem, knee injuries aside). The 7 years of training prior to pregnancy had emancipated me from all body-image static, left me feeling strong and energised, confident and ready for anything. The last year has been a big step backward in this regard.

All is not lost!

The boy is now nearly 8 months old and since the start of the new year, I’ve been able to get a pretty respectable (if not pre-baby optimal) gym schedule going. A big step change for us has been getting to the point where I can give the baby his last feed, Daddy gets home and runs the bedtime routine while I scoot down to the gym. While the timings don’t yet accommodate travelling to Dartford BJJ for class, regular sessions at the gym are starting to pay dividends in terms of losing weight, regaining strength and getting some head space. In addition to home-based privates or rolls with training partners once a week when possible, I’ve been enjoying a regular diet of interval training classes using kettlebells and suspension trainers, treadmill work, and yoga.

Yoga has been a big part of my postpartum recovery and fitness regime. Mom and baby yoga has been a part of our daily routine since the little guy was 8 weeks old, and while not rigourous, has done wonders for helping with all the little repetitive strain injuries and aches and pains that come with making a baby, birthing that baby and looking after that baby. Mom and baby yoga has been vital to initial recovery of my core as well as techniques for using breath to chill the eff out when the daily slog of baby care starts to wear thin.

Recently, I’ve been able to boost my yoga practice to the next level and have started weekly classes at my gym with a lovely instructor called Kym. Kym teaches ‘dynamic hatha yoga’. This is a pretty tough class in terms of strength and flexibility and I can see some serious benefits coming my way in terms of core strength and continued knee health and rehab. While I’ve done some yoga off and on over the years, I’ve been more of a Pilates-girl and have practiced Pilates several times a week for the last 10 years. I’d always found yoga a little too ‘hippy dippy’ and didn’t really care for philosophical exhortations with my poses and stretches. That’s now changed and this week’s session did me a power of good.

Class often ends with a wind-down meditation lying in the ‘corpse pose’. During this week’s class, Kym guided our thoughts towards introspection and reminded us to appreciate our bodies as the only one we’ll ever have and asked us to reflect on all the things our bodies had done for us and gotten us through. Thank goodness for a darkened room as the tears started to roll. I realised that the years of struggling with knee rehab compounded by the effects of the pregnancy and postpartum on my body and lifestyle had taken a real toll that I hadn’t fully recognised. I suddenly became conscious of a great amount of anger with my body; throughout the pregnancy and postpartum I’ve had a lot of negative feelings about what my body couldn’t and can’t do. The idea that my body and I have been on journey together and it has done so much for me suddenly ‘clicked’ for me. My emotions were stirred by the realisation that my body has been very good to me and, for goodness sakes, helped to create, then incubated and safely birthed a healthy baby and now creates perfectly calibrated nourishment to beef up his jelly rolls and help to give him the best start in life. How could I be so angry with this marvellous body?! Sure, I don’t move as well – in an athletic or everyday context – and I’m carrying a bunch of extra kilos, and, where BJJ is concerned, my core isn’t working well for me, my timing is shocking and I’ve forgotten a huge amount. But hey, I am getting stronger and more able, my body is recovering from this amazing creative trauma of making and delivering and caring for a little person and I’d do well to love and appreciate these old bones for everything they’ve been through with me. The message of self love and appreciation, of caring for and honouring oneself – a message that is central to my instructor’s approach to BJJ and repeated in the yoga context – really got through some personal barriers and I’m grateful for that. This body has done some amazing stuff and is sticking with me, so I might as well step up and stick with it!

I can’t recommend yoga enough for ladies working on their post-natal fitness. Alongside benefits of improved core fitness, greater flexibility and reduced repetitive strain, the centrality of love and peace to yoga practice can really help with postpartum emotions and difficulties, however deep they may be buried. Allow yoga to help you to tune in to how you effect others and how they effect you. Reach out with love and recognise your connection with your surroundings. Be the best person you can be. Go out there, dear reader, and be lovely.

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