U.S. Grappling requests opinions on Shirtless Grappling

U.S. Grappling is conducting an informal, non-scientific survey on shirtless grappling. They want to know whether grapplers should be required to wear a shirt or rash guard, or if they should be allowed to compete shirtless. Submission grapplers have traditionally competed shirtless and most organizations allow an option to wear a shirt or rash guard or not, so requiring a shirt would be the change here.

The main concerns seem to be sweat or the spread of skin infections. However, shirts and rash guards do little to prevent the spread of skin infections, the main preventatives here are checking athletes for signs of infection before competition and good hygiene before and after competition. And sweat soaks right through a shirt or rash guard anyway, but a wet shirt will hold the moisture against your skin and begin to smell much faster.

Others prefer the shirtless uniform for comfort, tradition, or hygiene reasons. And some simply think the choice should be left up to the athlete. One commenter suggested that they should rather ban loose and baggy shirts that may tangle and get in the way during competition.

It is still fairly early as of this writing, so feel free to go and cast your vote on the survey.

(The pictures are actually from another organization, the North America Grappling Association.)
You can vote on the petition here.
You can comment on the related Facebook post here.

Update:

U.S. Grappling has actually adopted a rule requiring shirts, in spite of the fact that the majority on their survey voted in favor of keeping shirts optional. There is now a petition you can sign to encourage them to change the rule back. Please sign the petition and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, NAGA has confirmed that they are not requiring shirts.

Why shouldn’t wrestlers have a shirtless uniform option?

Wrestlers certainly seem to have a propensity for shirtlessness. It seems to come pretty naturally, at an early age you notice that guys who are just wrestling around for fun often pull off their shirts.

Competitive wrestlers also seem to prefer to go shirtless. All over the country, high school wrestlers take shirtless team pictures:

 

They have shirtless workouts and practices:

Even in competition, often the first thing they do after stepping off the mat is to pull down the straps of their singlet and essentially go shirtless:

 

None of this seems to be an issue, so why not let guys compete in compression shorts or something of that nature? Most people I have talked to who have any objection seem to base it mostly on what they believe other people will think. I suspect that quite a few guys who really favor a shirtless wrestling uniform are hesitant to speak out about it because they are concerned about what others will think. Well, if you are one of those guys, it should reassure you that most guys actually feel the same way you do. In fact, a lot of people are hesitant to express themselves until they see others expressing the same thing[1]. But why not be a leader? If you prefer to wrestle shirtless, sign this petition and share it with your friends, team mates, coaches, etc. Actually, there is a good life lesson here:

Be free to express yourself and don’t worry too much about what other people think.

Petitioning for a shirtless wrestling uniform on change.org

 

 Someone recently created a petition on change.org addressed to various governing bodies of the sport of wrestling to get shirtless wrestling uniforms accepted as an official alternative to the singlet. In a previous survey, most guys preferred a shirtless uniform alternative. If you are among them, sign the petition and let your voice be heard!

#LessShirtMorePower

Here is a big shout out to Evan Dollard, aka “The Rocket” (You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube), for promoting shirtless freedom with his hashtag, #LessShirtMorePower! He gave a great performance on American Ninja Warrior and not only did he compete shirtless, he spoke openly about it and his hashtag #LessShirtMorePower.

In this Ninja Quickie video (see the full version on his Youtube channel here), he and Ben Melick, aka “Tarzan”, joke about being shirtless giving him a performance edge.

But a lot of men really do feel that working out shirtless gives them that extra drive to push their performance to the next level. And all joking aside, I think that Evan recognizes that benefit, how shedding the shirt can make you more in tune with your body and help you kick it up a notch. Thanks, Evan, for encouraging guys to be comfortable with themselves, take off the shirts, and push their performance to the max!

Oh, and guys, help us out and do your part. I want to see a lot more of hashtags like #LessShirtMorePower and #ShirtlessFreedom!

Slip ’N Slide: Shirtless Summer Fun

Here’s another great activity that’s a good occasion for guys to go shirtless in the summer! Obviously, it’s pretty normal for guys to go shirtless at the pool, beach, lake, etc. And it’s also a great way to stay cool and have some fun. But what about when there are no bodies of cool water handy? Why not make your own Slip ’N Slide? All you really need is a water hose and a sheet of plastic and you’ve practically got your own water park! You can set this up most anywhere. And it’s almost weird not to pull your shirt off for one of these. So get out and enjoy some shirtless summer fun!