Someone sent me the video above that chronicles Eddie Bravo’s career defining 2003 win over Royler Gracie at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club tournament. I watched the well done mini-doc a few times before heading over to the Roots of Fight site to learn a bit more about the company, as I haven’t really heard much about them.
Besides the Bravo signature shirt that immortalizes the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder’s upset over Gracie, what stood out were the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali and Bruce LeeJun Fan Gung Fu Institute shirts.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/RootsofFight)
Someone sent me the video above that chronicles Eddie Bravo’s career defining 2003 win over Royler Gracie at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club tournament. I watched the well done mini-doc a few times before heading over to the Roots of Fight site to learn a bit more about the company, as I haven’t really heard much about them.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that ROF’s products were pretty much all things that I’d wear, which is saying a lot since the back of my closet is full of embellished chain, pitbull and dragon-covered shirts and hoodies (with tags still intact) that I’ve received as presents from loved ones over the years and didn’t have the heart to re-gift or return.
Besides the Bravo signature shirt that immortalizes the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder’s upset over Gracie, what stood out were the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali and Bruce LeeJun Fan Gung Fu Institute shirts.
As I type this and look up at the walls of my office, looking back at me are a 70′s Ring Magazine cover featuring Ali and Frazier, a framed first edition copy of Lee’s “Fighting Method” and a print depicting Helio Gracie’s war with Kimura, so naturally these shirts piqued my interest.
I wonder if they take gold leaf-adorned bedazzled skull shirts as payment.
If you get a minute check out the slick vid they did with Mark Munoz, Bas Rutten, George Chuvalo and Snoop Dogg in honor of Ali’s 70th birthday.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/RootsofFight)
Hopefully shirts like these become the norm so we can finally move away from the widely accepted douchebag uniforms sported by the glut of fight fans at events and sports bars on fight night.
With so much focus on the bad business dealings of sponsors in mixed martial arts these days, when a story emerges about the good things that a company is doing to give back to the sport we try to give it as much play as we can.
It’s no secret that Hayabusa makes some of the best fight gear in the business thanks to years of research and testing of its products by some of MMA’s top athletes. One product line that the company was missing from its offerings was a professional line of training equipment. To fill the void, Hayabusa partnered with revered Canadian MMA coach Shawn Tompkins in late 2009 to set about designing and producing a professional grade of products made specifically for trainers. When Shawn passed away suddenly last summer prior to the product launch, the owners of the company became torn about whether or not they should forge ahead with the project without “The Coach.”
With the blessing of Tompkins widow, Emilie, who urged them to put out the products whose design had become a labor of love for her late husband the past few years, Hayabusa’s brain trust finalized the design of the products and unveiled them recently.
With so much focus on the bad business dealings of sponsors in mixed martial arts these days, when a story emerges about the good things that a company is doing to give back to the sport we try to give it as much play as we can.
It’s no secret that Hayabusa makes some of the best fight gear in the business thanks to years of research and testing of its products by some of MMA’s top athletes. One product line that the company was missing from its offerings was a professional line of training equipment. To fill the void, Hayabusa partnered with revered Canadian MMA coach Shawn Tompkins in late 2009 to set about designing and producing a professional grade of products made specifically for trainers. When Shawn passed away suddenly last summer prior to the product launch, the owners of the company became torn about whether or not they should forge ahead with the project without “The Coach.”
With the blessing of Tompkins widow, Emilie, who urged them to put out the products whose design had become a labor of love for her late husband the past few years, Hayabusa’s brain trust finalized the design of the products and unveiled them recently.
“We were devastated by Shawn’s passing, and we lost a partner, and a dear friend,” said Hayabusa co-founder Craig Clement. “We were very conflicted over how to handle the release of the line and considered possibly scrapping it altogether, but we spoke to Shawn’s wife Emilie, and she encouraged us press forward and release this line of gear designed by and now dedicated to ‘The Coach.’”
Besides the innovative design features like anti-slip microfibre inserts and proprietary manufactured hybrid foams to absorb the rigors of multiple training sessions, what truly sets the line apart is the fact that a portion of the proceeds of each and every sale of all of the products in the Hayabusa Pro Training Series line is going to go to the Tompkins family as a memorial to Shawn’s contribution to creating them.
“We offer our deepest condolences to Emilie, the Tompkins family, the members of Team Tompkins and all those in the MMA community who had the pleasure to know Shawn,” said Clement, “We are proud of the designs and we know that Shawn was as well. He worked with us on every facet of the design from prototype to the final products. We hope that the Pro Training Series line will honor his memory.”
You can purchase the affordable and ultra-durable line through select online realtors and retail locations that carry Hayabusa gear, including MMAWarehouse.com. Alternatively, you can donate to the Shawn Tompkins Memorial Fund by emailing [email protected].
