Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Elite Sports Core Yellow BJJ Gi Review

If your New Year’s resolution includes starting Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Elite Sports Core gi might be what you need in 2024.





When I started Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in 2005, there were only a few options out there. Atama, Howard Combat Kimonos, and Koral. Or, you could just use a Judo gi but the grips your opponent can get on you will have you being controlled a lot, which can diminish your goal to learn this fantastic martial art.


Thankfully, the sport has grown so much since then and the options for training gear are now more plentiful and affordable. This is where Elite Sports comes in. 


In August, Elite Sports sent me one of their gi’s to try out and review. They were cool about me telling them I would be honest about it and would need time to roll (train) in it and see how it washes, hangs, and handles heavy sessions of all the pushing, pulling, and grabbing a gi goes through. I’m happy to say, I was sold on the gi after wearing it and finally was able to give it an honest review:



I rolled about 10 times in it with washes in between and it held up really well. It’s also super light so for the competitors that weigh in with the gi this is definitely one you want to include in your rotation. I would add that because of how light it was, it made me feel “fast” if that makes any sense to you.


One of the bonuses in my opinion is the free white belt it comes with. Most gi manufacturers will give you a bag to carry it in that you probably won’t use for that since most folks use a gym bag. It’s old school, but it makes sense to include the belt. After all, it is the most important belt you’ll put on as long as you stick with it.


Pick one up on Amazon.


Buy direct from Elite Sports here.


Also, check out their Born Tough brand here.








Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Elite Sports BJJ and MMA Gear

We're excited to be working with Elite Sports and Born Tough to try out their products!

We will come up with a review post once the product testing is done

Keep an eye out for these updates. The first review will be on the following product:



Some of the folks I train with have already been using these products and they seem to be holding up well for them. I'm looking forward to seeing it for myself. 

Check them out here:

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey / 2022 Official Trailer is Out




Who wants to see a horror movie based on Winnie The Pooh?

Well, after seeing the trailer, I do.

At first, when I saw images of the horror film being made about the beloved children's character, I was like "How?" But leave it to the folks at Jagged Edge Productions to figure out a way to make a horror film out of something that was popular on Disney as a kid. 

From what the trailer shows, it looks like Pooh is a little mad about Christopher Robin leaving him to fend for himself. When Robin returns to seemingly make amends, it's too little too late. Have a look at it here:



Seems dumb, right? But after seeing the trailer I'm really interested to see where this goes. Winnie the Pooh was created by A.A. Milne and Disney has done much with the character since the bear first appeared in 1966. Generally, when Disney gets their hands on something they milk money out of it for generations and it seems like 

Luckily for horror fans, the rights to the character have been through enough changes that this film could be made. "Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey" is due soon on DVD and Video on Demand and you can expect a full review for when it does come out.



Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Sony ZV-1 Field Tested

Photo by Ravi Palwe on Unsplash

I got to field test the Sony ZV-1 camera outside of just using it for streaming and let me tell you, this is a great camera for folks that want to get into video content.

A few weeks ago I was back at my first event covering MMA since COVID-19 hit when I went to cover Bellator 282 for MyMMANews.com. After over 2 years of covering events remotely through ZOOM it was time to get back on the road. Not traveling left me with time to invest in equipment for covering events on the road.  Previously I used a Go PRO Hero 5 with a mic attachment, which worked well a while but had its limitations. Check out this interview with Valerie Loureda from 2019:


During the two years of being stuck at home, I focused on what I could from there and decided since I was saving so much money from not going anywhere, I'd invest in better equipment. So, I got a stronger laptop to handle video content, and I picked up the Sony ZV-1. It was initially just to get a better look for the podcast I produce and co-host (check it out here) but I didn't really see how good it was until I took on the road for Bellator 282.

The Sound

The technology in the camera allows it to track faces so that it autofocuses on the subject. Generally, when I cover fight week it's myself and a subject so I need something that shows them clearly and records what they're saying well.  There is a mic in the camera that does well if you're vlogging but I used Rode VideoMicro camera mic that was used with my Go Pro to get better sound and reduce any background sound which worked fantastically. The best example of that is when I spoke with the then No.1 ranked Bellator women's featherweight, Arlene Blencowe. Check it out, this is in the arena with a lot of noise going on and I still got her pretty clear:


The Quality

I've streamed more with the camera than I have recorded with it so, I was not sure how much of a difference it would make to someone like me that does the quick and dirty version of what I grab to get the content up in time. But as I reviewed the video in editing I was reminded that the camera does 4K HDR Video and was really impressed. This is where the camera shines and what prompted me to write this review. 

I really love how it's a point-and-shoot camera out of the box, but with a few adjustments, the quality is probably the best you can get for something like this. The fast auto-focus with face recognition works really well, even when other faces are in the shot. If you look at this interview with Raufeon Stots, you can see the image stabilization at its best as well as the auto-focus adjusting for his face:


The Bottom Line

Overall, if you're trying to get into making video content as a streamer or recording and editing I cannot recommend this camera enough. It's under $1000 dollars and it travels really well which is something else I needed since when I cover an event, it's usually solo. I like to keep it light and this one does so much more than the Go Pro I'm glad I picked up the Sony ZV-1. 

Nothing is perfect, so I'll say that the battery life can be a problem so you'll need to carry backup batteries like I did for Bellator 282. It's dust and moisture-resistant but not waterproof like a Go Pro so you'll want to be careful with how you store or travel with it. Other than that, this is a great camera.

This post has affiliate links for the items I wrote about so if you want to pick up any of them, using those links helps support my freelancing endeavors to create content like this.