Groin Protection

[AHowell]

Ok, I'll admit it. Up until recently I never fully appreciated the need for groin protection. I'm in the process of obtaining some groin protectors for my agency and have what may sound like a stupid question: Aside from the obvious differences, is there any reason why a female couldn't use male groin protection? Would it still provide adequate protection ?

Thanks
Adam

[justken2u]

Hey Adam ... I don't have any female groin protectors in my training trailer. Females have been using the male groin protectors for years in my classes without incident. I use the SIMUNITION brand groin protectors since they currently have the best one out there. They manufacture both male and female in the event you want to purchase female groin protectors. Hope this helps!

[AHowell]

Thanks for the quick reply Ken. I was actually going to purchase the Simunition version based on your endorsement. I just got hung by the two types and didn't want to spend money needlessly.

Thanks again

[Jharvey]

I am employed by a place that wants to use athletic cups for groin protection instead of a specific product like the Simuntion FX9000. Any negatives to using the athletic cup?

Thanks for all the help,
Jason

[justken2u]

Using a conventional athletic cup provides sufficient protection, but there are definitely some down sides to it. First, they are extremely uncomfortable. Typically those who wear athletic cups are also wearing much looser fitting clothing during a sporting event. Wearing a cup under a pair of law enforcement trousers is not fun. Second, the scenarios during which people are needing to wear groin protection are relatively short. Officers will often cycle in and out of the scenarios and the time required to completely disrobe in order to put on a conventional groin protector becomes counter productive. Asking officers to put on their own groin protector prior to showing up for training invariably results in people not wearing one and having a spare one kicking around and telling them to put that one on will result in people arguing about it due to sanitation issues. And for those who do wear one, it will be nearly impossible to verify they are wearing it without inappropriate touching. Putting a conventional athletic groin protector over conventional clothing looks goofy, and there will be embarrassment issues within the department. All in all, the best way to go with this to ensure that groin protection is worn and to improve professionalism in training is to spend the couple of hundred dollars to purchase a collection of groin protectors designed for RBT. Doing this type of training properly requires an investment in equipment. When people wanted to ski in years gone by, strapping a couple of boards to their feet worked, but wasn't optimal. This training is important. Build a PROGRAM around it. Programs are funded - not just once, but annually. Buy the correct equipment and train the necessary cadre. When you start to cut corners, you will either get people hurt or ultimately program them for failure. I understand that times are tough financially. Effective training, even during difficult financial times, will be the decisive factor as to whether officers win fights or lose fights. Winning fights is what the public pays you to do. RBT is the best way to condition people to win fights. RBT has certain costs associated with it. Pay the admission price. Hope this helps!

Stay safe,

Ken

[Jharvey]

Ken,

I am continually amazed at your quick and thorough responses to posts here.

I have passed your views on and hopefully my superiors will understand where I was coming from after reading your response and go with the external groin protectors.

Thank you,
Jason

[mbanja]

I ran a 40 hr. officer survival course in October and had everybody wearing athletic style cups. I noticed that several of the students were scratching and adjusting their groin protection going into and even during their scenarios. I can't help but to think that it may have interfered with the officers' thought process just a little. Our course involves several NLTA isolation drills over four days combined with grappling, asp, oc, and a little bit of foot chasing and cardio for good measure. Running in those things was not a bit fun. It appears that everybody got a pretty good chaffing throughout the week. Needless to say, we now have about 7 sets each of the male and female external groin protection. Moving towards a program....