Fighter — top_cat

Nothing's worse than an ill-fitting gi. It's one thing to have ill-fitting street clothes, but you don't normally have people grabbing and pulling you into Del la Riva guard on the street.

In jiu jitsu, it's important to have a gi that fits well. If it's too baggy, your opponent has plenty of material to grab and wrap you up in. If it's too tight, it restricts your movement and you won't be able to pass, sprawl or invert as freely. Simple enough... but when the vast number of gis are sold online, finding a gi that fits well right out of the package is no easy feat. 

Of course, there's no substitute for trying a gi on before you buy. That's when physical store fronts (Fighters Market has one in San Diego) and pop-up stores at the major IBJJF events come in handy. But if you're not in San Diego or a competitor, you have few other options than to shop online.

Here are some tips to help you out: 

Don't Let Your Ego Get in the Way

Just as with your regular everyday clothes, it's easy to think you're a size smaller or bigger than you are, based on how you'd like to see yourself. But as I mentioned before, you don't want to make this mistake with a gi. How do you know if it's the right fit? For one, your gi pants should be large enough that you can do a full squat in them without the material stretching too tight around your thighs or your backside, but not too large that the hems go well past your ankles. Likewise, your gi jacket should be roomy enough around the shoulders that you can easily rotate them, and the lapel ends should be able to cross when you close the jacket around your middle. However, you don't want the sleeves to be too long that they cover your hands, or too wide that your opponent can easily grab them. 

Check the Sizing Guides

Almost all gi brands will have a sizing guide that you can reference to find the right size. Most of the time, these guides are limited to height and weight, which - as you can probably guess - isn't always the best. If you're an average body type, yeah, these sizing guides will be fairly useful. But how many people really fit the average? So take these sizing guides with a grain of salt. There are some gi brands that also include arm and leg length, and others that include even more specific measurements. Especially if you're shopping on an e-commerce site like Fighters Market, it's wise to check both the sizing guides posted on the site, as well as the sizing guides that the brands post on their own websites. And know that these days, a lot of gi brands offer alternate sizes, like L and H (for long and husky) body types. 

Know that All Brands are Not Equal

If you've already bought a gi or two, and you're looking to buy more, maybe from another brand... you must know that all brands are not created equal. If you're a size A1 in one brand, you may not be a size A1 in another. And if you are a size A1 in both, one may not fit exactly like the other. This is because most brands have their own pattern that they use, which is sized up and down accordingly. So when you're buying gis, keep this in mind and don't get upset when the gi you've ordered online from a new brand doesn't fit exactly as you're used to. 

Return... But Wisely

To accommodate the inconvenience of not being able to try on a gi, online gi retailers offer returns - sometimes free, sometimes not. Before you purchase a new gi, it's important that you check the website to see their return policy. Of course, you definitely want to avoid the lengthy and irritating process of having to buy a gi, find it doesn't fit, return it, and wait for a new one to arrive, but if it's unavoidable, it's unavoidable. Just practice wise returning, as I've already detailed in a previous blog post. 

Finding the right size gi is a pain, especially when you're just starting out on your jiu jitsu journey and you don't have as much experience doing it. But hopefully this article has given you some useful guidance. 

Train on... Oss. 

The short answer to this question: jiu jitsu gi color means absolutely nothing. While BJJ gi belt colors carry some serious significance - primarily in alerting you to the level of shark you're swimming with on the mat - jiu jitsu gi colors don't carry any special significance. 

However, while we're on the topic, it's worth noting the history of the jiu jitsu gi colors, as well as when certain colors are more appropriate than others. 

First and foremost, white is the most traditional uniform color for many martial arts with Japanese roots. In Japanese culture, the color white signifies "purity" or "truth", which is likely why it was adopted as the color for martial arts training, particularly judo and jiu jitsu. When judo competitions became popularized, a blue gi was utilized to distinguish one competitor from another, and this was subsequently adopted by jiu jitsu. 

Today, white and blue are the only colors available for judo gis (the sale of which is heavily regulated by the International Judo Federation (IJF), which keeps regulation judo gis limited to those two colors). The International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), the largest worldwide jiu jitsu promotion, allows for black gis as well... which is great for those who fancy themselves as modern-day ninjas. However, for the major events, like the IBJJF World Championships, black belt competitors can only wear a white or blue gi in the finals. 

The greater jiu jitsu community is quite a bit more relaxed when it comes to gi colors. While some academies have strict "white gi only" requirements during class, most academies don't... which is why you'll see jiu jitsu practitioners rocking everything from grey and green, to camo, pink and everything in between. I've even seen a tie-dyed rainbow gi! 

Often, the choice to wear a colored gi over the traditional white gi is simply due to personal preference. However, keep in mind that a white gi is always harder to keep clean - and white - than a colored gi. Even if you take all necessary precautions, your academy may use puzzle mats, which have a tendency to discolor a white gi, or it just may not keep the mats clean enough to eat off of. 

Whatever gi color you choose, just remember to tap early and tap often. 

Train on... Oss. 

Now THAT'S the million-dollar question. There is no straight answer to how long it takes to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It really all depends on your individual journey. That being said, there are some things that determine whether your journey is relatively fast, or much slower than your peers.

On average, most jiu jitsu practitioners receive their black belt in anywhere from 6 to 15 years. For most academies, this depends on a number of factors: 

Time on the mat

Nothing beats time on the mat. You can't progress in your jiu jitsu career without putting in hours upon hours of time on the mat, and practical experience trumps any other kind of experience. YouTube Cowboys will not receive their black belt without time on the mat, no matter how many John Danaher videos they religiously watch. You have to be able to feel the technique, feel how it works or doesn't work, feel how it must be adapted depending on your opponent's movements or reaction. You can't fully learn a technique unless you apply it. Of course, there's something to be said about supplementing your jiu jitsu practice with study. Jiu jitsu is a physically intensive activity. Depending on how old you are - or even if you're a young whipper snapper - packing in too much jiu jitsu takes a toll on your body or causes burn-out. Exercising your brain will allow you to continually advance in your progress without compromising your body or your journey. 

Amassed knowledge

Every person learns at a different rate. Two people can be training for the exact same time, yet have a very different level of amassed knowledge. And that's okay. Everyone's journey is his or her own. It certainly doesn't mean one person is better than another... nevertheless, this definitely causes some people stress. It's hard not to compare yourself to others, especially when your homeboy that you started with is getting promoted to brown, while you feel like you're stagnating in your purple belt. The worst thing you can do is freak out and quit jiu jitsu. The best thing you can do is assess why you're not learning as fast and come up with strategies to help yourself improve. 

Competitive experience

It's no secret that competitors advance through their belts a lot faster than hobbyists. This isn't because of some inherent bias in the jiu jitsu community. It's because competition affords you an incredible experience to learn what works and what doesn't work, with opponents that are going 100 percent. I tell my students that every competition is worth about three months of solid training. Plus, competition gives your professor the best view of how you compare to others in your belt division. If you're getting smashed, obviously you should spend a little more time developing in your current rank. But if you're dominating your division each and every time you enter a competition, you're probably ready to rank up or risk being called a sand-bagger by the opposing teams. 

Professor's judgment

Ultimately, the decision lies with your professor. Even if you've been sitting on a belt for years, you're dominating your divisions and you've demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the gentle art, you're professor just might not promote very easily. Or he or she might not like you (I've seen it happen). Or - God forbid - you had actually asked to be promoted. One thing that is ingrained into the Brazilian jiu jitsu culture is: you do not ask for your belt. Don't even give hints. If you ask, you've just added more time onto your journey. And to be really honest, if you're asking for your next belt, why are you really doing jiu jitsu anyway? Are you doing it just to say to the ladies "I'm a BJJ blackbelt"? Pfft. Get out of here. Then you don't deserve it. Sure, work hard toward earning your black belt, but don't let that be the primary reason you're doing jiu jitsu. 

Again, there's no clear cut answer to this question, but hopefully I've provided some enlightenment on how you might advance through your belts and one day - hopefully - achieve that prestigious title of "professor". 

Train on... Oss. 

"Safe" is such a relative term. Playing paddy-cake in a padded room could be unsafe to certain individuals, I'm sure. Really, it all depends on your definition of "safe". Are you going to die from jiu jitsu? No. Well...  actually, the possibility is there, but you have a better chance of dying from a lightning strike.

Dying aside, let's get one thing straight: Brazilian jiu jitsu is a martial (i.e. "fighting") art. As such, there's an unavoidable element of risk and potential for injury. Here's what you can expect: 

• You will get bruises, especially when you first start out and your body hasn't adjusted to the forceful grabbing by your opponent or the innumerable impacts of someone's elbows, knees and other random body parts. Don't worry, your body quickly adjusts and you'll stop bruising so easily after a month or two. If it doesn't, make sure you're getting enough vitamins in your diet. 
• You will get the occasional black eye from a stray knee, elbow or accidental headbutt. It happens. When you have two people rolling around on the floor, both trying to obtain a more dominant position and often moving in wild and unpredictable ways, odds are your face is going to get in the way. It may or may not result in a full-blown shiner, but you will get some discoloration. Concealer comes in handy if you're worried about going out in public.
• You will roll your ankle or strain some other ligament sometime during your career. If you don't, you've got some serous Luck O' the Irish on your side. Again, you and your opponent are moving around in sometimes unpredictable ways, so it will happen that you'll plant your foot or hand in an unstable position, allowing for the possibility that it will be rolled or twisted. When it happens, stop the roll, assess the damage, wipe away your crocodile tears and get it taken care of. 
• You may break something. Considering how many people are practicing the gentle art around the world, actually breaking something is exceedingly rare. It does happen, but this is either due to an extreme - and freak - accident, or because you didn't tap when you should have. Again, jiu jitsu is a martial art. The risk of breaking something is far higher when you're engaged in a fighting discipline, than when you're sitting on the couch watching television. Just get into the habit of tapping early and tapping often. 

Again, whether or not jiu jitsu is "safe" really depends on your definition of the word. If you're looking for a hobby or sport in which you won't have to worry about breaking a nail, you should probably look elsewhere. If you're looking for something that's combative but you don't want to be punched in the face on the daily, jiu jitsu is going to be that "safe" alternative. 

The beauty of Brazilian jiu jitsu is that you can always tap. Unless you're paired with a real disaster of a human being, everyone you train with will respect the tap. If you feel pain or you're unable to breathe, just tap. 

Train on... safely. Oss. 

Few questions have been asked as much - and as often, especially around competition season - than "how much does a gi weigh"? Oh that elusive answer! The reason it is so hard to answer is precisely because there are a number of factors involved that affect the weight of a gi. 

Why Ask? 

First of all, why do people need to know so badly? For those who compete, the answer is fairly simple: because of weight cuts. There are relatively few competitors out there who don't try to cut weight for a tournament. The reason being is that they want to be as lean and mean as possible, so that they end up on the top of their weight division, where they believe they'll have the best opportunity to smash their opponent. As tricky as it is - because dropping weight without sacrificing strength due to overly-rapid weight loss and dehydration - nearly everybody does it. And if you've ever cut weight, you'll know that every ounce counts. 

Which is why a BJJ gi's weight is important. The heavier the gi, the more weight one has to cut, because weigh-ins are usually done in the uniform a competitor will compete in, and usually right before he/she goes out on the mat. 

For those who don't compete... well, the preoccupation with gi weight probably has to do with some neurotic obsession with feeling "dragged down" by a heavy gi. This is funny to me because unless you're wearing a serious double weave gi, you can't really feel the difference of a few ounces, especially when you're wearing the bloody thing. 

So What Affects the Weight? 

It's silly to ask "what's the weight of a jiu jitsu gi" because the very question assumes a universal standard in gis. The fact is, there isn't one. The weight of a gi depends on four factors: fabric type, size, cut, and adornment. 

• Fabric - First of all, not all gis are made from exactly the same fabric. There are a number of different jacket fabrics, as well as pant fabrics, to choose from. Each weave or fabric type will have a certain weight per square yard. Some brands give you a clue as to the weight of the gi when they identify the fabric type. For example, if you're looking at a gi with 450 GSM jacket and 10 oz pants, you'll know it'll be a bit heavier than a gi with a 375 GSM jacket and 8 oz pants. Please note, that doesn't mean that pants themselves weigh 10 oz, just that the fabric they were made out of was a 10 oz weight fabric. 
• Size - This should be self-explanatory, but here I go anyway. The bigger the size, the more fabric needed to construct it. More fabric = more weight. How much more depends on the fabric type and cut. 
• Cut - This is the factor that explains why a size A2 Kingz Kimono is not the same weight as a size A2 Tatami gi. Every gi brand has their own special cut, and some brands even have a variety of different cuts. A gi with a slimmer profile will use less material than a gi with a wider profile. 
• Adornment - Every little piece of fabric or stitching on a gi affects the weight. Individually, they may not matter, but when you have ten patches, a sublimated lining, and the gi brand logo stitched on every available piece of real estate... that all adds up to weight. Looking for an ultralight gi? Choose the plainest one you can find. 

So How Do You Know For Sure??

Some - and probably sometime in the near future, ALL - gi brands include gi weight in their size charts. However, sometimes these gi weights are out-dated, so always check with customer service before you rely too heavily on those charts. 

The absolute best, most accurate way to check the weight of your gi is to weigh it yourself. For those of you geniuses who can't figure out the logistics of doing this: 1) step on scale without gi, 2) step on scale again while holding gi, 3) subtract the weight in step 1 from the weight in step 2. 

Train... and weigh... on. Oss.