Fighter — top_cat

If you're a competitor, you know the importance of a solid ultralight gi. Because, really now, when are we ever NOT close to weight?? Jiu jitsu is a demanding activity, so you gotta constantly fuel up... But maybe you had one too many tacos with your acai bowls, and now you're looking at the scale with more than a little trepidation. 

Never fear... The Ultralights are here! Here are some of the best lightweight gis we offer: 

Kingz Nano

When almost all ultralight gis in the market featured ripstop pants, Kingz was one of the first brands to offer a super lightweight gi with cotton pants. In order to keep the Nano light enough to compete with the ridiculous lightweight-edness of a their traditional Kingz Ultralight gi, they made a few smart design and construction decisions. For one, they chose the lightest materials they could, without going too light and risking a flimsy, easy-to-tear gi. With this in mind, they chose a lightweight 370 GSM pearl weave jacket and 8 oz drill cotton pants. And while most ultralight gis at the time featured sewn-on logo patches, Kingz chose to give the Nano a little class with embroidered details, but kept it minimal to keep the weight of the gi down.

• 370 GSM Pearl Weave jacket
• 8 oz drill cotton
• Women's and Kid's cuts, too

Tatami Elements

Meet one of the newest additions to Tatami's lineup, and one of the lightest it has ever produced: the Tatami Elements Gi. Weighing in at less than 3 lbs (for an A2), it's one of the lightest gis in the industry. Like the Kingz Nano, Tatami chose to feature an ultralight gi with cotton pants. Tatami decided to take it a step further by featuring a 300 GSM pearl weave jacket and 8 oz twill cotton pants. They kept the adornments of the Elements simple, yet stylish, with two matching patches along the shoulders and subtle contrast stitching. 

• 300 GSM Pearl Weave
• 8 oz twill cotton
• Men's/unisex cut only 

Hayabusa Pro Lightweight

For those of you seeking that traditional ultralight gi feel, with some modern touches, Hayabusa has got you covered - literally - with their Pro Lightweight gi. Featuring an ultra-lightweight 350 GSM cotton pearl weave jacket and 10 oz cotton/polyester blend ripstop pants, this gi is both light and indestructible. Keeping the gi light, yet distinctly Hayabusa, the Pro Lightweight features designed patches and embroidery adornments with the iconic Hayabusa falcon. 

• 350 GSM pearl weave jacket
• 10 oz cotton/polyester blend ripstop pants
• Men's/unisex cut only

Maeda Red Label

One of our favorite ultralight gis isn't even marketed as an ultralight! Comparable to Maeda's Fujin Gi, which was their original lightweight gi, the Maeda Red Label is actually their basic gi... so you get both a great, inexpensive gi and an ultralight gi in one! For the Red Label, Maeda chose a lightweight 350 GSM "super fine" pearl weave jacket and 8 oz drill cotton pants. As its name suggests, the "super fine" pearl weave is a tighter, more durable weave than a regular pearl weave. Keeping with their super stylish design aesthetic, the Red Label has minimal patch details, in a fresh pop of bright red color, and their custom-designed stamp logo embroidered on the shoulder and back of the jacket. 

• 350 GSM Lightweight Super Fine Pearl Weave jacket
• 8 oz drill cotton pants
• Women's and Kid's cuts, too

 Train... and eat... on! Oss.

Not everyone has aspirations of being a sport jiu jitsu superstar... that's not why we started jiu jitsu in the first place anyway, right? But it'd be a shame if you didn't try it at least once in your career. Exposing yourself to the unique stresses of the competition mat not only grows your jiu jitsu, but it also gives you a fresh view into yourself, particularly your vulnerabilities and your strengths. 

However, not all jiu jitsu tournaments are created the same. Their size, prestige and rulesets all differ a bit, so you can pick and choose which one suits your tastes. No need to waste energy looking them up... we've listed all the major ones below: 

IBJJF - The International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation is the oldest and one of the most prestigious promotions in our list, featuring large and small events across the globe. In addition to their yearly World Championships - both gi and no-gi - and their major continental events - the Brazilian, European, Pans and Asian Championships - they also offer more local "Open" events held in major cities around the world, as well as a huge event exclusively for competitors age 30 and above: the World Master Championship (which also happens to be one of their biggest events, with nearly 4,500 competitors in 2017). As the oldest competitive jiu jitsu promotion, they have set the standard for most points-based tournament formats. 

ADCC - The ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships is the oldest and most prestigious no-gi - well, "submission fighting" - events in the world. Launched in 1998 by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of then-UAE leader Sheik Zayed and founder of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (hence, ADCC), the event is held every two years and features the top wrestlers, judoka, jiu-jitsu and sambo practitioners in the world. These fighters had either won an international ADCC qualifying event or were invited due to their notoriety in the sport. The ADCC ruleset is an interesting mix of sub-only and points, in which the first half of the match is sub-only (although competitors can still receive negative points for pulling guard during this period) and the second half is points-based, but calculated differently from the IBJJF. 

Fight2Win - What began as a small local Colorado tournament has become one of the most sought-after live event super fight promotions in the United States. Considered "the biggest party in grappling," Fight2Win brings UFC-style excitement to the jiu jitsu mats, where they feature one-on-one match-ups between local competitors. With the Fight2Win, you don't have to be a superstar to get a spot on their card... but you do typically have to be at least purple belt and above, or a juvenile. Fight2Win is a submission-only ruleset, under a specified time-limit, with three judges who will determine the result in case neither fighter gets a submission. Check out their fighter application here.

UAEJJF - The United Arab Emirates Jiu Jitsu Federation is basically IBJJF's biggest competitor on the world scale. As its name suggests, the UAEJJF was founded in the UAE in 2009, where several UAE big wigs - including Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahayan - had discovered and fallen in love with jiu jitsu, and subsequently began a national project to install jiu jitsu into all of the country's public schools, as well as create a professionalized promotion of jiu jitsu events around the world. Like the IBJJF, the UAEJJF is a points- based tournament, but unlike the IBJJF, the UAEJJF offers prize-money for athlete who make the podium. 

EBI - Launched in 2014 by the founder of the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu system, the Eddie Bravo Invitational is a 16-person submission-only tournament. One of the few no-gi only tournaments, participation is by invitation only and the event is broadcast live on UFC FightPass. The EBI also features a unique format designed to maximize the chance of submissions: each match is 10-minutes, and if no submission is achieved by the end of time, the competitors go into overtime, where they each have to be put into a "dead-zone" position - spiderweb or back control - from which they have to escape. The competitor who is able to submit, and avoid being submitted in return, wins. If neither competitor submits during three overtime rounds, the winner is he/she who has the shortest accumulated escape times. Many smaller sub-only promotions have adopted this format. 

Polaris - Founded by the guys at Scramble Brand and Tatami, Polaris is Europe's longest-running professional grappling event, featuring both gi and no-gi matches. Polaris is invitation-only and features some of the best jiu jitsu competitors from around the world. Matches are 15 minutes long and submission-only. However, if a match fails to end with a submission, a panel of judges decide who wins via a tiered set of considerations, in which submissions attempts and aggression are weighed more heavily than positional control. This format makes for strong incentive for exciting matches.  

Copa Podio - A Brazilian-based super fight promotion, the Copa Podio is a live super fight event that pits ten of jiu jitsu's top athletes against each other for a grand prize. Instead of a traditional bracket system, Copa Podio uses a round-robin system, in which the fighters are split into two 5-person groups, and everyone in that group has to fight each other to determine who advances to the finals to face-off against the winner from the other group. The matches are six-minutes long and use the IBJJF ruleset, with the winners earning match points - five for a submission, three for a win by points, two for a win by advantages, and one to each fighter in the case of a draw. 

Absolute Championship Berkut - The ACBJJ jumped on the event bandwagon in 2017, featuring both open championship events around the world, as well as professional super fight events. Notably, the ACBJJ does not allow women to compete in their events. 

Five Grappling - Five Grappling is a California-based promotion that features both a professional super fight event, called the "Five Super League", as well as local tournaments held in states around the U.S. 

Sport Jiu-Jitsu International Federation - The only Brazilian jiu jitsu federation that has recognition from an international sport organization - the Association for International Sport for All - the SJJIF also boast both continental and country-level associations, which hold events across the globe. 

In addition to these more prestigious promotions, there are a ton of promotions that hold smaller, local tournaments in various regions across the United States. Entry fees are relatively inexpensive, and offer great opportunities to get some fights under your belt, especially for white belts to purple belts. Some of these are: 

• North American Grappling Association (NAGA) - across the U.S. 
• American Grappling Federation - across the U.S. 
• Fuji BJJ Championship Series - across the U.S.
• Jiu Jitsu World League - mostly Western U.S. and Texas
• SubCon - Southern California
• New Breed - across the U.S., but mostly the Southeastern U.S.
• Copa American Grappling Championships - Southeastern U.S.
• Grappling Games - Midwest and Eastern U.S. 
• Grappling Industries - across the U.S. and Australia
• US Grappling - Eastern U.S.

Train... and compete... on. Oss.

Atama has been a stalwart gi brand for... well, a really long time. Since 1989, in fact. Indeed, it was one of the pioneers in the jiu jitsu gi market; one of the first brands to tailor the traditional - i.e. suuuuper old-school - judo gis to fit the movements and needs of the Brazilian jiu jitsu fighter. 

Which means it's safe to say that the guys at Atama know their stuff. 

Since it first launched many years ago, their Mundial model has been their best-selling gi. Now in it's ninth version - yeah, you read that right... NINTH - the Mundial Model 9 is better than ever. The Mundial Model 9 features their tried-and-true "Carioca Weave" jacket, which is a Brazilian-manufactured 100% cotton, densely woven single weave that's made to withstand some serious grabbing and pulling. In order to keep the gi nice and light, the Mundial features a lightweight polyester/cotton ripstop pants, and ripstop covered lapel. Slightly tailored toward the cuffs of the jacket and pants, yet roomy around the shoulders and knee area, this gi was made to balance a tailored fit - and all of its lovely grip-deterring benefits - with unrestricted movement. Simply designed, the Atama Mundial features the iconic Atama logo embroidered in high-quality stitching along both shoulders, leaving plenty of ripe real estate for your favorite academy patch and jiu jitsu brand logos. 

Plus, having been the gi of choice for some of the community's biggest women's jiu jitsu names - like Leticia Ribeiro and Bia Mesquita - Atama has made sure to offer their popular Mundial Model 9 in a specially-designed women's cut! 

Don't believe us? Try it for yourself! 

Back to the Americas with our featured brand series... Introducing Ronin Brand, the Brooklyn-based kimono brand that also caters to the judo and karate markets. Actually, "introducing" might be the wrong word. Ronin Brand has been around for a hot minute. First appearing on the scene in 1980, it's an in-house brand of martial arts supplier Kinji San, which has been in business since 1976. So these guys know their stuff.

Ronin Brand is particularly focused on producing solid, well-constructed gis, with extra reinforcement stitching. We know, because very few of their gis get returned due to fabric tears or other construction failures. As such, Ronin Brand isn't too concerned about producing flimsy, ultra-lightweight gis. The lightest gi they offer is the Koi Jiu Jitsu Gi, which features a 420 GSM jacket and 9.5 oz cotton pants. However, almost all of their gis feature a sturdy 450 GSM pearl weave jacket and between 10 oz to 11 oz cotton or canvas pants - pretty much the ideal combination for a long-lasting training and competition gi. For those who love that heavier gi, Ronin has got you covered: their Ronin Emperor Gi features a 500 GSM jacket and 12 oz duck canvas pants, and their Imperial Double Weave Gi, features a seriously durable 890 GSM jacket.

Ronin Brand also has a very well-defined aesthetic: it's all about the Japanese samurai warrior. In fact, the brand itself is inspired by the "ronin" (literally translated to "drifter" or "wanderer"), which was a samurai without a lord or master, due to the death or fall of his master, or because he fell out of favor. Therefore, the embroidered details and interior artwork (for those models with sublimated linings) feature traditional Japanese iconography, such as the samurai weapons - such as swords, shuriken throwing blades, and bow and arrows - as well as men-yoroi battle masks, Japanese crests and Kanji lettering.

Our favorite of the Ronin lineup? The Ronin Blackout Samurai Jiu Jitsu Gi, a limited edition collaborative design with artist Blackout Brother, featuring a deep green/black fabric, an incredibly detailed samurai mask embroidery on the left arm, and a wickedly cool Blackout Brother samurai mask fully subliminated on the interior CoolMax lining of the jacket. Check it out: 

Jiu jitsu isn't the only activity that offers innumerable benefits to the practitioner... but it does have a special combination that does more than just help people get fit and give them something to do in their free time.

It's a combination of physical, mental, emotional and social benefits that gives people exactly what they need in life and makes lifelong practitioners out of anyone... regardless of who he or she might be. Young, old, male, female, strong, weak, black, white, rich or poor... Jiu Jitsu is for everyone. 

What are those benefits? Read on... 

Physical

Jiu jitsu will get you in shape. Of course, if you want to look like a gladiator you still have to put in the work and combine it with a balanced diet. But whatever your baseline is, jiu jitsu will improve your physical fitness, two, three, ten-fold, depending on how dedicated you are. This is because training jiu jitsu is a combination of cardio and resistance training. Each round is about five or six - sometimes even seven to ten - minutes of non-stop movement. You might not be moving fast, but whether you're on the offensive or the defensive, you're constantly moving. Combine that with another human body trying to either trying to subdue and submit you... or trying to prevent you from doing that to him or her. If you're not breathing heavy by the buzzer, you're either in impeccable shape already... or you're just not breathing period. 

Mental

Jiu jitsu is called human chess for a reason. It's a one-on-one sport, you and your opponent, pitting your body and brain against the other person's. You can't just go in with a predefined plan and execute it exactly as you imagined it. You constantly have to strategize in the moment, because your opponent is going to bring his or her own game, and react in ways that you might not be able to predict. The more proficient you become, the faster you're able to recognize your opponent's intentions and foresee the openings for attack or defense. This directly translates off the mat, too. You'll start seeing a significant improvement in your critical thinking skills within weeks of beginning your jiu jitsu journey. 

Emotional

You'll be hard pressed to find someone who can argue that their emotional state of being hasn't improved through jiu jitsu. Of course, there are those exceptions, but for the vast majority of practitioners jiu jitsu is a major stress reliever. There are a ton of studies that show how physical activity - any kind really - serves as a vehicle for stress relief by releasing endorphins and putting you "in the moment". Particularly with the latter, it's incredibly hard not to be in the moment when you have someone trying to strangle you. Whatever is happening off the mat - work sucks, your children are little monsters, your parents are nagging you, your girl or guyfriend is cheating on you - it doesn't exist for that hour or two that you're on the mat learning someone awesome. 

Social

As humans, we are very social creatures. Even the most anti-social among us needs to have a person or people with whom we can interact. We need a "clan". The jiu jitsu community - your team - provides that clan. When you start training at a jiu jitsu academy, you immediately become part of that group. When you train together every day, grow together, sweat on each other, share each other's frustrations and successes... you become as close as family. You become family... jiu jitsu family. 

But don't take my word for it. Take a breath - I know, it's intimidating taking that first step - and go try a class at your local academy. 

Train on... Oss.