Fighter — cat_Gear

Let's face it: jiu jitsu is an expensive hobby. First there are monthly membership fees, which can get pretty steep depending on where you live and which academy you're going to. Then there are the gis - plural, because you can't just have one - and the other gear that you need to train in. And if you're a competitor, add hundreds of dollars in registration fees, travel and meals. 

Ugh. 

So with all of that in mind, it would be silly not to look for ways to cut costs, where and when you can. One of the best ways is by scoring deals on your gis and gear. Here are a few ways that you can: 

Browse the Sale Sections

Almost every retail e-commerce business will have a sale section. We do. These sale sections serve important roles for businesses, because companies often have only a certain amount of warehouse space to hold all of their inventory. And new products - new gis and gear, which can take up quite a lot of space - are always coming out. So in order to make room for the new, companies have to get rid of the old... and quickly. They do that by marking down a lot of perfectly good products that either don't sell fast or which they have a lot of. Unfortunately, the most popular sizes are usually gone when they do this, but you can always cross your fingers and hope! Luckily, with our Sale Section, you can filter by size, so you don't have to waste any time discovering if something in your size exists. 

Coupon Codes

Make sure you follow your favorite brands on social media. Often, they will post special event coupon codes on their Instagram or Facebook, codes which they may not publish on their websites. Here at Fighters Market, we regularly post coupon codes for between 10-20% off of your entire purchase (with some brand exceptions, like Hayabusa). That means that you can often get a great deal on a name brand gi or article of no-gi gear at Fighters Market, even when the brands themselves aren't advertising a discount. Also, don't forget to sign up for newsletters. Companies love to gather customer emails - mostly to send future deals and advertisements - so in exchange, they often offer a coupon code for a certain percentage or dollar amount off of your first order. 

Holiday Savings

Here's a little secret: companies put a lot of effort into planning their holiday sales events. And each year they tend to start a little bit earlier than that last, banking on the fact that people usually plan their holiday gifting well in advance. Except for you procrastinators... There's no hope for you. Anyway, in order to take the best advantage of these savings - either for yourself or your loved ones - mark your calendar with these common sales days: Valentine's Day, Mother's and Father's Days, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Years. Start checking a week or two in advance of the holiday to see if they've posted about their holiday sales. 

Past Models

Keep an eye out for new gi or gear model updates. Companies love to put out new versions of solid favorites, and when they do, the past versions are often put on heavy discount. Unfortunately, you never know when a company will put a new version out - unless their marketing team is on-point and have been posting teasers about a new version - so it's hard to plan your purchase of past gi or nogi gear models. However, that only makes it more important to follow a brand or company on social media; so that you can spot those deals and snap them up before it's too late. 

We hope these tips will help you make your jiu jitsu journey a little more friendly on your wallet. 

Train... and shop... on. Oss. 

Let's face it: most jiu jitsu gis are pretty darn boring. Yeah, that's right... I said it. But seriously, almost every brand out there offers you the standard white, blue and black color options, with their logos or other minimal branding in the typical spots on the shoulders, lapel or thighs. 

Pretty basic. Pretty boring. And even if they do go out of their comfort zone and offer you an "illustrated" gi, they usually hide all that excitement inside the gi jacket... kind of like a dirty secret. 

Not Scramble. From the brand that revolutionized the NoGi apparel game with their iconic Rainbow Spats, Scramble appears to be attempting to do the same in the gi market. Enter the Scramble Sukajan Panther Jiu Jitsu Gi and the Scramble Sukajan Dragon Jiu Jitsu Gi. Scramble breaks all the rules with these puppies. 

Scramble's Sukajan gis are inspired by the Japanese Sukajan, or "souvenir jacket", the origins of which trace back to post-World War II, when American soldiers had Japanese seamstresses embroider intricate Japanese designs on their military jackets, as a souvenir of their time spent in the country. Scramble created their own play on that fascinating fusion of Japanese and American culture, collaborating with Singapore based tattoo artist, Feroze McLeod, to create a truly unique gi series. 

Not only do these gis featuring McLeod's awesome tattoo-style designs of a panther - on the white gi - and a dragon - on the black gi - embroidered boldly across the back of the jacket, they also showcase mirrored headpieces of the artwork on the front of the gi jacket (very non-traditional in the jiu jitsu world, but super traditional in the Sukajan world). Scramble has also taken the concept a step further, by constructing the gi jacket to resemble the classic baseball jacket that's most commonly used for Sukajan, with separately-constructed sleeves (rather than the entire jacket made from a single piece of fabric). Indeed, the black Sukajan Dragon gi features a dual-color look, with dark navy blue sleeves against a black jacket body. 

If you're the type of practitioner who likes to be a little bit different, these gis are right up your alley. 

Train on... in style. Oss.

Here at Fighters Market, we are passionate about gis and all things jiu jitsu. One of our favorite brands is Moya Brand, which has made channeling the modern - and vintage - cultural vibes of the jiu jitsu community into a veritable art form.

Based out of Whittier, California, Moya Brand draws inspiration not only from the laid-back Southern California beach lifestyle, but from... well... everywhere, offering an eclectic, yet always fresh, jiu jitsu style. 

For the most part, Moya uses the same tried-and-true competition style cut for all of their gis. So no matter what model you buy, you'll know it'll fit just as perfectly all those other Moya gis we know you have lined up in your closet (because Moya fans are dedicated). And no matter what Moya model you get, you can be assured it'll have a clean design, that's never cluttered with too much unnecessary crap. You know the brands we're talking about... the ones that make you look like a NASCAR driver even before you slap your own patches on it. 

What Moya really excels at is the details. Each of their gi models feature those special little design elements that make it unique... channeling that classic luxury fashion aesthetic you see in men's suits and women's LBDs; classy, simple and timeless, but with pops of color in the lining or interesting cutouts.

For example, check out the Moya Lost at Sea series, of which their Moya Lost at Sea Destroyer Gi is their latest - and last - edition. Inspired by the World War II era, the Lost at Sea Destroyer Gi features custom designed embroidered details that offer a subtle vintage naval look without being dated, such as the anchor, eagle, and bold red military ranking bars embroidered on one shoulder, and their signature Moya logo integrated into an anchor design on the other. WAY cool. 

But what's our favorite part about Moya? 

Their their willingness to pay it forward. Jiu jitsu gives us lot in life... it's only just that we give back to the community and pass on those good vibes. Moya has been a long-time supporter of the Mauli Ola Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Laguna Beach, California, dedicated to providing hope and confidence to individuals living with genetic diseases.

That deserves some serious "oss" right there. 

Train on. Oss.

No-Gi season is upon us! Which means time to shed the gis and rock out with our spats out. But what's more exhausting and infuriating than finding a nice pair of jeans that fit? Finding a nice pair of spats that fit... and don't sag off your bum... and perform well during training... and don't fall apart... and... the list goes on. 

Fear no more! Here at Fighters Market, we have the opportunity to test out the best gis and gear in the business... and we've found a brand that delivers some of the best spats we've seen yet. Introducing Virus. 

Virus caters to a wide variety of athletic sports. If you haven't been living under a rock lately, you've probably noticed that they've been taking over the Crossfit world, has infiltrated the martial arts world, and is worn by some of the best athletes in the jiu jitsu world.

For a reason. 

Virus puts out a lot of great stuff, but we thought we'd focus on their compression pants, seeing as spats are the most difficult pieces of athletic apparel to get right. In particular, we suggest you check out their Stay Cool Compression Pants, available in both men's and women's cuts. 

First of all, Virus' Stay Cool series compression pants are made from some seriously high-tech material. Made with their patented CoolJade™ fabric, which is infused with recycled jade material, these spats are designed to wick away excess moisture and provide a cooling effect against your skin... which is really nice during a high energy activity such as jiu jitsu. Secondly, Virus' compression pants provide just the right amount of compression - not too tight, not too loose - which helps reduce inflammation and keep your muscles feeling energized.

And finally, we can't say enough about the cut! The brains behind Virus have to be performance athletes themselves, because man do these things fit nicely. Both the men's and women's cuts feature an ergonomic design, which shapes to your body and stays put, no matter what crazy inverted position you might be doing. With nice wide waistbands and seams in strategic places (i.e. NOT straight down the middle, which has the uncomfortable tendency cut into your most delicate bits and pieces), they don't ride up... or down. 

Don't believe us? Take a chance and buy a pair. They might not be the cheapest spats in the market... but sometimes you get what you pay for, and spats aren't a piece of equipment we take any chances on. 

Train on. Oss.

If you don't know the name Maeda Brand, then you've probably been living under a rock. In fact, this isn't the first time we've blogged about Maeda Brand. Their Akashio and Red Label gis recently made our shortlist of jiu jitsu gear reviews. Needless to say: we're fans of this California-based company. 

While Maeda Brand  has been around for several years now, they've really only started to make an impact in the jiu jitsu gi and gear industry in the last two years. If you know your jiu jitsu history - and you should... shame on you if you don't! - you'll know that the brand derives its name from Maeda Mitsuyo, the Japanese judoka who made his way to Brazil in 1914, where he eventually came to teach the art of judo to members of the Gracie family, who themselves are credited with the creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Essentially, without Maeda Mitsuyo, there'd be no BJJ... Mind. Blown. 

So, back to the brand. Its motto is "tradition within", which we love because it speaks not only to the brand's inspiration - Maeda - but also alludes to its aesthetic. Maeda likes to keep their designs classy and timeless, yet at the same time, they also cater to today's jiu jitsu practitioner with modern cuts and high-tech materials. 

Their Akashio Jiu Jitus Gi, for example, is the perfect example of this seamless meshing of traditional and modern. The Akashio features a 100% cotton jacket, made from 480 GSM Pearl Weave Plus - which is a tighter, stronger weave than a standard pearl weave - and mid-weight 10 oz drill cotton pants. Both the jacket and pants have a tailored, competition-style cut, which fits slightly more snug than an old school gi, and helps deter your opponents from getting, and maintaining, a solid grip. The outside of the gi is simple and understated, featuring gold contrast stitching and custom-designed woven patches. The inside of the jacket is where all the excitement is: lined with fully sublimated Cool Max fabric, which is designed to keep you cool and dry during training, it depicts a slightly modified ancient Japanese artwork, featuring a Samurai in the midst of intense battle on the beach. Blood red accent details nod to the gi's name; "akashio" means "red tide" in Japanese. 

While this might be - hands down - one of our favorite gis in the warehouse, that's not the only great gi that Maeda Brand makes. Their entire gi lineup is pretty top-notch. In fact, the Red Label is probably the best "basic" gi on the market today (in our opinion). And they recently began dabbling in the no-gi market, putting out some great rashguards, shorts and spats, both for men and for women. 

If you haven't checked out Maeda Brand... now's probably a good time. 

Train on... Oss.