Jujitsu-Gi

The Jiu-jitsu-Gi is a traditional uniform used in the training and competitions of Jiu-jitsu. “Gi” according to the Japanese martial arts refers to the dress or clothing. This uniform consists of a heavy cotton jacket along with a pair of drawstring trousers and a coloured belt that describes the rank of the practitioner. Non-Japanese practitioners call it as kimono. The uniform is of solid colour mainly white, black or blue. The International Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation (IBJJF) primarily regulates the rules regarding the gi.

Regulations for Jiu-jitsu-Gi according to the International Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation

• The gi should be manufactured from cotton or other similar material. It should be light and shouldn’t be too thick or hard so that it obstructs the opponent too.
• The gi shouldn’t be a combination of various colours, which means only a single colour uniform is allowed.
• The jackets are required to have a length up to the thighs, and the sleeves should cover the wrist and follow the official measurements.
• The belts should have a width of 4 to 5 cm. It should be of a specific colour that corresponds to the rank of the practitioner. The belt is required to be tied around the waist with a double knot. Participants are prohibited from wearing any discoloured or extremely worn belt in the competitions.
• Participants are also restricted to wear torn kimonos, sleeves and trousers. They should be of proper length, and except females, other participants are prohibited from wearing a t-shirt underneath the kimono.
• The kimono can be painted only in team matches.
• The gi shouldn’t be comprised of any pockets.
• The jacket lapel should be of 5 cm in width and must not be thicker than 1.3 cm.
• There should be a 7cm of room between the bottom of the competitor’s wrist to the bottom of their sleeve.
• There should be13 patches present on the gi, seven of them should be on the jacket whereas six on the pants.

Parts of the Jiu-jitsu-Gi

The Jiu-jitsu-Gi consists of 2 parts; pants and jacket along with a belt.

Pants - The pants in earlier times were composed solely of thick cotton canvas or denim. In recent years, these are made from light-weighted material concerning the hot weather. Nowadays, it is popular among practitioners to wear ripstop trousers with a cotton jacket.

​Jackets - There are four common variants of the jackets used by the Jiu-jitsu-Gi competitors -

• Single weave cotton jackets - It is the lighter variant of the traditional jackets and is generally less expensive. It is preferred during hot weather training. The jackets weigh around 300 to 550 gram per square metre. The weaves aren’t as durable as the heavier fabric.
• Gold weave cotton - It is an intermediate material between the single and double weave in terms of weight and durability. It was earlier the standard uniform required for the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Confederation.
• Double weave cotton - The double weave gi is manufactured from additional fabric than the single weave jackets. The jackets are usually heavier (around 650-1050 gram per square metre), stiff and a little expensive. These jackets retain more heat but are abrasive on the skin too.
• Ripstop Fabrics - The ripstop fabrics generally consist of a mixture of many materials such as cotton, silk, polyester and nylon. All of them are woven together, resulting in a massively strong and light-weighted uniform. These are highly durable and wouldn’t rip off quickly. These are definitely better than single weave cotton gi but the opponents can easily manipulate and grab each other during a fight.

History and evolution of the Jiu-jitsu-Gi

In the 1970s, Carlos Gracie’s son Reylson Gracie implemented the first set of colours to the jiu-jitsu uniform. By the late1980s, sponsorship of the athletes began and in 1990s, practitioners started to wear advertisement patches on their uniforms that led to the marketing of various brands. In the1993 UFC-1, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu style was adopted by the American market. This led to the collaboration of jiu-jitsu with the international brand “Bad Boy”. A year later, another brand entered in the production of gi selling - “M Kimonos”. In 1996, a new variant of the gi was introduced by a new brand “Krugans”. They produced cutting designs of the jackets for the guard players. It had no seam in the back and was more comfortable for the players. By 2000, several companies jump in to produce lighter, durable and more practical variants of the traditional gi and so plenty of the variants are available in the market today.