Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is becoming a sizeable industry as the growth of this now global martial art/sport has bloomed since the turn of the century. Due to the Judo roots BJJ has traditionally been practiced in the Gi. Modern Jiu Jitsu, which often drops the Brazilian prefix, possibly due to the global nature, is more a No Gi phenomenon. Tournaments like ADCC, fully No Gi, have grown in popularity and many spin off professional fight syndicates have arisen often utilising the No Gi format.
So, given the size of the sport, we now have an equally large industry built around apparel. The Gi is traditional and has a certain kind of hold over the Gi specialist but the No Gi market has exploded in recent times. Established and upcoming apparel brands sponsor athletes who compete and promote their sponsors forming a one part of the marketing required to be a successful BJJ fight wear brand.
Given the ease of engaging a manufacturer offshore, new Jiu Jitsu fightwear brands are popping up left, right and centre. This being the case would you not expect to see constant innovation in design and materials as brands duel with each other to be the number one in performance Jiu Jitsu gear?
Interestingly, the answer is no. We do not see any innovation with regards to design and materials for fight wear. What we see are copycat brands churning out the exact same products as the opposition, just with different logo designs and patches.
There is already a GOAT in this arena. I’m sure that if you asked any Jiu Jitsu enthusiast who the most revered BJJ fight wear brand is, they will all know, and there is only one. Is their gear any different to the copycats? I don’t know is my honest answer. In addition to this, all No Gi gear including all the top brands is exclusively made of plastics which are a by-product of the petro-chemical industry.
The original rebels were that because they were the first to start making the Gi into a designer item. Beautifully designed patches in the right places are pleasing to the eye and they nailed it then and still do now. Respect.
What is the next evolution?
It surely must be in the materials.
New fabrics. Taking into account performance across the realistic lifespan of the clothing. Perhaps using base fibres that are renewable and not the by-product of a non-renewable resource that pollutes the planet. BJJ Gi’s are currently almost all made of regular cotton. It is no secret that regular cotton cropping is a chemical-based industry.
I’m going to say that on average I have probably had anywhere from 6 months to 18 months use out of various cotton Gi’s over the years. After white belt I stopped wearing plastic rash guards and would just wear a cotton tee shirt for No Gi training.
Then I found Hemp and Bamboo fabrics.
The world has changed.
Softness plus and amazing feel. Lightweight but heavy duty. So cool on the skin. And they can safely go in the tumble drier, ideal for wet climates and humid climates. Actually, just ideal full stop. Hemp and Bamboo are naturally antimicrobial so resist any sweat smells that can become ingrained over time, also without using any kind of scented detergents.
Based on testing of several sample Hemp Gi and natural fibre No Gi sets over the course of 2022/23 we now have a range of Hemp BJJ Gi and Natural No Gi gear in stock so you can also experience something fresh and legit rebellious.