The best way to care for your BJJ or Judo Gi
Date Posted:22 February 2016
The best way to care for your BJJ or Judo Gi
We hear many stories of how expensive some BJJ or Judo Gi's can be. The truth of the matter is that half of those who complain are the ones most likely to spend more money on a great night out or on a new suit that they'll only wear a few time a year.
Now let's consider what you do in a suit and what you do in a Gi? The activities can't be mimicked, just try and Spider Guard a friend in a new suit and chances are the sleeves will just rip off. The abuse seen a BJJ Gi or Judo Gi can't be matched by any other Martial Art Uniform let alone a dinner suit. Karate Gi's, Teakwondo Duboks you name it, they just don't stand a chance against the constant pulling, grabbing tagging etc.
Although that you can pick up a dirt cheap suit at any clearance outlet, some suits can run into the several hundreds and some in the thousands. The same goes for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gi's and Judo Gi's. There are cheaper options as well as the more expensive ones. We always recommend you go with a reputable brand over the generic no-name brand for warranty, service and reliability. They offer a better silhouette (fall against the body), mostly likely are pre-shrunk, retain their shape better, offer added features and the list goes on.
So once you have decided how much you want to spend, how can you best look after your new Gi so that you can get the most out of it. Here is a list of how you can get the most out of every Gi...
- Respect the washing instructions. Some BJJ and Judo Gi's don't like to be tumble dried while some can handle very low heat tumble dry.
- As most BJJ and Judo Gi's are made of cotton avoid using bleach. The bleach slowly attacks the cotton fibre slowly biting into the fabric.
- Buy more than one Gi. If you only have one Gi and are training 2 - 4 times a week you will in effect be training in, washing up and most likely tumble drying your Gi between 104 - 208 times a year. There is no way you dinner suit will withstand 50 machine washes let alone 104 washes. Having more than one BJJ Gi or Judo Gi helps spread the load to 1 or 2 times a week and reduce the wash wear cycle down to 1 - 2 a week giving you less wear on your Gi's.
- Take care of how you handle or pack your Gi. Take a quick minute to neatly fold your Gi and avoid throwing into the trunk of your car where your tools, car jack and other items may tear or snag your Gi and put a hole in it.
- Take pride in your Gi and iron your Gi. This can be a therapeutic past time and allows you to see your Gi from a different angle and allows you to inspect it in a different light checking for any wear and tear.
- Avoid heavy embroidery as this places needle puncture marks into the fabric and can weaken the material. Opt for a sewn on patch over heavy embroidery. Light embroidery is okay.
- Train on good Mats. Training on old style Jig Saw Rubber Mats can wear the fabric as it is tackier. This also follows onto the next and in many case more important aspect, training on clean mats. This will help avoid your white BJJ Gi or Judo Gi turning black from all the Newaza (ground work). The best mats for this are the Zebra Mats
- Use a more natural cleaner. Less chemicals, less bleaches, less toxic chemicals. Opt for a more environmentally friendly brand or one that does away with harsh chemicals. We love using Modere which uses less and cleans more and is nontoxic. This will not only result in a better wash, but is made with no toxicity or harmful chemicals making it great for the environment and your skin. It washes nicely which means you’re left with a Gi that carries less cleaning chemicals that can leach back into your body during training through heavy sweat and perspiration. A clean Gi is a reflection of you and your personal hygiene and appearance, not to mention no one like to train with the person with the smelly martial arts uniform, so don't be that guy/girl.
We hope you like some of the helpful hint that can help you better look after your BJJ or Judo Gi.
Enjoy and train hard, train well.
