Uniforms used in Brazilian-Jiu Jitsu

Like many other martial arts, there are also uniforms used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The uniform(also known as gi) used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was adapted from different uniforms that was previously used in other Japanese/Korea martial arts such as Taekwondo, Karate and Judo. The shirt is usually made of cotton and the pants is reinforced.. Usually, the belt of the user will be worn over the uniform as the belt shows the user's rank. The sizing is normally follows (A0 - A7) for men, but occasionally judogi sizing is used (1-7)

General Regulations 



The colours of uniforms used in international competition are only Blue, Black and White. In some gyms, they have rules such as the practitioner can only wear the colour of uniform according to their belt rank(Eg. White belt practitioner can only wear white uniforms) However, some gyms allow the members to wear any color as long as they received their blue belt.

Guidelines for BJJ uniform

Gi must be constructed using cotton. Material cannot be too thick to the extent that opponent cannot grab it.
No combined colours are allowed to be use on the uniform(Only pure colours).
The length of the jacket, sleves and other measurements must be according to the BJJ Federation rules.
The belt's width must be 4-5cm. A double knot is usually used to secure the belt to the uniform.
Athletes are not allowed to participate in the competition if the uniform is torn or the measurements are incorrect.
No modification is allowed for the Gi of a BJJ practitioner.

There will be a special gi checking tool  often used to determine acceptable measurements and fit of the gi. This tool resembles a block of wood 3.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 15 cm with a slit cut in the middle and is used to measure the following[5]:

The jacket lapel must be 5 cm wide.
There must be at least 7 cm of room from the bottom of the competitor's wrist to the bottom of the sleeve.
The jacket lapel must not be thicker than 1.3 cm.

Difference between Judogi and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gi


The Gi of BJJ is quite similar to the one in judo. However, there are still some difference which is quite important in BJJ competitions. Firstly, the cuffs are tighter on a BJJ so that the opponent will have less material to grab in a competition. A Judo Gi may be allowed to use in a BJJ competition but a BJJ Gi would not be able to meet the requirements in a Judo competition.

Source adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_gi

Below will be examples of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gi:

Different colors of the BJJ Gi.

BJJ blackbelt Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu chokes his opponent using the gi at the 2009 Pan-Am Championship.