Size comes before everything else
A BJJ gi does not come in S, M or L. The scale runs A0 to A5 and crosses two measurements, height and weight. Two people at 5'9" do not take the same size depending on whether they weigh 70 or 90 kilos, and two models from the same brand do not always fit alike.
Add first-wash shrinkage in cotton and you see why size is the main reason gis get sent back. Our size guide gives the real measurements of every model, taken flat, not the maker's theoretical chart.
Fabric weight, and what it changes in use
Fabric weight is read in GSM, grams per square metre. A light weave dries faster between sessions and weighs less on the scale at a weigh-in. A heavy weave takes more grips and takes longer to wear through, at the cost of slower drying and a heavier bag.
There is no right weight in the abstract, there is yours: how many sessions a week, what climate, and whether you own one gi or two. The fabric weight guide explains what GSM measures and what it does not.
Men's cut, women's cut
Women's gis are not shrunk-down men's gis. The scale changes, F1 to F4, and so do the proportions: a jacket taken in at the waist, narrower shoulders, a revised sleeve length. A woman can wear a men's cut, plenty do, but the jacket gapes at the collar and floats at the waist, which hands free grips to the other person.
If you plan to compete
Federations set precise uniform constraints: permitted colours, collar and sleeve measurements, patch placement. They are checked before you fight, and a gi turned away at inspection cannot be replaced on the spot.
Our compliant models are gathered in the IBJJF gis category. The rules guide lists what gets inspected, measurement by measurement.
What makes a gi last
A BJJ gi rarely wears out through the fabric, it wears out at the seams and the collar. Cold wash, no tumble dryer, dried flat or on a wide hanger: those three habits do more for its real lifespan than fabric weight does. The full method is in how to wash a BJJ gi.
And the belt
It never comes with the gi, except with the white belt in some beginner bundles. Rank is awarded by an instructor, and the belt is bought the day it is given. Our BJJ belts run from white to black, in the widths set out by competition rules.