Every BJJ practitioner comes to that point in their life when he or she needs a new pair of jiu jitsu pants. The BJJ gi pants are being replaced more often than the gi jacket. It happens because jiu jitsu is the “Mexican ground karate” so the pants are the first victim of the BJJ gear.
In most cases, the knees of the pants just wear away or get ripped in different places.
So you come to the point when you have a gi with worn-out or destroyed pants and a gi jacket in still good condition.
An idea to buy BJJ gi pants only has sense in this situation.
let’s see what should we know about gi pants and find the best jiu-jitsu pants to buy.
What are Jiu-Jitsu pants called?
There is nothing special in the naming of jiu jitsu gi pants. It’s just pants and in the BJJ community, people call them gi pants.
- “I lost my gi pants.”
- “I need a new pair of pants for jiu jitsu gi.”
- “What gi to choose – with twill or rip stop pants?”
Cotton vs Ripstop gi pants
In Brazilian jiu jitsu the gi uniform has one noticeable difference from the kimonos in other traditional martial arts. It’s about the pants fabric.
In BJJ there are two types or variations of pants:
- Cotton twill weave pants
- Cotton or a blend of cotton and polyester ripstop weave pants
What is the difference between ripstop and twill fabrics?
The difference between these two fabrics is in their cloth weaving. Twill and ripstop are the types of weaving.
What are ripstop gi pants?
Ripstop in BJJ kimono can be made from 100% cotton or a blend of cotton and polyester. The ripstop cloth is considered to have stronger reinforcement fibers due to its type of weaving that looks like grids with reinforced columns.
But it doesn’t mean ripstop is indestructible as its name suggests.
Ripstop vs Twill jiu jitsu gi pants
We will not debate here what is better – ripstop or twill pants. And we will not go deep into the twill and ripstop gi pants review. Because we are in the jiu jitsu long enough to know, that this is a matter of preferences.
Both twill and ripstop pants work well and both are not everlasting.
We have in our arsenal BJJ gis with ripstop and twill pants and in the last years more often ripstop with no special preferences to it. In my case, I noticed that the ripstop pants are more durable and last longer.
But I know that it depends on:
- The fabric density
- Size true correct fit on the body (not too tight)
- Quality of stitchings
And these factors should be applied to both – twill and rip-stop pants.
So, without further ado let’s jump to the best BJJ gi pants picks that we have made after 16 hours of research.
Best BJJ gi pants
#1 BJJ pants from 100% cotton twill fabric.
#2 Ripstop jiu jitsu gi pants in 7 colors.
#3 Ripstop black jiu jitsu pants.
#4 Kids jiu jitsu pants
#5 Fuji BJJ pants
#6 BJJ gi pants string.
Does ripstop shrink?
Yes, especially if it’s 100% cotton. Most uniform manufacturers use a pre-shrunk cotton fabric that minimizes the shrinkage of the gi after washing.
For instance, a gi made from not pre-shrunk cotton fabric can shrink after first washings to 5-10 cm / 2-4 inches.
Pre-shrunk gis may have a shrinkage of 1-2 cm / 0.5 in or even any. Once we tried to shrink a GR1PS gi. We almost boiled it, but nothing changed.
The shrinkage of cotton fabric prevents or reduces a blend with polyester.
Don’t hesitate to ask the seller about the shrinkage when buying a new gi.
Can you hem gi pants?
Yes, you can hem gi pants. But pay attention that the hemmed place looks identical to the original – no loops, pockets, etc. – with the purpose to prevent hooking with fingers and getting injured.
Are ripstop pants IBJJF legal?
In the official IBJJF Rule Book ripstop is not mentioned. Meaning, that ripstop is also not on the prohibited list. Here is what only said about the gi material:
Gis should be tailored using cotton or cotton-like fabric only. The fabric should not be so thick or hard as to impede an opponent from gripping it. For juvenile, adult, master, and senior divisions, a GI fashioned from woven fabric is mandatory.
Our experience
I personally was competing at IBJJF tournaments in a gi with ripstop pants, so I went through the all gi checking and it was okay. And I was not unique. A lot of competitor athletes wear ripstop pants.
Even more, one of our guys once was wearing a ripstop gi (ripstop jacket and pants). Thanks to the ripstop gi, which is lighter than the pearl weave gi, he managed to make his weigh-in.
If you doubt whether you can take ripstop gi or pants to a tournament, you can always ask your coach a sent a request to the tournament organizer.
Do you wear pants under Jiu Jitsu gi?
You can wear spats (leggings) under jiu jitsu gi pants during the BJJ class. It’s about preferences. But pay attention to the uniform rules when attending a tournament.
For instance, women may wear tight pants under the gi, but men are not.
For male divisions, wearing pants of any kind under the Gi pants is prohibited. For female divisions, it is permitted for the use of elastic fabric pants (that cling to the body) under the Gi pants, as long as they are shorter than the Gi pants.
Do you wear underwear under spats BJJ?
Another question that we came through is “Do you wear underwear under compression pants when doing jiu jitsu?”. This question arises as people may think the spats act as underwear.
We will be short here with the answer.
Yes, you should wear underwear under the spats.
- Spats are compression pants, not underwear, so you should wear something underneath
- Some spats are made of quite thin material. When they get stretched and are see-through it would be better to see there the layer of underwear but not, what is covered there under
How do you wear Jiu-Jitsu pants?
How should my jiu-jitsu pants fit?
Ant what size BJJ gi pants do I need?
If you prepare yourself for a BJJ tournament, you should carefully read the rules and uniform requirements of the tournament’s organizer.
Gi pants should reach no more than 5 cm above the tibial malleolus (ankle bone).
Official IBJJF uniform requirements to the BJJ pants
For everyday regular training, the right jiu-jitsu pants fit is about balance.
How to understand the right jiu-jitsu pants fit:
- The pants should not fit like your casual jeans or suit pants, as the BJJ gi pants have another purpose – for sports activity
- You should feel space and looseness in the hips
- The pants should not fit too tight. When squatting you need to have the possibility for further moves and stretching without balks because of the pants
- In simple words – the pants should not restrict you from any move you do in the training
- The BJJ pants can’t be too short and not too tight to allow your partner to utilize the jiu jitsu techniques with pants grips
- You don’t need to have too long pants, as they will disturb you
- The optimal pant length is when the pant hems end at your ankles
How do you keep gi pants tight?
If you have been practicing jiu jitsu at least for a couple of months, you may notice that the jiujitsu training outfit is a complex thing.
For instance, the BJJ gi pants are the part that needs your attention every 20-30 minutes to tuck or tight them on their place again. Yes, nobody said to you at the beginning that the jiu jitsu uniform is “cozy and comfortable”. In fact, the BJJ kimono is very specific clothing for training.
it is not surprising, it’s a full-fledged suit with a rough jacket and pants.
So, speaking about the “pants problem”. Is there anything to do? How do you keep jiu jitsu gi pants tight for a long while?
Luckily, the jiu jitsu community is very creative and practical. You need just to search or ask.
Black belt Sebastian Brosche shares another method of how to tie jiu jitsu gi pants.
Sebastian is the author of the well-known Yoga for BJJ online course. Our Yoga for BJJ Reviews thoughts you can read here.
How to string jiu jitsu pants?
Sometimes a frustrating situation happens with the Brazilian jiu jitsu gi pants. Namely, when the BJJ gi pants string comes out from the pants.
The circumstances for this happening may be different – while washing, or you pulled too much the string, and you need to change the string in the pants.
But it’s not really frustrating if you know how to restring jiu jitsu pants.
Thumbs up for Keenan Cornelius as he knows the simple magic to restring the pants
But.
What if the string goes out not only partially, but at all? Is there a way of running a string through jiu jitsu gi pants?
Here is how to fix it.
What kind of pants or shorts do you wear for no-gi BJJ?
One of the most common questions that appear by the jiu jiu beginners is what are jiu jitsu “no gi” pants. Here is only a short list of questions:
- What is no-gi BJJ?
- Is no-gi BJJ safer than gi?
- Does no-gi BJJ have belts?
- What is the difference between gi and no-gi BJJ?
All these questions are good and encourage us to talk even more about the basic things in Brazilian jiu jitsu.
For instance, we have talked about what is the difference between gi and no-gi BJJ in our article To Gi or not to Gi: The BJJ Gi vs No Gi Jiu Jitsu Training.
So, back to the question about the pants and shorts in no gi.
Pants and no-gi BJJ gear
Every jiu jitsu beginner may wonder what to wear to no gi BJJ class if it’s for the first time.
Or, someone from another martial art (MMA, judo, karate, etc.) or sports plans to attend the no gi training and needs to be guided, on what no gi BJJ outfit is preferred for the class.
The no gi BJJ gear consists of shorts and a rash guard with long sleeves or short sleeves. Also, shorts may be combined with spats under the shorts or just spats.
No gi BJJ shorts are mostly the same as the shorts in MMA.
It is not a strict rule to wear to no-gi classes exclusively specific shorts for no gi BJJ. If it is about a regular no gi training you can wear your BJJ gi pants with a rash guard.
What are spats pants?
In the BJJ environment, the spats are called tights or leggings. So spats are skintight leggings of elastic fabric that don’t have pockets or zippers, as they can cause injuries during the training and rolling.
In Brazilian jiu jitsu it is common to wear spats under the gi pants or shorts. It provides additional protection during training and prevents scratches, skin infections, and mat burn.
Is it okay to grab gi pants in no gi BJJ?
According to the official IBJJF rules, it is prohibited to grab the outfit clothing (spats, shorts, rash guards) during the fight.
6.2.2 Serious Fouls
For Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi, when an athlete grabs hold of his/her uniform or that of his/her opponent in any way.
So, if it is a no gi fighting session, no matter whether you are in gi pants or spats, to grab the uniform is not allowed.
