Shut up and take my money!....A comment on buying equipment.

So, you have made the decision to start BJJ. You have researched schools, read about the Gracie lineage, and even practiced leg locks on your dog. You are driving to your first night and then you have a moment of panic....what should you wear? Should you stop at the local TKD club and get a dobok?

Maybe this is a gym that wears wrestling singlets???

Ohhh my.....

Have no fear, I can honestly say your best bet is to go to your first class and talk to the instructor. Every gym is a little different. At our gym, we are happy to let people try class for a few weeks and then make a commitment to buy a gi. Other gyms don't use gis. Some gyms will have you buy one the first night. The main thing is not to panic.

With that being said, if the gym you go to uses a gi (and in my opinion training in the gi is really important) you will want to buy a decent one to start out. That is not to say you need to plunk down $350 on a used Shoyoroll, but you should get one that fits well.

A couple reasons:

1. A nicer gi (roughly between $90-$175) is going to fit well. It seems odd in a rough and tumble sport that fit is important. However, I have owned a good number of gis and I have had several that fit weird. They quickly were at the bottom of my rotation and the money I spent on them was wasted. Honestly, if you stick with BJJ you will end up with 2-5 gis at anytime. If you have one that just doesn't fit right, you won't wear it. 
2. That money spent is going to force you to commit to coming. I don't like to spend money on useless items. When I plunk down what amounts to 15 - Six Pack and a Pounds, I am going to make sure I use that item. 
3. A new gi makes you feel badass! You are going to wear it around your house when you get it. That is fine, take some pictures, trash talk the mirror, try to choke your significant other out with the lapel, live your life. 

The main thing to remember, you need to ask your instructor what they prefer. Our gym is pretty loose with the type of stuff you can wear. Some gyms only want white or blue gis. Don't plunk down what amounts to 30 - KFC $5 Fill-ups and then have to sell it. If your gym has no rules, talk to your gym-mates, try on their gis. You are going to find they are really excited to share their knowledge. Currently, I roll in a 2 Fuji gis and a 12NV gi. They range in price between $120-$150. I previously owned a $200 Atama and really couldn't tell the difference between it and my cheeper gis.  

As far as other equipment you might want to invest in (probably over your first 6-12 months):

• A mouth piece. I chipped my tooth in June of this year. Like all issues, I just assumed it would resolve itself. It sure didn't, I further chipped it 3 months later. My dentist was impressed with how bad I chipped it! She did not give me a reward for my insolence. She did give me a $400  bill (that is 40 - Drunken Noodles at Ginger Thai). Protect those pearly whites. Most $5-$10 mouth guards will do. 

• A pair of grappling shorts. You can get by with basketball shorts or athletic shorts for awhile. But, eventually they will get annoying. They will slip off, they don't stretch as well. There are tons of different types of grappling shorts on the market. In my experience, grappling shorts below $20ish dollars are crap. Anything above will do just fine. A $60 pair of shorts is not 2x better than a $30 pair. I just got a pair of Jaco shorts from BJJHQ.com . It has some great rolling deals, if you are in to that type of thing.

Checkout my new Jaco shorts.

• Compression shorts, nut-cup, bra with reinforced cups. Mix and match for your primary and secondary sexual trait needs.
• A rash guard/compression shirt. This is one of those things you don't have to drop a lot of money on. I rolled in a $5.99 Champion compression shirt for my first 5-6 years and thought it was great. I upgraded to a $30 compression shirt from Meerkatsu and really like it. You can get rash guards for $60 (if they are blessed by Marcelo Garcia....I hear you will get the power of flight). The upside of a more expensive rash guard are the cool graphics and the quality of the shirt. There are some really neat looking rash guards on the market. The other big advantage of a more expensive rash guard is the quality of the material. It is thicker and holds shape longer. Finally, you will find both long sleeve and short sleeve. I like to rub my arm hair in peoples' faces, so I go short. 

This is my current rash guard

That is about it. You really can get by spending $200-$250 dollars over the course of your first year. You can also drop well over a grand if you have that money. However, the more you compete and the more serious you get, the nicer equipment you will probably want. Also, the more you train, the more equipment you will need...because you will wash your gi. Believe me, the last thing you want to be is the smelly kid.