What does my kid need to start jiu-jitsu?
Short answer: a T-shirt, athletic shorts or sweatpants, and a water bottle. That covers the first week. A gi comes later, once your child decides to stay, and with our program the club gi is included in the first month. Long answer as to what else is worth buying, and what is not.
What Kids Wear to Their First Jiu-Jitsu Class
Your kid can walk in wearing what they would wear to PE. A T-shirt and athletic shorts or sweatpants work. Skip anything with zippers, pockets, or buttons. They catch fingers and scratch training partners.
Bring a water bottle and a pair of flip-flops or slides. Shoes come off before the mat and go back on any time your kid steps off it, including trips to the bathroom. Bare feet that walk through a bathroom and back onto the mat are how skin infections spread through a gym.
That is the whole list for week one. If a gym wants you to buy a uniform before your kid has taken a single class, ask what that is about.
Do Kids Need a Gi for Jiu-Jitsu?
The gi is the jiu-jitsu uniform: a heavy cotton jacket, matching pants, and a belt. Instruction with our program is in the gi, and youth members train in the club gi. It comes with the first month, so there is nothing to shop for.
When researchers at George Washington University asked youth players, parents, and coaches what makes sports fun, they came back with 81 answers grouped into 11 fun factors, and one of them is swag: a cool uniform, the team gear. It ranks last of the 11. Trying hard, positive coaching, and learning come first, and that is how we run class. But a 6-year-old in the same gi as everyone else on the mat feels like part of the team, and that counts for something.
If you are buying a gi for another gym, stick to white, royal blue, or black, with the jacket and pants the same color. Those are the only colors the IBJJF allows at tournaments. Kids gis are sized by height and weight, and every brand's chart is a little different. Buy for the size your kid is now, not the size they will be next year. A jacket with sleeves hanging past the fingertips gives the other kid a free handle.
A gi needs to be washed after every class, and it will not always be dry by Friday. Kids who train both days do better with a second one.
Rash Guards and Shorts for Kids No-Gi
A rash guard is a tight, stretchy athletic shirt. It keeps mat burn down and keeps skin off the mat. Some kids wear one under the gi, and girls are required to wear one under the gi at IBJJF tournaments.
Our Saturday Youth Competition Class is gi optional. Kids who skip the gi wear the club rash guard, which is not part of the first month. Grappling shorts should have no pockets, zippers, or belt loops. Board shorts with the pocket sewn shut work in a pinch.
Do Kids Need a Mouthguard for Jiu-Jitsu?
A mouthguard is optional in our kids classes, and we highly encourage one. A boil-and-bite mouthguard from the sporting goods aisle costs a few dollars. If your kid has braces, treat it as required. An elbow or knee near the mouth is a lot worse with metal in it.
Ear guards (headgear) prevent cauliflower ear, which comes from repeated rubbing and pressure on the ear. It is rare in young kids because they do not train hard enough or long enough to build it up. Wrestlers wear headgear. Most kids in jiu-jitsu do not.
Kids Jiu-Jitsu Gear You Can Skip
Gloves, shin guards, and a gear bag full of pads. None of it belongs on a jiu-jitsu mat. There is no striking, so there is nothing to pad. Name-brand gis built for adult competitors are also wasted money on a 6-year-old who will outgrow them by spring.
Why Hygiene Matters More Than Gear
Short fingernails and toenails, clean feet, hair tied back, and a washed gi every class. These matter more than anything you can buy. Skin infections are the most common medical problem in jiu-jitsu gyms, and nearly all of it comes down to hygiene, not equipment.
Wash the gi in cold water and hang it to dry. Do not leave it balled up in a bag overnight.
Bring your child to a free week of Kids I or Kids II in a T-shirt and shorts. You can sort out the gi after you see if the culture fits your family.
Your child's first week is free. Call (706) 925-7390.