So your kid does BJJ? Awesome!
Mine is 6 months old so I put him into a baby BJJ gi and taught him the arm bar from mount. He didn’t get it. But his guard retention is AMAZING.
But enough about my kid. You want a BJJ gi for your kid, and you can pick one from my list of the best kid’s bjj gis:
Cheapest
Jayefo
I’ll mention the Jayefo Kids gi because it’s the cheapest kids gi, but I think Elite Sports gi is more value for the money.
Best quality
Fuji
The Fuji Kids BJJ Uniform is strong and durable. It’s a great gi if your kids are serious about jiu jitsu.
first Time buy
Elite Sports
The Elite sports kids BJJ gi is a great first gi for your kids. It’s very affordable and good quality for its price.
What to look for in a jiu jitsu gi for kids?
To get the best BJJ gi for your kids, the main factors you need to consider are:
Gi size & growth spurt
As with any piece of kids clothing, the dilemma is that you want clothes that fit your kid now, but also 6 months from now. And just like with other clothing, there isn’t a really good answer to this dilemma for gis. The best is to get one or even two gi sizes up if your kid is still actively growing a lot.
Thickness
For kids I’m a big fan of lightweight gis, because:
- Kids usually only train once or twice per week, so their gi will last longer anyway.
- Kids are not so strong yet that they can easily pull each other’s gis apart.
- Kids grow out of gis anyway, so their BJJ gi doesn’t need to last much more than a year.
- Lightweight gis are comfortable.
- Lightweight gis are often cheaper.
- Lightweight gis dry faster after washing them.
Color: ‘Cool’ VS Competition legal
Kids BJJ gis can come in bright colors and with fun designs. These are awesome and can really help to motivate your kids for BJJ by making your kids feel cool in their BJJ gi.
However, the only thing you need to keep in mind is that in competition, your kid will still need to wear a plain white or plain blue gi. (But most kids in BJJ don’t compete until a later age.)
Price
Like I said, I think it’s ok to get a thinner gi for your kid, which is also cheaper. But, don’t try to save money by buying an extra cheap gi that’s meant for Karate, because that will get torn apart in the first class. You still need to buy a specific BJJ gi, but you can get one of the cheaper ones (the list below contains kids BJJ gis that I think are cheap but also good value).
Also read: BJJ Gi Vs Karate Gi | 7 Secret Differences To Love
What Kind of Kid’s BJJ Gis are there?
There’s three types of BJJ kids gis: budget gis, durable gis, and gis with a special design for kids.
Budget kids bjj gis
In my opinion, it’s not wrong to get a budget gi for your kid. After all, you don’t know how long your kid will continue to enjoy BJJ, and your kid may also still be growing. Also, thin cloth gis are very comfortable.
Gis that fall into this category are: Elite Sports kids BJJ gi, Hawk BJJ kids gi, Vector BJJ gi for children, Sanabul future legends kids jiu jitsu gi, and Jayefo kids jiu jitsu gi.
Durable kids BJJ Gis
There’s a few bigger brands that offer kids bjj gis that are a bit more sturdy. They’re made from thicker cloth, which makes them more durable but also a bit more expensive (around the $60 range).
For young kids, I don’t believe you need to get a very durable gi. But if your kid is over 10 years old and pretty serious about BJJ, or even wants to compete, a durable gi starts to make more sense. Older kids are more likely to stick longer with jiu jitsu, and they’re also stronger so they need a tougher gi.
Gis in this category are: Fuji Kid’s BJJ Uniform , Venum Contender Kids BJJ gi, and Tatami Nova Kids BJJ gi.
Gis with a special kids design
A BJJ gi with a special design for kids (think animals or superheroes) is great because wearing a cool gi makes a kid like jiu jitsu more.
Currently, the only gis with special kids designs are Tatami’s Meerkatsu line, which features small cartoon animals on the arm and nice colors.
The Best Kids BJJ Gi
1. Elite sports kids BJJ gi
- Cheap
- Comfortable
- Preshrunk
- Eslastic waistband + drawstring
- Comes with free white belt
- Thin cloth
This gi falls into the budget category I described earlier, which means it’s made very thin, and this makes it cheap. I think this is ok for my kids, for the reasons I described earlier: I won’t know how long they’ll like BJJ, young kids don’t need a very strong gi because they’re not so strong themselves, they’ll grow out of their gi soon anyway, and this gi is as comfortable as pajamas.
As for colors, I’ll try to get my kids into a white or blue gi, because I like that classic look much better than the bright and flashy colors. But, if bright colors are what it takes to get my kid to give BJJ a chance, I definitely will. And Elite Sports has some flashy colors available (pink and green) 🙂
Some extra conveniences of this gi are that it’s preshrunk which helps with choosing the right size the first time, it comes with a free white belt (always nice), and it has an elastic waistband so if my kid doesn’t tie his drawstring right, his pants won’t keep falling off.
2. Fuji Kid’s BJJ Uniform
- For Kid’s BJJ Gi for ages 10 and up
- Durable
- Competition ready
- A bit more expensive
Fuji gis are also widely recognized and IBJJF legal (given that you get a white or blue one), so your kids can actually compete in it.
So basically, if my kids start to identify less as kids and more as youth athletes, I’ll get this Fuji gi for them.
3. Vector BJJ gi for children
- Kid’s BJJ Gi for ~9 years old
- Thicker cloth
- More durable
- Possibly less comfortable
I would buy this gi when my kids become ~9 years old. At that point the thicker material shouldn’t be an inconvenience to them, and there’s less chance that they’ll suddenly quit jiu jitsu overnight so durability would become a bigger concern.
4. Cheap Kids gi: Jayefo
The Jayefo is the cheapest kids BJJ gi available on Amazon.
I think you’re going to get a little more value for your money if you get the Elite Sports gi, which is also very affordable.
But, I can’t look into your wallet, so if you just want to get the cheapest BJJ gi for your kids, this is it.
5. Meerkatsu kids bjj gi
- Lots of great designs with cartoon animals
- Quality gis
- Great for young kids (5 – 8 years old)
- Slightly more expensive
Tatami’s Meerkatsu kids gis are the best kid’s BJJ gis in terms of design. In fact, they’re the only gis on the market with special designs for kids.
Normally, I’m not really a design snob, and I would never buy a special design gi for myself. But, if I thought my kids would really like it, I could get these Meerkatsy gis for them. What I really like is that they are not so over the top. They’re still pretty classic looking gis, but with a bright color and a cartoon animal that could be a small expression of identity for my children.
If I felt that a Meerkatsu would help to get my kids motivated to do BJJ, I would buy them.
6. Hawk BJJ gi for kids
- Budget gi
- Very visible branding
What I like less about the HAWK gi is that its branding patches are bigger and not particularly appealing in my opinion.
What’s good though is that the sizes of this gi are different from those of Elite Sports, so if your kid is in between different sizes on the Elite sports gi, you can check if the HAWK gi fits better.
Conclusion: What’s the Best Kid’s BJJ Gi?
What the best kid’s BJJ gi is depends on how serious your kids is about Brazilian jiu jitsu.
If your child is just getting started, the Elite Sports Kid’s gi is the best because it’s very affordable and good enough quality.
If your kid is starting to get serious, you can get the tougher Vector Sports Kid’s gi, and for kid’s BJJ competitions the Fuji Kid’s BJJ Uniform is the best.
If you want to give your child some extra motivation by giving them a ‘cool’ BJJ gi, get the Meerkatsu Kid’s gi.
FAQ
Does my kid need a bjj gi, or is another gi also ok?
BJJ gis are much tougher than gis of striking arts such as karate and Tae Kwon do. You absolutely cannot bring a Karate gi to jiu jitsu because it will get pulled apart within the first 5 minutes.
A judo gi can be ok though. Judo gis are usually even thicker than jiu jitsu gis. They’re also usually more loose fitting, which is a disadvantage for your kid, but that shouldn’t be a really big deal.
At what age can kids start jiu jitsu?
Kids can start doing jiu jitsu around 5 years old, depending on your kid’s development. It’s important that your kid can verbalize needs and desires, is bathroom trained, and can follow the rules.
For the dojo, it’s important that they have a class with kids of the same age as your kid. Often, BJJ kids classes for 5-8 years old focus on games rather than techniques and are only 30 minutes long.
Which gi size does a 5 year old have?
Always check the size guide from the specific gi model you’re buying, because sizes differ across models, even within the same brand.
