Can I Use A BJJ Gi For Judo?
BJJ gis look awfully similar to the judo kind, at least to a naked eye.
So if that’s the case, would a person wearing it have a huge problem in a judo club? Well…
You probably can, but it depends
The only one who can actually tell you whether the jiu-jitsu gi you have will suffice for doing judo is the judo instructor himself.
You see, BJJ gis can often look rather different, and I mean, a whole bunch different from the judo ones.
To start with, let’s talk about the color.
Gis in jiu-jitsu come in a variety of colors. Black, grey, pink, camo, you name it, if there’s a color or pattern, there is definitely somebody out there rocking that stuff inside their academy.
In judo, only two colors are standard – white and blue.
So even if the sensei were to allow you to train in his gym with a black gi, you’d stick out like a sore thumb.
Not like it’s a bad thing if you like attention, but that’s just one thing to keep in mind (and you can image just how unique you’ll end up looking in a sea of white and blue; a ninja of some sorts :D).
Another thing is the patches.
Jiu-jitsu gis, rather often, are loaded with them.
This is way too much insignia for any judo club, in terms of how it ends up looking in contrast with other people, that is.
So even if you have a perfectly common white gi, if it’s decked out from head to toe with all kinds of patches, you will also stick out like a sore thumb. Not good.
But if you don’t care about what the other players think about your attire and the coach doesn’t have a problem with it either, then by all means go out there and train judo with the stuff you got.
At the end of the day, you don’t know whether judo is going to be your cup of tea, therefore shelling out on a new gi just because of it right away is rather not smart.
Though that’s not as important as this
Color and patching aside, there is one more thing that makes BJJ gis on the league of their own, and that’s the sizing.
To say it more simply I guess, it’s the tapering.
For example, the allowed space between your arm and the gi’s inside sleeve is normally smaller than on judo gis.
In the end, what that does is makes it harder for people to grip and control you, especially during throws, as the sleeves sit tighter to the skin.
Jiu-jitsu gis are nowhere near as baggy and roomy as judo ones; a person wearing a BJJ gi will have an unfair advantage in a judo match against another judoka.
You should get a judo gi, at least the jacket, as soon as you think you’re going to stick to the sport.
It can come off rather disrespectful to your teammates to continue training for a long time with the same gi you use for jiu-jitsu, for aforementioned reasons.
And you can even end up injuring either yourself or others due to it.
And even then, your BJJ gi will last longer if you will use a separate one for your judo training.