Ultimate Guide: All you need to know about BJJ Gi and Nogi Rash guards

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is an ancient form of hand-to-hand close combat sports. This art of fighting includes many types of fighting disciplines that are different from each other in terms of techniques, moves, rules, and grappling, and takedown methods.

Different BJJ fighting disciplines like Gi-BJJ and Nogi-BJJ have different uniform attire requirements as the rules of both disciplines are different. The rules and regulations of BJJ’s fighting disciplines require partakers to wear traditional Gis as uniform attire. Wearing BJJ Gis, shorts, Nogi shorts, rash guards, Nogi rashguards, etc. are all different types of attire that different disciplines need a participant to wear.

Close combat grappling sports like Jiu-Jitsu is a lot different than other similar close-combat sports like boxing or Mixed martial arts (MMA). Although boxing workouts and practicing other types of fighting sports can help you to achieve health benefits and a fit lifestyle.

 However, unlike this ancient fighting art, there are only a handful of sports that are so physical that all of your body parts are engaged and will also bring your whole body down to the mat. This is an ancient form of fighting that has been around for more than 100 years.

Since the 1990s this sport has gained massive popularity due to the physical and mental health benefits it offers to those who practice it. Now the popularity of this sport has reached to such an extent that even the militaries of many Countries train their soldiers with the workout regimens of this combat arts.  Due to the continuously increased reputation of this fighting art, several disciplines of BJJ were born that included modern tackling, grappling, self-defense, and submission techniques.

The most popular Jiu-Jituse disciplines include Gi and Nogi BJJ. The tradition or requirement of wearing BJJ rash spats or Jiu-Jitsu rash guards attire started somewhat in the early 2000s as the discipline of Nogi BJJ gained high adoption and popularity.

Now today men, women, and even youth are practicing BJJ and wear all types of different short and long sleeve BJJ rash guards and Jiu-Jitsu spat pants. However, that was not always the case. The tradition of wearing Gis started back in Japan where athletes and fitness enthusiasts who practiced fighting arts like Judo, Karate, and Kung-Fu started to wear a special training uniform that was inspired by the Japanese Kamino clothing.

Back in the days of the early 90s’ Brazilian fighting arts masters and gurus modified the original art of BJJ and modified its techniques, rules, and even the Gi uniform style. They made the Gi narrow for practicing another fighting form of BJJ and from this narrow attire, the concept of rash guards and other Nogi Jiu-Jitsu clothing attire was born.

When you have a closer look at the name you can see that it is made up of two words; rash and guard. As the name suggests, this is a type of attire that is worn to guard against rashes. In other words, BJJ is a grappling and ground combat sport in which you grapple and tackle your opponent while moving on the mat.

When your body moves around the mat repeatedly, the chances of getting scratches and rashes increases to a great extent. To prevent injuries like cuts and rashes fighters wear the best quality BJJ rash guards to protect their bodies during training sessions.

There are different types of Jiu-Jitsu rash guards and spats that are used for training different forms of BJJ. Gi rashguards can be worn underneath a Gi or a BJJ Kamino Gi and Nogi rashguards are purposefully designed to be worn during no-gi BJJ practice.

The reason lies in the fact that in Nogi combat discipline, it is against the rules to use the opponent’s clothing to deliver an offensive stance. Therefore, Nogi shirts and Nogi shorts are worn as compulsory attire because these types of clothing are slim-fit and tightly grips the body so the opponent cannot use the clothing to their advantage.

As far as types of rash guards are concerned. They are available in short sleeves, sleeveless, and long sleeves and are made using different types of stretchy and comfortable fabrics.

There are no specific rules and regulations that require you to wear rashguards in training sessions or tournament matches. They are preferred and used for personal protection against mat rashes or cuts. They provide a lot of technical benefits like sweat-wicking, flexibility, and durability that wearing an ordinary t-shirt or tank top cannot provide.

The compression-based rashguards are built with durability and flexibility in mind. Most of the fighters wear them because of the plethora of benefits they offer during training and matches. They also help in providing you a sense of fighting style and help you decide if the fighting style you are practicing is in line with your interests and abilities or not.

Just for the sake of an example, when you wear proper rashguards and attire the sweat from your body does not smother your opponent that shows a good personal hygiene practice and shows that you have proper etiquettes. Let’s dig a bit deeper and see what types of benefits you can expect by wearing a gi or Nogi BJJ rashguard.

It is not required of you to wear a rashguard if you are practicing the Gi form of BJJ. But if you are practicing the Nogi form of BJJ, wearing proper Nogi attire is required, and that includes wearing Nogi shorts and rashguards. There is no other way around it.

You will not be allowed to compete in a Nogi fighting match or a tournament if you do not follow the inform attire rules of this sport. Therefore, in order to respect the rules of sport ensure you wear proper no-gi shorts and rashguards attire items.

You are going to sweat like a butcher when it comes to grappling and tackling your opponent in a match. You are going to burn mega calories as it is an intensive physical sport. Wearing rashguard can absorb your sweat as they are specifically built with the sweat-wicking ability that can make you feel dry and prevent sweat drops dipping on your opponent’s body.

Not only can your opponent feel good to go face to face with you but will also respect you for practicing good personal hygiene. Similarly, when you are not sweaty and slippery you can easily tackle and grapple your opponent as you can have a more solid grip on them.

Grappling on the mat while your body is pinned to the ground can be a surefire way of getting mat burns. Any exposed areas of your body like arms, legs, and feet can get mat burns if personal safety precautions are not taken. If you think that wearing a regular shirt can prevent you from getting mat burns, hate to break it to you, but you couldn’t be more wrong.

Your skin can experience serious burns due to all the friction and repeated movement on the mat. Due to the texture of the mats, are not designed with these safety measures in mind. It is highly important that you do take proper safety precautions by wearing rashguards.

All types of martial arts sports like BJJ contain a high risk of possible injuries. After all, it is one of the most physical sports in the world. This combat art requires you to move rapidly on the mat and use your body to deliver quick offensive stances that increase the chances of muscle pull, torn ligaments, and tissues increase drastically.

As the future of martial arts is becoming safer as safety attire items continue to become a crucial part of sportswear attire. And due to the fact that a large number of fitness lovers practice sports like BJJ and boxing to get in a healthy shape wearing safety attire is encouraged by fitness athletes and coaches.  Rashguards with compression features allow your muscles to relax and enhances your agility.

All your workout training efforts are going to down the drain if you get infected with a bacterial disease. Staph, MRSA, ringworm are the names of some of the notorious diseases that you can get if you suffer any cut of rash while practicing on the mat.

The mat you are going to practicing on may have already been used by other fighters or the fitness center members to practice. And all the drops of their sweat could have gotten absorbed by the mat that can cause bacteria to grow.

No-gi rashguards can protect you by covering your skin and can reduce the risks of scratches, rashes, or cuts that ultimately means that you can partake in your training sessions or tournament matches with full peace of mind.

Ride-ups while practicing different workout routines and during practice sessions can be distracting as you might feel the need to cover your body parts over and over again. Not only it can distract you but can also disturb your training sessions.

Rashguards are stretchy and sticky at the same time. Their tight fighting allows you to feel comfortable and do not worry about ride ups. However, it is important that you choose a perfect fitting rashguard. Because a lose fitted one will easily tear apart and will not do any good. There different types of spats and rashguards for different body types.

For example, Nogi rash guards for women are different from kids Nogi BJJ rashguards, therefore, choose the right type of gender and body rashguard.

There you have it, the detailed beneficial reasons on why you should consider wearing rashguards during your BJJ training sessions. Rashguards along with headgear, mouthpieces, gloves, etc are all a part of safety gear. Investing in safety gear can be one of the best decisions you can make. Not only you can minimize the risks of potential injuries but you can also improve your performance and looks by wearing proper attire.

Always remember you are there to gain health benefits not to get injuries or other infectious diseases. Therefore, to focus on achieving your fitness goals it is highly recommended that you ensure wearing rashguards along with other safety gear items especially if you are a beginner who is practicing this sport not win any belts or championships but to improve personal health and build a fit body.