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Kids Gear Guide

What to buy, when to buy it, and what to skip.

First: You Don’t Need to Buy Anything Yet

Section titled “First: You Don’t Need to Buy Anything Yet”

GJJ has loaner gear available for your child’s first classes. Use it. Let your kid figure out if they love grappling before you spend money on gear. The only things you need on day one are a water bottle and slides (more on both below).

Once your child is coming consistently and asking to go back, that’s when to buy. Not before.

Warning: Loaner gear stays at the gym. Please don’t take it home, even to wash it for us. We need it available for the next class.

No-Gi Means No-Gi

Section titled “No-Gi Means No-Gi”

GJJ is a no-gi program. That means no kimono, no uniform, no belt. If you’ve seen Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before, you’ve probably seen the white or blue jackets with the colored belts. We don’t use those for Fundamentals or the youth programs.

This is the first question many parents ask when buying gear, and the answer is simple: you won’t need a gi. Don’t buy one. Everything your child wears is athletic clothing.

What Your Child Needs

Section titled “What Your Child Needs”

Rash guard

Section titled “Rash guard”

A rash guard is a tight-fitting athletic shirt made from stretchy compression fabric. It’s required for class.

Loose t-shirts are a safety hazard: fingers catch in loose fabric during grappling, which can jam or sprain fingers for both kids. A rash guard fits snugly, dries fast, protects skin from mat burn, and won’t catch anyone’s hands.

Budget: TSLA on Amazon runs $15-20. Basic, functional, holds up fine. Available in long and short sleeve. Good starting point before you know how serious your kid is going to be.

Mid-range: Gold BJJ on Amazon runs around $40. Better quality, better fit, more durable. Worth it once you know your kid is sticking around. Note: Gold BJJ runs small, so size up.

Through the gym: We can order Fuji Flex Lite rash guards at $50 through our wholesale account. These are the best rash guards we’ve tested: right weight, comfortable, and built to last. There’s a $20 shipping fee on orders under $300, so it helps to coordinate with other families. Ask at the front desk.

Sizing: Kids rash guards use standard S/M/L/XL sizing in youth cuts. Go by weight and chest measurement rather than age, since sizing varies between brands. If your kid is between sizes, size up. They’d rather have it a bit long than too tight to move.

Long vs. short sleeve: Either works. Long sleeve gives a bit more mat burn protection on the forearms. Short sleeve runs cooler. Personal preference.

One thing to skip: Ranked rash guards use colors that correspond to adult belt ranks (blue, purple, brown, black). There’s no reason to get one for a youth student, and wearing a colored one can create confusion. Stick to black, white, or any non-rank color.

Shorts or spats

Section titled “Shorts or spats”

The rule: No pockets, no zippers, no velcro, no buttons. Anything on the outside of a waistband or leg opening that can catch fingers, scratch skin, or dig into a training partner is not allowed on the mats.

Standard soccer shorts or athletic shorts work fine if they meet those criteria. Most kids already own something that qualifies.

If you’re buying specifically for grappling:

Budget: Soccer shorts from any sporting goods store. Around $15-20. Not cut for grappling specifically, but they clear the safety requirements and nothing else matters until your kid is training consistently.

Mid-range: Gold BJJ shorts on Amazon runs around $35. Solid quality. They run longer than the current standard (they’re cut at about a 7-inch inseam), which some kids prefer for coverage.

Through the gym: We sell custom GJJ shorts. Ask what’s in stock.

Spats: Compression pants (spats) are popular with a lot of youth grapplers, especially kids who get mat burn easily or who train in cooler weather. They’re fine on their own for kids. If your child wears spats, they should be form-fitting and free of external hardware. For boys in Golden Tigers: shorts over spats is preferred, same as the adult program.

Slides or flip flops

Section titled “Slides or flip flops”

These are essential and non-negotiable. Your child will need to use the bathroom during class. Taking shoes and socks on and off eats into mat time and creates a barefoot hygiene problem.

Slides solve this entirely. Any pair of slip-on sandals with a rubber sole works. Your child wears slides off the mat and leaves them at the mat edge. This is also how they walk to and from the parking lot without collecting whatever is on the pavement.

They probably already own a pair. If not, any athletic slides from Target or Amazon work fine.

Water bottle

Section titled “Water bottle”

Bring one every class. Kids get hot, and class is 35-50 minutes of movement. Any water bottle works. Insulated is nicer but not required. Make sure it has a secure lid that won’t leak in a bag.

Mouth Guards

Section titled “Mouth Guards”

Mouth guards are optional for Little Lions and make sense to consider for Golden Tigers who are doing regular live sparring.

There’s no striking in grappling, so the risks that make mouth guards essential in boxing or MMA aren’t present here. That said, heads do collide during wrestling and transitions, especially with younger kids who are still developing body control. A mouth guard is cheap insurance.

If your Golden Tiger student is training three times a week and doing regular live rounds, a basic boil-and-bite mouth guard from any sporting goods store is a reasonable addition to their kit. Under $10, they last a season.

We don’t require them, and you don’t need to rush to buy one.

What Not to Buy

Section titled “What Not to Buy”

A gi (kimono). You don’t need one. GJJ is no-gi.

Headgear or ear guards. Not required, not recommended for general class.

Anything with pockets, zippers, or velcro. Read the label before you buy shorts or athletic pants. A pair of swim trunks with mesh pockets on the inside still has exterior stitching that can catch fingers.

Board shorts. Standard surf shorts usually have velcro closures at the waist. That velcro is abrasive during grappling and is banned on the mats.

Expensive gear before your kid commits. The $15 TSLA rash guard and whatever shorts they already own are perfectly adequate for the first month. Wait until you know they’re in it for the long haul before spending money on premium gear.

Branded kids BJJ starter sets from Amazon. These sets marketed as “kids BJJ starter packs” usually include a thin gi, a white belt, and a basic rash guard. The gi is useless here. The rash guard quality is hit or miss. You’re paying for packaging, not gear.

Sizing Notes for Kids

Section titled “Sizing Notes for Kids”

Kids grappling gear uses standard youth sizing (XS through XL, or similar). A few things to know:

Grappling brands often run small. If your kid is between sizes, size up. Rash guards and spats should be snug but not restrictive. If your child can’t lift their arms over their head comfortably, it’s too tight.

Kids grow fast. Buy for now, not for next year. An oversized rash guard bunches up during grappling and can become a hazard. Fit matters more than future-proofing.

If you’re ordering gi gear through the gym (for Advanced program, later), the sizing system is different: kids gis use “C” sizes (C0 through C4, with higher numbers being larger). C2 fits most kids in the 7-10 range, but sizing varies by brand. Ask a coach before ordering.

The Summary

Section titled “The Summary”

For your first classes:

  • Water bottle
  • Slides
  • Whatever athletic clothes your kid already owns (no pockets, zippers, or velcro)

Once they’re committed:

  • Rash guard: TSLA on Amazon for budget, Gold BJJ or Fuji Flex Lite for quality
  • Shorts: anything no-pocket, or Gold BJJ if you want grappling-specific
  • Spats: optional, popular with kids who prefer coverage

That’s it. You don’t need to spend more than that to train here. The gear isn’t what matters at this stage.

Resources

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