Rebelz Ultimate No-Gi Guide

Rebelz Ultimate No-Gi Guide

The term No-Gi means that you train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu without the traditional gi/kimono. Instead you train in rashguard, shorts and/or spats.

Rashguard
Rashguard or rash guard is compression shirt, either long sleeve or short sleeve. The fit of the rashguard is often very slim, most rashguards are supposed to be like a second skin on your body.

Spats
Spats aka tights or leggings. Same type of fit as rashguards. Many No-Gi grapplers has spats under their shorts.

Shorts
The No-Gi shorts are traditionally same as boarder shorts. But since 2014 there has been more and more shorts with a shorter cut and lighter materials, often refereed to as grappling shorts. There is also a type of shorts that is named Vale Tudo shorts. Vale Tudo shorts are like short spats, just like speedos.

Material
Rashguards, shorts and spats are mostly made of polyester based materials. Often a blend of polyester and spandex. The spandex gives the fabric the stretchiness. The thickness of the material is measured in gram per square meter (gsm). The lower gsm the thinner the material is. Normally rashguards are made in 180-230 gsm.

Sublimation printing
Sublimation printing is a technology to print on stretchy materials. Other technologies is screen print, heat transfer ect. If a rashguard is printed with screen print or heat transfer technologies the print itself will crack/fall off during a period av time. But with sublimation printing the print will stay on the material. Polyester fabric is always white from the start. The design is printed on to the fabric in large sublimation printers. Once printed the fabric is cut and then sew together.

Washing instructions
Always follow the manufacturer’s washing instructions. Normally rashguards, spats and shorts are washed in 30 degrees and hang dried. Use a washing bag to protect the product during wash. Do not wash with clothing that has zippers or velcro as it may damage the fabric.
Remember to always check that there are no objects in the washing machine before washing. A hairpin or small stone can easily cause damage to the fabric.

Common issues (that you will experience)
The biggest problem for polyester based fabric is velcro. Velcro tears the polyester fibers and pills will appear. Pills appear on fabric when groups of short or broken fibers on the fabric surface become tangled together in a tiny knot or ball, also known as a pill. The pills are usually found on the areas of the fabric that receive the most friction . Example: If you use a rashguard under your gi you can see increased pilling in the shoulder and sleeve areas or when training No-Gi you often gets pilling around the area where the shorts have velcro closure. When buying and using this kind of products you need to understand this type of issues will always appear and it something we all have to accept. We train hard and our training gear is worn hard.

Will rashguards, shorts and spats shrink?
As long as the products are made of polyester/spandex they wont shrink.