{"id":830,"date":"2019-08-28T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T04:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=830"},"modified":"2023-11-28T13:29:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T19:29:12","slug":"spats-for-bjj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/spats-for-bjj\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do people wear spats for BJJ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is to answer the question: why do people wear spats for BJJ?<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought BJJ spats<\/a> were just for warmth…<\/span><\/p>\n

…until I saw people wearing spats for BJJ in the middle of summer!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So I did some digging:<\/span><\/p>\n

And now I wear them all the time too!<\/span><\/p>\n

The reasons why people wear spats for BJJ include:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Wearing spats prevents cuts, scratches, scrapes, and mat burn<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is the main reason I\u00a0<\/span>now wear spats when I\u2019m doing No Gi grappling. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m okay with getting choked, strangled or armlocked. <\/span><\/p>\n

But \u2018mat burn\u2019 on my knees?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a big \u2018no\u2019 from me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

[And it seems I get this EVERY<\/strong><\/em> time I roll in grappling shorts<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

Since I\u2019ve started wearing spats for BJJ I\u2019ve never had this issue. <\/span><\/p>\n

And, aside from me being soft when it comes to grazes, there\u2019s this:<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Wearing spats prevents bacterial and fungal infections<\/span><\/h2>\n

BJJ mats are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wearing spats helps prevent getting\u00a0 <\/span>infections in 3 ways:<\/span><\/p>\n

First, they help prevent the scratches and grazes that germs like to use as a doorway into your body (gross)<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, they act as a physical barrier to keep the cooties away. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is important because you don\u2019t actually need cuts or grazes to get an infection:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wearing<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFungal infections like ringworm can occur through direct skin-to-skin contact\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finally, the best BJJ spats are usually made from antimicrobial material. <\/span><\/p>\n

3. BJJ spats stop people pinching your skin (even when you\u2019re wearing a Gi)<\/span><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t you hate it:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSomeone thinks they\u2019re grabbing your Gi… <\/span><\/p>\n

…but they\u2019re using your Gi to grab your skin?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Or worse:<\/span><\/p>\n

A pile of your leg hair?<\/span><\/p>\n

[My eyes are watering just thinking about it]<\/span><\/p>\n

BJJ spats stop this. It\u2019s like wearing a rash guard<\/a> on your legs. <\/span><\/p>\n

4. Wearing spats under your Gi pants can stop chafing<\/span><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve never experienced chafing from my BJJ or Judo Gi before… but it makes sense. Following on from the above quote:<\/span>\"Wearing<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just ladies who wear spats for this reason:<\/span><\/p>\n

Spats are like long versions of bike shorts that you wear under your Gi. <\/span><\/p>\n

5. Spats keep you warmer<\/span><\/h2>\n

This one\u2019s so obvious I almost didn\u2019t mention it<\/span><\/p>\n

But hey, I live on the coast at the moment. It\u2019s cold. So sometimes I even wear them under my Gi for the extra warmth.<\/span><\/p>\n

[With a long-sleeve rashie too… my current favourite is the Fuji Freestyle IBJJF Rash Guard, you can read my full review here<\/a>]<\/p>\n

They can make a chilly night on the mats just that little bit more comfortable<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Spats absorb sweat away from your body<\/span><\/h2>\n

It takes some people a while to get used to the invasion of personal space that you get with grappling. <\/span><\/p>\n

It weirded me out at first too. Now, I\u2019m all about cuddle-fighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

But:<\/span><\/p>\n

Hate the feeling of really sweaty legs?<\/span><\/p>\n

What about the the sweaty-leg-to-sweaty-leg feeling?<\/span><\/p>\n

Or worse:<\/span><\/p>\n

Feeling someone else\u2019s sweaty legs on your face?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Spats<\/a>
Scramble Brand – Responsible for Introducing Spats from Japan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yeah, that can go too far.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Spats stop unintentional displays of underwear (or worse)<\/span><\/h2>\n

The hip-hop look isn\u2019t for everyone:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wearing<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s this great point from another Reddit contributor:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWith the rise of inverted games there’s a lot of grabbing the top of the gi pants to control your opponent. I’d rather grab between pants and spats than pants and whatever they may or may not be wearing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is another reason why lots of people wear bike shorts under their Gi pants… BJJ spats become the long-legged version of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Wearing spats creates more friction to help leg locks and guard players<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some people may think this is defeating the purpose of training No Gi BJJ:<\/span><\/p>\n

Wearing spats helps leg locks and guard players.<\/p>\n

They make your legs less slippery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Closed Guard, Butterfly Guard, Half-Guard, and X-Guard can become tighter because there\u2019s more friction. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s leg locks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Before you finish a leg lock there\u2019s the holding of the leg entanglement position…<\/span><\/p>\n

…so sweaty, short-wearing, slippery legs can be annoying. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some people wear spats to make their leg locks higher percentage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Why
Credit to ‘Haz’ from Operations Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same applies to:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Triangles<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Omoplatas, and<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Armbar<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    They\u2019re simply tougher to slip out of.<\/span><\/p>\n

    9. People wear spats for BJJ because they look pretty cool<\/span><\/h2>\n

    There\u2019s no denying it:<\/span><\/p>\n

    Spats can be a fashion statement. Just like rash guards.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I\u2019m still a bit shy when it comes to BJJ on-the-mat fashion:<\/span><\/p>\n

    My first pair of spats were a plain black pair like these:<\/span><\/p>\n