The Ultimate Tatami BJJ Gi Guide
One of the biggest brands in the BJJ market these days is Tatami Fightwear. They bring out a lot of new products every year, which can make it hard deciding what gi would be best for you.
In this guide we will try to set the gi’s apart and give you an overview of all the different Tatami gi’s we have to offer.
In this category you can find Tatami’s best value gi’s. These gi are geared towards beginners, but also for more advanced practitioners these gi’s are an excellent choice when you’re looking for an extra gi that won’t break the bank.
Tatami Nova Mk4 BJJ Gi
The Nova MK4 comes with a free white belt and is available in 4 different colours and comes in a lot of different sizes for men, women and kids. The options paired with a very competitive price, makes Tatami’s Nova their most popular gi.
The Nova gi’s have been around for a long time and Tatami keeps updating them. Currently they are at its 4th version, the MK4. With each update they improve the gi on its materials, cut and design.
Tatami Nova Minimo 2.0 BJJ Gi
The Nova Minimo is exactly the same as the regular Nova, except this gi has minimal styling. Instead of the big Tatami patches on the shoulders, the Minimo’s styling is bit more subtle. A small embroided logo on the upper arm.
The Nova Minimo 2.0 is only available for men and women. It comes in the IBJJF legal colours: White, Royal blue and black. For this gi Tatami also has many of the in between sizes available like A2L, A2H and A2XL.
A great all-rounder for people who like their gi a bit more plain and simple.
Tatami Hokori BJJ Gi
The Hokori gi is one of the newest models Tatami has brought to the market. The Hokori gi is made from a lightweight fabric, with a very clean and minimal design. This brings its price even lower than the Nova (keep in mind that the Hokori does not come with a free white belt).
The difference between the Hokori and the Nova models is that the Hokori is made out of a lighter fabric for the jacket, making the overall weight of this gi less than the Nova. The pants of the Hokori gi are made out of twill cotton, while the Nova pants are made out of a polyester and cotton blend.
The Hokori is available in white, blue and black in a wide range of sizes for men and women.
Lightweight gi’s are great because a number of reasons. They don’t take up much space in your bag. Which is great for travelling, but also when you are going to the gym. They usually dry faster after washing than gi’s made out of a heavier fabric. They aren’t as warm, so great for hotter temperatures. They are often called competition gi’s because of their light weight, this makes it easier to make weight for the lowest possible weight class at Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments.
Tatami Elements Ultralite Gi
The Elements gi is one of the new lightweight gi models Tatami has released. Weighing only 1.3kg in size A2, this is actually an ultra-lightweight gi. Other than being Tatami’s lightest gi, it also has the lowest price of all the lightweight gi’s, and is available in white, blue and black.
The Elements gi looks fresh with contrasting stitching and a tapered cut. It only has patches on top on the shoulders and a few small embroideries with the Elements logo. The jacket is made of 300GSM pearl weave fabric and the pants are made out of 8oz twill cotton.
Tatami Comp SRS Lightweight 2.0
The Comp SRS is currently Tatami’s mid-range lightweight gi. It’s a little bit heavier than the Elements gi, weighing 1,4kg in size A2.
The Comp SRS stands out from Tatami’s other lightweight gi’s because of its minimalistic styling. This model only has a few embroideries, which gives a clean look and leaves plenty of space for your own patches.
Another things that makes this gi different is the incredible soft fabric. The jacket is made out of 375GSM pearl weave pro fabric, which makes it strong and durable. The pants are made out of a twill cotton and ripstop mix, this is supposed to make it more durable than standard twill while giving it a soft, flowing feeling.
Tatami Zero G V4 Advanced Lightweight BJJ Gi
Lastly in the lightweight BJJ gi category we have the Zero G. This gi is Tatami’s oldest line of lightweight models, with the latest version being the Zero G V4.
Weighing 1.5kg in size A2, this gi is still light enough while sporting stronger fabrics then the other gi’s in this category. The jacket is made out of 475GSM Pearl weave material, and the pants are made out of 9oz lightweight twill cotton. This makes the gi a little bit heavier than the other lightweight options Tatami has available, but this also gives it a higher quality and better performance.
The Zero G is currently available in 2 colours for men and women: White and Black, the men’s sizing option also includes the Long and Extra Long sizes.
In this category we have placed the more expensive gi’s from Tatami’s collection and their Limited Edition gi’s. Most of these gi’s are made out of a heavier fabric, which automatically makes them more premium, because a heavier fabric usually means that the gi will last longer.
Tatami Estilo 6.0 BJJ Gi
The Estilo is Tatami’s longest running model. With the latest version, the Estilo 6.0, they bring one of the highest quality, visually appealing and best priced jiu-jitsu gi’s on the market (according to themselves). The Estilo has been around for over 6 years now, and Tatami has been working together with the highest level of athletes, such as JT Torres, Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro and Robson Moura to keep improving all aspects of their premium Estilo model.
The jacket is made out of 550GSM Pearl weave fabric and the pants are made of out 12oz canvas pants. It has a rashguard lining on the inside of the jacket, at the shoulder area. At the cuffs and the base of the jacket a woven tape lining is used to give the edges a soft feel. The jack also features Y shaped vents, like the Estilo 5.0, which provides a better fit along the base of the jacket.
It’s available in 8 different colour, the mens sizes include the S, L and XL sizes. For women the sizes include the C and L options.
Tatami The Tank 950GSM Double Weave BJJ Gi
The Tank gi is a serious gi, for serious people. It’s one of the few double weave BJJ gi’s on the whole jiu jitsu market. Double weave means the jacket of this gi has been made out of a fabric with a double amount of threads compared to a single weave fabric. To match the jacket, Tatami added heavy duty 14oz canvas pants. This makes the complete gi extremely durable, thick and heavy.
To give the wearer of this solid gi a bit of comfort Tatami has the brushed the inside of the jacket, giving it a soft feel. With the Estilo style fit, the Tank combines a modern cut with a traditional feel of a heavy gi.
Limited Edition gi’s
Tatami also offers a couple of Limited Edition gi’s, most of these gi’s truly are something different than the regular bjj gi’s Tatami offers and they also rotate out of their collection sooner. Keep in mind that none of the gi’s in this category are IBJJF legal, which means you are not allowed to wear them at most competitions.
Tatami Japan Series - Maple Koi/Samurai
The limited edition Japan Series by Tatami offers 2 gi’s. A white variation, where on the inside of the jacket an image of a Samurai has been printed, and a black variation, where an image of a Koi fish has been printed on the inside.
While all this awesomeness is on the inside, the outside of both gi’s is pretty clean. Tatami has added a few embroidered Japanese flower emblems and some kanji to add a touch of authenticity, but nothing too much.
Both gi’s are light weight and their jackets have a rashguard lining on the inside (there the images are printed on). These rashguard linings have an awesome print, but that unfortunately makes it illegal for tournaments who use the IBJJF ruleset.
Tatami Gorilla series - Chess Gorilla/Gorilla Smash
The Gorilla series by Tatami offers 2 different gi’s with artwork by Chris Burns, who has also done many of tatami’s no-gi artwork designs.
The Chess Gorilla gi is mainly black and has a few small Gorilla icons on the outside of the gi, some chessboard details and 2 big chess pieces outlined on the knees. When you open up the jacket the fun really starts! A huge gorilla with cauliflower ears, wearing glasses and a gi while holding a tiny chess board, covers the whole back panel of the jacket.
The Gorilla Smash gi is navy coloured and has a few small gorilla details on the outside. Just like it’s counterpart, the Chess Gorilla gi, for this gi the fun also starts on the inside. When you flip open the gi, you’ll be greeted by a huge Gorilla head. This gorilla is angry looking, with his mouth wide open showing off huge fangs. This face covers the whole back panel, looking pretty impressive.
Both off these gi’s have a 475GSM Pearl weave jacket and 10oz twill cotton pants. This places the Gorilla series gi’s in the mid-weight gi category. Perfect for training!
Tatami Mike Fowler Signature BJJ Gi
The Mike Fowler gi is, just the the other Limited Edition gi’s, truly something different and you can see this right away. Mike Fowler himself designed this gi together with the designers from Tatami.
The collar of this gi is sublimated, this is the kind of printing they also use for rash guards and spats. The print really stands out to the white jacket. The jacket of this kimono has been made out of a gold weave fabric. This gives the gi a bit of an old school look, but also makes it shrink a lot more than most other Tatami gi’s. Same goes for the pants which are made out of 10oz twill cotton. You can expect this gi to shrink about 10% in all areas.
Tatami Dragon Fly BJJ Gi
Tatami’s Dragon Fly gi is also a real work of art. Meerkatsu has made the design, and you could have also seen his dragon fly design on some of Tatami’s no-gi gear. This gi has the same cut as the popular Tatami Estilo BJJ gi.
The collar, gusset and belt loops of the Dragon Fly gi have seen sublimated with the dragon fly design. Next to these images this gi has a unique yellow tatami logo and dragon fly embroidery which look great on the black fabric. There isn’t much contrasting stitching except for on the knees and the bottom on the jacket. Together with the coloured gusset and collar this gives the gi just the right amount of bells without being too flashy.