What gi does my child need for the Abu Dhabi school programme

The programme, briefly

Jiu-jitsu is not an after-school club in Abu Dhabi. It is a school subject. More than 59,000 students across 125 schools were training weekly under the emirate’s programme in 2022/23, and a separate secondary-school stream runs a full grade 8–12 curriculum. If your child has just come home asking for a gi, they are one of tens of thousands who did the same term.

This is the largest single group of gi buyers in the country, and — at the time of writing — not one gi retailer in the UAE has published a page for them. Which tells you something about how this market is served.

What the school actually requires

Requirements vary by school, so the note that comes home is the authority. In practice, almost all of them come down to the same short list:

• A plain white gi. Colour is not a style choice here. Programme gis are white, and a coloured gi will be sent home.
• Jacket and pants the same colour, collar matching the top — the same rule the federations apply to adults.
• A belt at whatever rank the programme has assigned. Programmes usually supply or specify this; do not guess.
• A name label. Sewn or written, wherever the school says. Fifty identical white gis in one changing room is exactly the problem you imagine.
• No academy patches unless the school has approved them.

If the child later enters a UAEJJF or AJP event, the adult rulebook applies — same three colours, same patch zones. We have written that up separately in which gi colours are legal in UAE competition.

Sizing a child who is still growing

Kids’ gi sizing runs on an M scale (M0, M1, M2 and up) rather than the adult A scale, and it is driven by height, not age and not weight. A tall seven-year-old and a small ten-year-old often wear the same size.

Measure the child standing against a wall, in the morning, without shoes. Then size to the height range, and only use weight to break a tie.

The temptation every parent has — and the one to resist — is buying a size up so it lasts. A gi that is too long is a trip hazard, the sleeves cover the hands so grips do not work, and the child spends the session hitching up their trousers instead of learning. Buy the size that fits now. Sleeves and cuffs are measured on the child at any event, and an oversized gi fails that too.

Expect roughly one size a year through primary school, and faster during a growth spurt.

A note on what we currently sell. Our six adult patterns run A0 to A5, which starts at around 160 cm — too big for most of this audience. A youth range in white, navy and black is in preparation; it is not on sale yet, and we would rather say so than take an order we cannot fill. The drop list at the bottom of any page is the honest place to hear when it lands.

One thing to know before you buy any kids’ gi, ours or anyone’s: grey is not a competition colour. It looks smart, children like it, and it will not pass a gi check at a UAEJJF or AJP event. Fine for school and training; not for the day that matters.

How many gis

One gi is enough for a child training once a week in winter.

It is not enough for a child training twice a week, or once a week in summer. The reason is drying, not hygiene theatre: in Gulf humidity a gi hung up on Tuesday evening is frequently still damp on Thursday morning, and a child who puts on a cold wet gi twice is a child who starts finding reasons not to go. Two gis solve a motivation problem more than a laundry one.

The full write-up on drying and humidity applies exactly the same way to a child’s gi, with one addition: check the collar before packing the bag. It is the thickest part, it dries last, and it is where the smell starts.

The things nobody tells you until it is too late

• Wash it before the first session. New cotton is stiff and slightly chemical-smelling, and pre-shrunk still means one first wash.
• Cold water, no bleach, line dry. Bleach yellows white gis over time; a tumble dryer will shrink one that was sold to you pre-shrunk.
• Write the name on the belt too. Belts go missing more often than gis.
• A gi is not a karate suit. Jiu-jitsu gis are cut heavier and closer, and a lightweight karate gi will tear in the first month of grips.
• Nails on Sunday night. Not a kit question, but every coach in the country would like us to mention it.

When they get serious

If your child moves from the school programme into an academy and starts entering AJP or UAEJJF events, the buying decision changes. Colour, patch placement and cuff measurement all start being enforced, and a gi that was fine for school may not clear a competition table.

Our rules hub covers what gets checked and where the two rulebooks differ. It is written for adults, but the rules are the same ones your child will be measured against.