Grappling and BJJ tips by Liam The Part-Time Grappler Wandi: 10 Gift Ideas for Gracie / Brazilian jiujitsu Practitioners

Are you looking for jiujitsu gift ideas?

Excellent!

I’ve put together a list of 10 jiujitsu holiday gift ideas for you.

Here we go:

1. Exercise cards
These BODYWEIGHT Exercise Cards / Training Planner combos are great for both motivation and planning your workouts. They're simple and fast to use, can be taken anywhere as does your own body weight. No more excuses. Ideal for the athlete but also for the coaches / instructors. You can shuffle the different title for unlimited workout plans. Get them here.

2. Training Journal
There are many BJJ training journal apps out there, but nothing beats old school. A technique notebook is one of the most powerful Brazilian jiu-jitsu training aids and I’ve been keeping one on and off for both jiujitsu and judo. It's surprisingly motivational too. Jiu-jitsu isn’t something that’s easy to describe using words alone so something that allows space for diagrams will be extra helpful. Another reason a beautiful training journal personalised with their initials or favourite motto is superior to an app. Get it here.

3. Their dream Gi
Not sure what to pick? Have a look at the ones I've reviewed for some inspiration: Get it here.

There are so many. So many!

4. Street Wear / Leisure Wear
The market is huge and constantly growing. To be honest with you, if you want to buy your loved one a jiujitsu - related gift, you have no excuses! With well-established brands such as Scramble, Gawakoto, Meerkatsu, Tatami Fightwear in the UK and a host of others in the USA such as The Jiujiteiro, The Gracie Academy and Newaza Apparel, the world is your oyster!

5. Their dream belt
It’s no secret that jiujitsu belts are few and far in between. This makes each belt and grading a big event in the athlete's journey and even though some say jiujitsu belts don't matter, that's a lie!
Why not surprise your loved one by getting them a luxurious belt, personalised with their name and / or a favoruite motto of theirs? Many companies provide these services such as Kataaro and Eosin in the USA and Threads Embroidery in the UK.

6. Foam Roller
Loosen up the stiff connective tissue (fascia) surrounding your muscles to help your poor body’s natural recovery process. Using foam rollers is the best thing you could introduce into you exercise routine. Get it here.

7. DVDs
Welcome to the year 2016 where everything and anything can be learned remotely. My personal favourite learning media for jiujitsu are the books and DVDs produced by Saulo and Xande Ribiero along with the Gracie University material put out by Ryron and Rener Gracie but your choices are endless today and the quality is consistently rising. Have a browse here.

Private lessons are invaluable!

8. Private lessons
Gracie Jiujitsu was originally designed to be delivered in a 1-2-1 format. In fact, for many years, that's how they taught it at the Gracie Academy in Rio and in Torrance, California. Nothing compares to getting a hands-on learning experience from an experienced teacher whose sole, undivided objective for the whole lesson is to make you improve. Just read for yourself before you schedule some here..

9. The Master Text, by Grandmaster Helio Gracie
This is my most value possession in jiujitsu. You can take my gis and my belts and all my books and DVDs, if you just leave me with the final words of Grandmaster Helio Gracie, I will do just fine. Why? Because it clearly defines the objectives of Gracie Jiujitsu and the challenges it was originally intended to address. Once you have that, you can reverse engineer anything and everything within jiujitsu. This gorgeous book contains techniques, tactics and wisdom that people still haven’t grasped today. Get it here.

10. The ultimate jiujitsu experience: A BJJ camp
Jiujitsu camps as a phenomenon are growing massively. They're a fantastic opportunity to "geek out" in the company like-minded people, without the element of competition or rivalry. The best ones, in my humble opinion, are the ones that cater for the whole person and not just the jiujitsuka. Put in some surfing / skiing / drinking / dancing...etc and have yourself a great time. Get it here.