When i first started bjj, i bought all the MMA gear i could get my hands on, bought so many t shirts, kimonos etc....
As time went by and also after going to brazil, I realized that that shit was not for me. All the brazilians who were training in the academies all had some older skankier kimonos which they would use till the end. You wouldn't see anybody with shiny new red kimonos etc... Honestly the only guys I saw with all the fight wear and the colourfull kimonos were the gringos, foreigners.
Also, you rarely see pros or top level bjj guys wearing fightgear when they go out, and only the guys with no game or who don't even train really dress up all geared up. That's why when i go out i dress more low key, and I let my jiu jitsu do the talking not my flashy gear. What do you guys think about this? Are you dressed up in fight MMA gear from head to toes or you low key?
Probably because most in brazil, like myself, do not have $$$ to be spending on all the fancy new gear. If I had more cash, I would probably buy some stuff, but I dont think I would be all decked out.
Im not crazy about the colored gis, even blue, although I dont mind black gis too much. As for the shirts, I dont like anything too loud or "tough guy", but a cool jiujitsu shirt is a cool jiujitsu shirt.
I like the more low-key MMA appearal like NOGI, Fökai (is that how it's spelled?) and such, just cool logos that MMA fans would recognize but nothing tough guy'ish. Was one other really small company that i thought had a really cool low key logo, but i can't remember their name. Think it was something beginning with an I, like Independance or something like that.
It's the same on the basketball courts. You got these chumps with the latest 150 dollar Nike shoes, coolest jersey's and shorts, even some chumps with headbands, wristbands, and even goggles to protect their eyes! And they get schooled by a dude with a white t-shirt with cut-off sleeves and old ass sneakers.