BJJ New Gear - New Wall and Logo Project

We are in the process of designing a new Wall for the BJJ New Gear Facebook group. We just had a logo designed (see below), thanks to Katherine Sak Johnson. She's also designing the Wall.

Newly designed BJJ New Gear logo by Katherine Sak Johnson. 

The Wall is something that we would like you to be involved with. What we imagine is a collage of as many BJJ company logos as possible. Here is a sample that we found online that contains random logos and has the look that we're seeking.

If you are interested in adding your logo to the BJJ New Gear wall project, please send a high resolution copy of your logo, preferably in .ai or .eps format (vector format (.ai) is especially preferred to retain quality after re-sizing), to:

BJJNewGear@Gmail.com

Thank you!!!

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Posting in BJJ New Gear

If you have come across this post on your own, great. But if it is via a link that was PM'ed to you by someone else, it means that you have submitted a post to BJJ New Gear that is NOT going to be approved because it does not meet the minimum requirements for posting in the group.

So please take a minute and review the below basics, modify your post and submit it again for approval IF after reading this blog entry you feel that your submitted post SHOULD qualify to be posted in the group (with modifications most likely). If so, then we want to post it to the Group, but there are some basic requirements we really try and adhere to.

Who May Post In BJJ New Gear?

Both Brand Owner Members and General Members of BJJ New Gear can post. So basically anyone can post in the group as long as both:

1. what is being posted, and
2. the information/details contained within the post 

meet the minimum standards of the group. Anything short of that, and it likely won't get posted.

What Can Be Posted In BJJ New Gear?

We welcome postings for ALL TYPES of BJJ gear in the group. From kimonos and rash guards to instructional DVD's and soaps and everything in between. Even casual wear and ancillary items (such as tee shirts, sunglasses, coffee cups, dog gis, towels, etc.) sold by established BJJ Brands are more than welcome. As long as it's BJJ related, we want to see it. That being said, BJJ New Gear is for the primary market, not the secondary market.

What Can NOT Be Posted In BJJ New Gear?

• Anything that is not BJJ related. Such as MMA gear or gloves, etc. Sure BJJ and MMA are closely tied and related, but this is BJJ New Gear, not MMA New Gear. Hell, it's hard enough to stay on top of all the BJJ gear out there, much less the MMA gear. 

• Secondary Market Gear. This is a Primary Market Gear group. So items that are being sold by individuals is NOT allowed. There are many Secondary Market ("classified") groups for that type of transaction. For a list, please click here. 

• No gear direct from manufacturers (or manufacturers disguising themselves or pretending to be a brand). There needs to be a buffer, a responsibly party, between the manufacturer and the consumer. And that is the "Brand." Manufacturers are not set up to operate in the world of retail sales with customer service, returns, etc. As a cautionary note here, there have been many manufacturers who try and ignore this rule. To do so will get you kicked out of the group very quickly.

Posts & Content Therein

Please keep in mind that we do have some very basic standards with respect to the content of the posts to make sure they are meaningful for everyone in the group.

Several types of posts are welcome in BJJ New Gear. Here they are with the type of MINIMUM content required in a post.

For Feedback

Sometimes Brand Owner Members will want feedback and input on a design or concept from the members of BJJ New Gear. In that effort, posts seeking such are encouraged. When doing so it's important to post an image (or images) of what item(s) you want input on. And then some basic information on what you seek. It might be a colorway, weave, weight, cut, or other aspect that you'd like to gather from a large group of BJJ gear enthusasts BEFORE you spend the money on, say, a short sleeve rash guard when 80% of the people want LONG sleeve rash guards.

For Sneak Peeks

These are items not yet in inventory, but shall be so at a reasonable point in the future: For this type of post it needs to be clear that it is a "Sneak Peek" or "Coming Soon" item. So using those phrases is key. Also, the following would be beneficial.

• Photo(s) and/or Graphic Images. This is a necessity. 

• Price (if known).

• Details such as weave, weight, colorways, etc., are always good to make people aware of.

• Estimated (or known) date when the item will be available for purchase.

Above all, your post needs to BE CLEAR that it is a "Sneak Peek" and soon to be available. We want to avoid getting the members all excited about an item, only for them to later find out that they can't buy it today. Let them know UP FRONT that the item is "COMING SOON."







For new drops that are currently for sale:

1. Photos, and

2. Price, and

3. Direct link to where the item can be purchased.

The bottom line is, if you want to sell your gear then you need to make it easy for the buyer to buy. And that starts with presenting it properly (photo) and making it easy for them to place an order (direct link).

Also, keep in mind that if your brand is a non-USA-based brand, that approximately 80% of BJJ New Gear's members are located in the USA. So, please provide any prices in $ USD and provide information (including pricing) on international shipping (to the USA and elsewhere).

While BJJ New Gear's membership base is expanding internationally, we are still heavily USA located.


For "Sneak Peeks" (items not yet in inventory, but shall be soon or at a reasonable point in the future):

1. Photos, and

2. Price (if known), and

3. Estimated (or known) date when the item will be available.

Above all, your post needs to BE CLEAR that it is a "Sneak Peek" and soon to be available. We want to avoid getting the members all excited about an item, only for them to later find out that they can't buy it today. Let them know UP FRONT that the item is "COMING SOON."




For contests & giveaways BJJ New Gear has started a new group exclusively for contests and giveaways. No longer will such posts be permitted in the main group, and there is good reasoning behind it. So if you have a contest or giveaway to promote, please post it in BJJ New Gear - Contests.




If you desire feedback from the group on proposed designs, that is welcome as well. Just be clear in your post on what you are seeking and post a photo or two of the items (should you have them).




Also note, we try to avoid duplicate posts and frequent posts of the same items in any given week or weeks. If you want to arrange for BJJ New Gear to focus on your item for a week, then we have some programs available that do just that. Contact me to discuss.

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BJJ Belts

There are many philosophies on belts. Should they be: long or short? thin or thick? wide or narrow? stiff or floppy? and so on. And while most if not all of the BJJ kimono manufacturers (over 200 of them at last count, both big and small), carry their own line of belts, they are obviously not difficult to find.

The purpose of this post is intended more for the belt connoisseur who is seeking something different than the average belt. And while I have not owned most of these belts as of yet, I plan on getting my hands on one from each of these manufacturers and then I can provide a little more insight into each. 

I came across these belts while researching which belt I wanted for my blue belt, since I knew that was going to be a 5+ year adventure and wanted to have a high quality belt. So here are the belts that I came across in that search.

NOTE, if there are high quality and/or different/unique belts that you feel should be included in this list, please contact me and let me know the details. Thanks. 

PeelGi

Peel Gi offers a very different design of belt. You can tell by the photographs that it is not the average BJJ belt. I have not yet had one, but have been told they are thinner than the average BJJ belt, and more like a taekawondo belt. 

Website

Prana

As I could see just by the photographs this is a beautiful belt. And very classy looking. 

Website

Kataaro

Kataaro makes the belts for Modern Flow, see below, and on the Kataaro website you can design your own belt from scratch (see below) including: size (length), width, firmness, color, rank, etc.

Website

Modern Flow

Made by Kataaro for Modern Flow, these are, by all accounts, high quality belts. 

Website

Killer Bee

Now Killer Bee does have a line of standard belts, and for full disclosure Killer Bee makes the belts for my BJJ Academy (as well as our Kimonos). But I do have one of their more special belts - that being the Ligustica. This is a thick, woven belt  made from the same material as their Ligustica MK II kimonos. These belts are heavy duty yet very pliable. And while they claim that, "Once tied they are less likely to come untied because of the texture of the belt," I didn't find that to be the case whatsoever. My blue Killer Bee Ligustica belt doesn't stay tied any better than my white Atama belt did. Unless I tie it in a superknot, then it never has come untied. 

Nevertheless, I like this belt and would not only recommend it, I would order it again. 

Website 

Eosin Panther

Undoubtedly the most expensive belt that I've run across, like with Kataaro you can build your belt from scratch. And you can easily spend over $100 doing so. 

Website

And of course, I can't end this without the following:

Here is a video on how to tie your belt, including the superlock knot.

Linked here is a good article on why you SHOULD wash your belt. 

And RYU Reviews did a review on a half dozen belts, some listed above. Worth a read. 

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How to Tell an Authentic From a Fake Shoyoroll

The absolute best way to make sure you get an authentic Shoyoroll gi is to purchase from Shoyoroll directly. But of course that means you can't buy any of the older classics that many people desire. Plus, even scoring one at the drop is a chore in itself many times.

The second best thing is to purchase in the secondary market from a reputable source. And there are many such sources; all of them are individual people because there is no official "dealer" of Shoyoroll gis and gear other than the brand itself. While the number of trusted sources is large, too large to list here, if you PM me on Facebook or send me an email, I'd be happy to help identify if the gi you are considering is authentic or not, and if I know the seller (and I have dealt with many over the years), or not.

The next best thing you can do to protect yourself is to get photographs of the actual gi that you are buying. LOTS of photographs. Then join and post those photos in the Facebook group, Shoyoroll Drama Free Buy, Trade & Sell, and ask for help in telling if it is real or fake.

It is not only important to get photos of the full jacket and pants, but where the forgers often mess up are on the details. The patches, seam tape and tags are three areas to focus on. So those items must be clearly visible in the pictures.

Fake vs. Real - Can You Tell?

Below are two photographs of a Shoyoroll Brasileiro kimono. One is real....and one is fake. can you tell which one is which? The answer is below.

Cloth Bag vs. No Bag

Another common theme with fakes is that most, but not all, do not have matching cloth bags (for those Shoyoroll gi's that come with bags, which is most batches). While the presence of a matching cloth bag, or lack thereof, does not mean a gi is fake or legitimate on that measure alone. Recently we have been seeing some batches of fake gis with fake bags, including: Armstrong, Beef Cakes, RVCA, Leo V., and most recently, and disturbingly so, the uber-rare and highly-desired Black Undefeated, of which only 91 hand numbered gis were made. But all of these bags, in addition to the gis, are recognizable to someone who knows what to look for.

Keep in mind that most fakes don't have any cloth bag whatsoever, and those that do, the bag is often a dead giveaway that it is a fake.

Those Shoyoroll's that did not come with a matching cloth bag include:

• All gis prior to Batch #7 (7th Son and Golden State were the first to have cloth bags).
• Comp Lite XII
• The Ring
• Brasileiro
• Black Skies (Guma 2013 gi)
• GUMA 2014
• A&P V1
• A&P Athlete Prototypes (2015)
• Batch 50 (Worlds Drop, 2015)

All the rest should have cloth bags. However, please note that the mere presence of a bag does not mean the gi is legitimate. Oftentimes Shoyoroll fans will sell the bags after buying their gis from Shoyoroll to offset the cost of the gi. Those bags sell from $25 to $50 each. So someone selling a one-off fake could purchase a legitimate Shoyoroll bag on the secondary market and simply use that to try and hide the fact that the gi inside the bag is a fake. Personally, I've not seen this occur, but it is a possibility.

Commonly Faked Batches

Some batches of Shoyoroll kimonos are more often faked than others. Batch 17 Competitor seems to be one that is popular with the fakers, as does the Beef Cakes and Black Skies. Most recently I've seen (and even purchased) an Illest that was faked. I bought one just to see the quality (or lack thereof) and learn more about the fakes.

Recently I've seen fake Black Undefeated. And with those selling for several thousand dollars on the secondary market, you really want to make sure you know the pedigree of the one you are considering buying before you plunk down $3,000 or $4,000 on a gi.

There has also been a rash of fakes posted on the Australian eBay. The prices are very tempting, but in 100% of the cases where people have asked me to check out a Shoyoroll on eBay in Australia, it has been a fake.

In early 2016 fake RVCA and Leo V. gis started showing up. And those have bags.

Below I'll show some photographs of the fake and an authentic Illest, probably the most sought after Shoyoroll kimono. With only 100 Navy and 50 White kimonos sold, they are rare to come across and very expensive.

There is also a good video on YouTube where an authentic Batch 17 Competitor is compared to a fake one. It's worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOf-Ae2VIgQ

Here is a picture of a fake White Illest sent to me by a forger:

And here is the real deal.

Help & Resources

There is ONE online resources with photos of most Shoyoroll kimonos to date. This way you can always compare pictures of the gi you are questioning to those found on this site:

• Gi Database

And here are the two best Facebook groups that you can join and post the pics of the kimono you are concerned about; seeking feedback from a diverse group:

• All Things BJJ

• Shoyoroll Drama Free Buy, Trade & Sell (recommended)

Of course as I said earlier above, you can always send me some photographs via email or on Facebook via PM and I'll take a look at them and give you my thoughts. Please keep in mind that while I've seen many fakes and owned virtually every Shoyoroll from, and including, Batch #4 to the current drops, I do not promote myself as an expert. But if I have any questions as to whether or not a gi is legitimate or not, I can always call upon friends who know better than I do to help.

Click here to to go my profile where you can PM me anytime.

Warning - New Scam on eBay

Click here to read in Shoyoroll Drama Free on Facebook.

The Answer

Oh...and the real Brasileiro is the top picture. That kimono has a white size tag with red lettering. The second picture, despite having the Shoyoroll sticker attached, is a fake.

More Photos of Fakes

Fake Illest and some AP's also

Fake Black Illest

Fake AP 

A lineup of fake Beef Cakes

A hoard of fake illest

Fake Illest

More Fake Illest

Fake AP. This was before AP actually even made a blue gi.

Fake Batch 25 Shoyoroll / AP

More Fake AP. Made to look like Batch 25.

Fake AP

See how poorly the embroidery is done?

Fake Rio Koi

More Fake AP

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ABOUT the Facebook Group : BJJ New & Upcoming Gear Opportunities (aka, BJJ New Gear)

BJJ New Gear, as we call it for short, has both a Page and a Group on Facebook. The Page is reserved for special events, sales, promotions, and to hold the Groups' ongoing discount codes given to us from various Brand Owner Members. That way these items are easy to locate and do not get lost in the overwhelm of new gear that is added to the Group every day.

The Group was started with the desire to have a SINGLE SOURCE for BJJ Brand Owners to post their upcoming and new gear releases and promote them to a large audience of BJJ gear heads whom are politely called: "enthusiasts."

Most of what is in this blog posting is located in the "About" section of the Group. But that is difficult to find when viewing the Group via iPhone or Droid, and there is not "link" to send interested parties. Plus it is limited in character space, so we are posting an expanded version here for easy access.

********************************************************************************

Open To All

Despite being categorized as a "closed" group by Facebook, the Group is open to everyone and is intended as the SOLE SOURCE for BJJ gear enthusiasts to stay on top of all of the latest BJJ gear offerings from hundreds of BJJ brands from around the world. From gis to rash guards, spats, hats, shirts, slippers, soap, you name it. All BJJ gear updated and expanding all the time!

Purpose

To give Brand Owners of BJJ gear, both large and small, a single place on Facebook to announce and promote their BJJ goods to the entire BJJ community. This is NOT a self help group or forum for questions and answers. This is a group where Brands can post their goods and the members can see them AND easily find out where to purchase them. It is very capitalistic and not at all Ann Landers-like. We have a sister group, All Things BJJ, that provides a forum to seek and give help and advice on...ALL Things BJJ.

Benefits

For BJJ Brand Owners – access to a LARGE group of BJJ Gear Enthusiasts to get the feedback on proposed designs, as well as promote and sell their goods. Unlike any other group on Facebook here we WANT to see what you have for sale and that is ALL we want. This is not an open or general topic forum where your gear will get lost in a sea of general BJJ posts. ALL posts are approved by me or one of the other administrators and we adhere to strict posting policies (see below).

And BJJ New Gear is for the Primary Market only. Not secondary market sales. There are other groups for that.

For BJJ Gear Enthusiasts – to have a single single-source to locate and track virtually all of the new and upcoming BJJ gear that is both on Facebook and the Internet. We have several VERY ACTIVE administrators that literally monitor hundreds of Brand Owners daily.

Membership

For the purpose of maintaining the privacy of our members, this group has been set up as a “CLOSED” group. Per Facebook what that means is non-members can see who is a member, but CAN NOT SEE what is posted within the group. Only other members can see your posts and comments.

Membership to this group is open to everyone.

For more on the benefits and restrictions of closed groups and what people can and cannot see, click here.

Posting

Ideally, posts should be made by BJJ Brand Owners announcing their new designs, offerings, updated available inventory, promotions and future drops. But any member can “share” a post of BJJ gear that is available from brand owners.

Posts are not limited to what’s on Facebook by any means. Any external internet link can be incorporated in a post.

We try to avoid duplicate posts and frequent posts of the same items. So, rather than submit a new post to the group for an item that was posted a few days or a week ago, search for (yes there is a search function in the group accessible via computer) or scroll down until you find the prior post. Simply make a comment with the update and it will automatically bring that post up to the top of the feed. That we can avoid multiple posts of the same item.

Post Types

The following posts are encouraged:

Sneak Peeks – Items not yet in inventory, but shall be soon or at a reasonable point in the future.

Product Drop – New items that haven’t yet been in inventory but are now in inventory available for sale.

Discounts – Sales discounts on existing inventory.  NOTE: there are some exceptions to this, so please see the UPDATE section below. 

Contests & Giveaways – Sales contests and product giveaways are NO LONGER allowed in BJJ New Gear unless they are within the structure of a BSP ("Brand Spotlight Program"), more on that in a future blog. However, in 2014 we did start a new Facebook group AND and Instagram page where we post NOTHING BUT sales contests and giveaways. We post all of the ones that we can find. That is: BJJ New Gear CONTESTS. 

Replenished Inventory – Gear that has previously been sold out or depleted and has now been restocked.

Feedback – Proposed designs or questions about designs or gear that BJJ Gear Sellers would like feedback from the group on.

Post Content

We'd like to see the following MINIMUM items in the posts:

Sneak Peeks – TWO  (2) ITEMS at minimum - Pictures &/or graphic designs, as well as estimated drop date and pricing (if known).

Product Drop – THREE (3) ITEMS at a minimum - Photographs, a DIRECT LINK to where the product can be ordered, and a price.

Discounts – Same as Product Drop + the discount amount (in $’s or %), and discount code.

Replenished Inventory – The same as with Product Drop

UPDATES 

2014
In late 2014 we've made some changes to the BJJ New Gear group. As we grow these changes become necessary to keep the group viable and useful to both the Brand Owner Members and General Members.

In 2014 we moved all Contests & Giveaways our of BJJ New Gear and into their own dedicated group. This was done in order to (a) keep the contests and giveaways easy to find for those who want to find them, and (b) keep the BJJ New Gear Group as uncluttered as possible. So we started a new group EXCLUSIVELY for BJJ gear contests and giveaways. And that group is logically called: BJJ New Gear CONTESTS.

We also started an Instagram account of that same name @bjjnewgearcontests, as we increase BJJ New Gear's reach into that medium. 

The exception to this is for contests that are part of a structured Brand Spotlight Program ("BSP"). For more details on the BSP, click here.  

2015
In mid-2015 we put in place a new and exciting program called: Brand Spotlight Program ("BSP" for short). This is a structured, week-long focus ON A SINGLE BRAND within BJJ New Gear. More information can be found on the blog post dedicated to the BSP. Just follow this link.


If you have any questions, it is always best to just PM any Admin to discuss. 

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