[07] The Non-Affiliate, Non-Gatekeeping Jiu-Jitsu Hobbyist Shopping List

I've been playing jiu-jitsu for more than twenty years.

I still have some of the gear that I bought for my very first class and although it's worn, it's in decent shape. My gis usually expire when they rip a seam or a hole appears in the pants, but they stay white for years. My single pink gi has kept its vibrant colour going on two years.

When I showed my wife the outline for this article and she had notes for every single point, I realized she'd chosen almost every product that made this possible.

Our laundry situation. My skincare routine. Even how I eat.

I'd have figured all of this out on my own...

Probably (not).

If I'm an expert in anything it's saying yes when she hands me better solutions.

Which brings us to the problem with most jiu-jitsu gear lists:

They're all about the sexy stuff.

New gis and rashguard collabs. Instructionals and equipment for our home gyms.

This isn't that.

This is a boring list of products we've used around here for years that keeps me showing up to class. These are the sorts of things that make the routine automatic.

They keep our laundry smelling good and lasting long.

They keep us healthy and feeling good.

So here's something different:

A shopping list for jiu-jitsu players with zero affiliate links, zero gatekeeping and zero bullshit.

And it's almost all inexpensive. And stuff we've used month after month for years.

Laundry

Laundry is important for jiu-jitsu.

We immediately know who isn't good at it.

Until I figure out how to earn enough that I can just hire someone to do this for us, here's the products we use and why:

Tide Sport Pods

We've used these... forever? I don't remember when we started.

I'm going to share a secret here: Jessica has always chosen the laundry detergent that we use. She explained to me once that it's important to have some coloured detergent in the packs (the purple stuff) because it counteracts yellowing.

Jessica's Notes:

I actually don't remember having this conversation!

I like the Oxy cleaners for counteracting the yellow. Both the Tide Sport Pods we use for Nolan's stuff and the Gain pods I use for mine have it, and both also have the blue/purple detergent.

One thing I do know about laundry—our stuff gets washed by the water. Detergent just helps.

Water quality wherever you are will drastically affect how your laundry comes out. We're in Victoria, BC and every time I've tested the water coming out of the tap the needle barely moves. Total dissolved solids (TDS— the mineral content) is pretty low compared to other places we've lived.

Additional chemical softeners are sometimes needed.

If your laundry isn't coming out how you imagine it should—if your whites aren't staying white—there's probably a missing piece. A setting on the washer, a different product that better suits the location, or too much or little.

Ask around. It's something you'll solve once and just autopilot forevermore.

Zippered Laundry Bags

We put our gis in the dryer. (Pro-tip: buy pre-shrunk gis if you want to use the dryer.)

Most of my gis have been the same brand over the past ten years. Professor put some stripes on my belt a few weeks back and although I have no problem washing a belt with stripes, running one through a dryer seemed like it would be a problem.

So I've always just hung them up.

Jessica did my laundry the other day and I couldn't find my belt and she showed me this little dryer bag. It has a zipper that tucks away and even if the tape does melt off it's trapped in the bag.

Jessica's Notes:

This is a delicates bag.

I roll the belt up into it—stripes on the inside of the roll—and then put it into the washer/dryer like that. The stripes don't seem to move. They're protected by the outside of the belt and the bag holds it all together.

Gain Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets make our stuff a little slippery to the touch, add an additional scent and help prevent static from collecting our clothes into a lump filled with little lightning bolts.

Jessica had never heard about slippery laundry before.

Jessica's Notes:

I do not find that they make the laundry slippery.

Definitely softer and definitely smelling good.

We use the Gain Flings sheets because I like how our gis smell with them.

I never use these for our regular laundry, they're too scented for me day-to-day, but for the gi I like them (and no, you don't smell like a perfumed gi or anything)

Back in the day I sold water softeners and reverse osmosis systems for homes door-to-door. Part of the pitch was shit-talking dryer sheets.

That's where I learned they make things "slippery."

Probably.

I had to know, so I looked up what's actually in them:

the sheet itself is often polyester, but cellulose and other plant-based materials are gaining popularity due to environmental concerns
Cationic Surfactants are anti-static agents that neutralize positive charges
Lubricants & Softeners coat fibers to reduce friction in the dryer. These are the products that create "slipperiness".
Rheology Modifiers—a type of clay that controls the viscosity of the other chemicals as they melt during the dryer cycle
Fragrances—the research describes these as "systems"—they not only give us the scent that's on the label but mask the natural odours of the ingredients
Preservatives—added to control microbial growth during storage

Slipperiness definitely came from the sales training.

If you're curious the Gemini research is here.

Skin Care

Our skin is the heaviest organ in our body—15% of our total weight.

You'd think more people would take better care of it.

Especially as jiu-jitsu players.

I've seen too many people over the years scratching at dry, itchy skin. Sunburns. Feet that look like potato chips.

The key hazards in jiu-jitsu are staph and ringworm. Sanitation at the club matters. How we launder our gear matters. Wiping out our gym bag and letting it dry matters.

But the actual medium that contains the infections—our skin—matters just as much.

Here's what we use to keep it healthy—all inexpensive and easy to find:

Face Wash

Look, soap is fine.

Jessica's Notes:

Eek! Soap is going to dry out your skin!

Cetaphil is gentle, yet effective on many skin types. It's been recommended to me by dermatologists both in Canada and South Korea

She's had me use this stuff for years now:

It's foamy and soft and I actually do feel a difference between it and when I just use the hand soap on the counter.

Face Lotion

We use another Cetaphil product on our face:

Jessica's Notes:

We use the Cetaphil lotion because it's light and hydrating, and in Victoria we can use it year round. It doesn't break me out or make my face greasy, and the products are reasonably priced.

I like it.

But if she wasn't here directing traffic, I'd probably just use one of these:

Body Lotion

We use this from the neck to our ankles:

There's actually two bottles in the bathroom and I had to ask why.

Jessica's Notes:

One is a thicker lotion best for dryer skin/winter, the other is a thinner one that absorbs faster and isn't as heavy. I alternate depending on how my skin is feeling.

I usually just use the one on the left.

Foot Lotion

We use this on our feet:

I'm in workboots all day long.

Before I put socks on and after I get out of the shower I rub this into my feet.

Dry, cracked and calloused feet are harbourage for athletes foot, which is a number of species of different fungi that also cause ringworm.

And we gotta keep that off the mats.

Sunscreen

I wear sunscreen every day, rain or shine, whether I'm indoors or out.

A habit is automatic and decision-making is not.

But...

I gotta be honest here—the motivation for creating this habit came from when I was watching a Korean makeup show with Jessica years ago and the panel was trying to guess the age of this beautiful woman. I assumed late thirties—she was in her sixties.

Nearly flawless skin.

She explained that while artificial light sources don't cause sunburn and DNA damage, they can contribute the symptoms of aging.

My vanity kicked in.

This is the stuff we use on our faces:

Jessica's Notes:

I like how this is a lightweight SPF 60.

I wear makeup during the day so I don't want something that slides off my face, and over the years I've tried lots and this one seems to do the trick

I keep this other stuff in the truck for reapplication during the day:

I've had ringworm only a couple of times, and staph once, which is a major problem for me because I'm allergic to most antibiotics.

After I stepped up my post-shower skincare routine with the products above, there's been no more skin infections, which were rare, but I immediately noticed any sort of itching sensation throughout the day under my clothes or on my feet almost completely stopped.

It actually feels pretty good when our skin is healthy.

Food

People are seriously hypersensitive about the food we eat.

Food is more than just nutrition.

This is a total third rail and I don't have a lot to say here.

Aeropress

I really want a La Pavoni pump handle espresso machine.

But I'd need an almost equally expensive grinder for the thing, and both would take up an enormous amount of counter space in our small kitchen and there's always just been other priorities.

And here's the other problem.

The Aeropress makes really great coffee. So good in fact that I don't really mind not having espresso in the morning.

This is one of the greatest consumer products of my lifetime. They're inexpensive, robust, portable and there's a fun culture surrounding them that's accessible and inclusive because the barrier to entry is so low.

Espresso Sticks

These are instant coffee sticks.

I know that espresso is a process. The manager at one of the local places we frequent explained to me that "espresso by the grind" is a thing...

(I probably have that phrasing wrong.)

Regardless, it's an excellent facsimile and the aroma instantly triggers memories of sipping coffee on sunny, chill mornings in Korea and Japan.

A Meal Prep Service

This is a big one for us, and I tell everyone I can about it.

These services deliver (or you can pickup—we do) a bunch of meals that you put in the refrigerator and microwave when it's time to eat.

We've tried a few different options in the space but the place we've stuck with for years [how long?] is a local one in the neighbourhood called Freebeets.

We use it for weeknight dinners and it saves us 78 hours a year. We can dayjob, then go help out at the gym, come home have dinner ready in three minutes, eat, relax and then back to the gym for the late class.

It's no exaggeration when I say that it's the greatest lifestyle intervention of my life.