Why I Wear Spats In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

By Corey Kuropas, December 12, 2016

For those of you who check out the many articles on BJJ Fanatics, you have probably seen one of the pieces that I’ve written. In addition to writing, I am a BJJ purple belt who has competed in BJJ, Submission Wrestling (no gi), MMA, Kickboxing and Boxing. Out of everything, I have mainly competed in Submission Wrestling. I love the creative aspect and active scrambles of no gi BJJ. And because of my no gi favoritism, I wears spats. Not only for competition, but for training as well. Spats can be great for a no gi grappler.

First, the biggest reason why I wear them is because of their tactical purpose. I am a big guard player. Closed guard, butterfly guard and x guard all areas where I like to play at. Wearing spats works great for a guard player. Due to the fact that they wick the sweat away from your legs, and provide friction, your guard can become tighter. Your opponents will less likely be able to simply pull out of submissions because your legs will be less slippery. Triangles, omoplatas and armbars will be tougher to simply slip out of.

Also spats work great for another big portion of my game…leg locks. Any leg lock specialist knows how annoying the sweat factor can be. Before you can finish a leg lock, you must be able to hold a leg entanglement. Opponents when put in an entanglement can roll furiously to try and get out of that leg attack. When you wear just shorts, that is possible. The sweat can make that roll an effective escape. When wearing spats, that roll’s effectiveness goes down a considerable amount. You can most definitely use them to your advantage and to make your leg attacks higher percentage techniques.

Besides the tactical use, they do have a practical use. When I wear spats, I don’t get some of the minor annoyances from Jiu Jitsu. No longer do I get mat burn, or bruises. Those minor injuries become null. Wearing them in training also reduces how sore my legs and hips get. I’m able to heal up faster and be able to stay ready on the mats. And on top of all that, I have a much lesser chance of getting some of the gross mat diseases that are out there.

If you are a no gi guy or gal, do yourself a solid and get a couple of spats. They are only beneficial to your training and competition needs. BJJ Fanatics has some great pairs of them on sale.

Click here to see some awesome Impassable spats!

Click here to see some really cool Lutador spats!