A good packing list is essential when you travel for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Here we discuss 6 of the essential items I always bring with me. Especially when going to Brazil.
Lightweight gi’s
Your suitcase space is limited, but when you’re training twice a day you’ll need at least 4 gi’s to make it through the week. Those gi’s better be lightweight. Not only because they take up less space and weight in your luggage, they also dry a lot faster. Brazil can be quite humid, and when it’s rainy gi’s can take up to three or four days to dry. Lightweight gi’s speed up that process immensely. My favorite is the Fuji Suparaito. I’m slightly biased though, as Fuji has been supporting me since I was a blue belt.
Ear / Knee protectors
Nobody wants to get injured, but it often happens when you least want it. A cauliflower ear or bruised knee can ruin your training trip to Brazil. Even worse if you didn’t take any precautions. It’s hard to find quality protectors in Brazil, so I always bring my own. For ear protectors I like Cliff Keen, for knee protectors I just use any cheap volleyball kneepads.
Microfiber towel
Just like gi’s, towels can take up quite some space and be slow to dry. Using microfiber towels was a huge gamechanger for my travel game. It’s slightly less pleasant to dry yourself with one of them, but they take up a fraction of the space and weight of normal towels, and dry overnight, even in humid Brazil. You can survive month long training trips with 2 or 3 of these.
Earphones + 1
Especially when you’re living in the gym, you will need a way to zone out and relax every once in a while. Watching a series or listening to music using your earphones is a crucial part in that. But what if they break? Quality electronics are hard to come by in Brazil, and when you do find them, they’re expensive. Always bring an extra pair of earphones in case yours break.
E-reader
I know I know, I want a full bookcase, I love the feeling of paper, real books smell so good.
I get you, I really do. But when travelling, nothings beats an e-reader. You got an entire library of books that fit into your pocket. It’s also the perfect way to read ‘Train BJJ in Brazil’, my guide to live the BJJ lifestyle in Brazil. You can learn more about that in this video (point to top)
Conclusion
I hope those packing tips helped. If you want to see exactly what I pack for my training trips to Brazil, get my book now. The first 200 to buy will get the full travel essentials list as a bonus. Basic Portuguese for Jiu jitsu is also included.