About Us
Gaidama Jiu Jitsu was founded because owner Kendall Vernon wanted something better for herself
When Gaidama founder Kendall Vernon started training Jiu Jitsu in 2015, she tried every pair of grappling spats and women's BJJ leggings on the market in search of the best women's spats.
But every pair of spats she tried featured cheap fabrics, slipping waistbands, and lackluster fits. And because they were all see-through, she was forced to wear shorts over or under her spats.
Kendall got tired of poorly made, low quality women's spats that felt like an afterthought. She was sick of worrying about what was showing too much and where, wearing shorts on top or underneath, and having to adjust her waistband in the middle of rounds.
What she wanted was the ultimate pair of women’s Jiu Jitsu spats, but they didn’t exist.
So she made them.
And she didn't stop there.
Kendall's skill in garment design, passion for engineering, and obsession with textiles eventually brought not just the world's best women's BJJ spats to market, but also saw the introduction of highly technical, top performing Jiu Jitsu rashguards, board shorts, gis, apparel, and more.
When her husband and male training partners voiced a desire for men's BJJ gear with the same elevated standards that revolutionized the women's grappling wear industry, Gaidama's top rated men's Jiu Jitsu line was born.
Gaidama sets the global standard for thoughtfully designed Jiu Jitsu gear for men, women, and kids through our over-engineered designs, technical performance fabrics, and tailored fits.
Everything we make at Gaidama meets or exceeds the peak standards that Kendall originally set for quality, performance, and fit. And with our community as our guide, we are constantly evolving our products, incorporating consumer feedback into the next iteration of our designs and beyond.
Shop GaidamaSupporting Small Business
At Gaidama we have a dedication not just to our community, but also to small businesses within that community. At every opportunity we aim to support those working at the grassroots level, because we’ve been there. We know exactly how hard it is to thrive as a small business in a corporate world and we believe that the highest levels of character, quality, and service are found in boutique businesses.
That’s why we partner with small businesses owned by athletes in the BJJ community for soaps, soaks, patches, decals, keychains, and more.
Shop AccessoriesPreserving Our Planet
Another core mission at Gaidama is the preservation of our common Mother, our Mother Earth. Things like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and our dying reefs and dwindling forests inspire us to support change.
That’s why we print our packing slips on 100% recycled paper and package exclusively with mailers and shipping labels made in the USA by EcoEnclose, one of our favorite companies spearheading cutting edge innovations for eco-friendly and sustainable packaging solutions.
Our EcoEnclose poly mailers are reusable, 100% recycled, and 100% thin film recyclable, which check all the boxes for us from a sustainability standpoint. Furthermore, the majority of our gear is packaged in 100% curbside recyclable FSC-certified Glassine paper packaging sourced from sustainably harvested forests.
And every quarter we make donations to The Ocean Cleanup Project, one of the most inspiring and innovative non-profits of our time, working tirelessly to clean up our oceans and prevent more waste from heading downstream through cleanup efforts in our river systems.