Thats a good point andre.
I always thought that it was a lack of quality no-gi grapplers that had something to do with it.
I have a very simple opinion on this. Do both (maybe 50-50?), because a) both are fun and b) chicks dig guys in pyjamas.
Actually, if you really want to improve your ground game here's what you do in training....
You wear a gi and your opponent does not wear a gi.
Now let that boggle your mind a little bit, biotches!
Mind hurting from Bolo's innovation.....
I was surprised to hear Marcello Garcia say that he trains no-gi only once a week. He claims he spends most of his time train with the gi.
Watch and listen to Marcello in this video interview from the video "Arte Suave".
People seem to got so focused on what someone like Garcia is wearing when he trains and they don't see to look at what is really important- WHAT DOES HIS GAME CONSIST OF??!!
Armdrag
Butterfly guard
X-guard
Back control and choke
Armlock from side control
Pressure guard passes (not grabbing the pants and running around)
In the video clip, he was doing oma plata
So is there anything that you guys notice? All of these aspects of Garcia's game can be done gi or no gi. Of course when he trains gi, he will do a gi choke instead of the rear nakes choke, but the core aspect of his game is the same regards of whether he is wearing the gi or not. That's why it doesn't matter that he trains with the gi most of time and still does well in no gi competition.
That is why I have mentioned that some of my students have competed in no gi and NHB and done well even though I only train with gi with them. In my system, the core must apply to gi and no gi. If you just follow that principle then it doesn't really matter what you wear or don't wear when you train.
I agree with Bolo. The Gi is a great tool but the underlying fundamentals stay the same - you just have to train the right stuff.
"6. Pressure guard passes (not grabbing the pants and running around)"
Actually he does some runaround no-gi passes too. The same ones that can be done with gi but grabbing ankles.
Bolo,
What you say is true and logical.
But some people on this forum don't think it is possible to do that (apply the core of ones game to either gi or no gi).
So basically it comes down to the "core" (fundamental principles and techniques) of one's game and being able to apply that "core" in any situation, gi or no gi.
Indrek,
Of the competition footage I have seen of Garcia, he passes with pressure. I don't know if he teaches some running around passes in his videos or not, but a lot of instructors tend to teach one thing and do another. For example, the first guard pass that Saulo teaches in his videos is to grab the pants and step around, however, when his brother Xande conducted a seminar, he said not to run around and the best way to pass was to smash.