I was wondering if it is just me or does it seem like a lot of people going no-gi these days? What do you guys think? I'm going to assume sinply because there is a lot of people going into no-gi and there is more money in no-gi to be won than there is in gi competitions. What do you guys think?
Jay
I like both.I think with the Gi teaches you to be more tecnical.
I personally like wearing my gi. I think it improves my game, and makes me a much better no-gi fighter.
I was talking to a guy at my gym who trains only in no gi. He started training in a gi when he got into grappling, then he made a switch to no gi. When we were talking he brought up an interesting point. He said that a gi teachs you bad habits for no gi. You have so many handles with a gi that when you go no gi you will or may find yourself treying to search for those same handles that are not there. That was an interesting point that he made. Kinda made me think, if you get into no gi competitions, do you hinder yourself from training with a gi? Notice that guys like Eddie Bravo, Marc Laimon, Dean Lister, Javier Vasquez, and many more who started with a gi, now mostly compete in no gi. I remeber a thread that Eddie posted on he was so pro no gi, he was praising no gi, so what happen to the gi? I've also noticed the new wave of guys in Mundials. It's like the guys from the days before are now doing no gi and a new wave of gi fighters are now taking over in mundials. Just some thoughts that I think about.
bjjfighterchick:
You know, I love the gi and I to feel it helps my game too in no gi. But I always worry about my legs. I started grappling in no-gi. I wrestled and did shooto in high school. Bakc then I felt extremely confident with my legs and my legs submissions. But now when I play a gi game, I use my legs a lot and I don't worry about them too much. Considering there are no leg submissions allowed under Black Belt (well knee bare are allowed). But I feel when I go no gi, I find my self playing with the same mind set. I've been concentrating a lot on my gi game which is keeping me from worrying about my legs. So when I go no gi where it's open feild on legs, I find my self getting in far too much danger with legs. What do you think about that situation? Thanks.
Which has more chance of injury? I'm thinking no-gi?
thamks, good info Maccabee.
i exclusivly train no-gi, I did judo for 5 years prior to starting BJJ, I took a year off after judo for personal reasons.
When i went into jiujitsu, I had outgrown my jacket, so I wore gi pants and a tshirt. I LOVED it, I eventually picked up a rashguard and shorts.
I LOVE working for natural handles, I LOVE the fact that the selection of techniques is limited (forcing you to get better at the ones available), I LOVE the speed (especially for a 125lb stickboy like myself), I just find it much more fun and suited to the game I play.
its 3:15 am so im not sure if Im totally making sence
The thing I find funny is that Eddie trained under JJ Machado, one of the best gi and no gi grapplers in the world. He says that you should train in a gi no matter what. Now Eddie decides that if you wanna compete in no gi you need to train solely without a gi.
Am I the only person who thinks that Eddie is discounting the years he spent in a gi when it comes to his skill without a gi? I doubt he'd be as good as he is if it wasn't for the years training in a gi.
i love no gi cause i feel more smoother when rolling . with the gi i always get caught up in a web. especially when im getting pinned, it's a bitch to get out.
I prefer no gi but wearing the gi does teach you good habits like proper posture in the guard. I also find that I gas quicker with the gi.
they are both definetly have their place
i personaly think gi is more important tho, especialy to beginners ( people with less than 4 years experience)
the gi teaches good habbits and influences a slower and more technical game. a fast game is a game in which much flies past you. a slow game is easily processed and you have better learning opertunities.
plus, its not as if people dont have collers on the street....99% people will have cloths on.
I train more gi than no gi. I find that my no gi game is solid because of my gi training. The transition is pretty easy for me. There are two points that are glaring to me though in the transition.
1. I find my feet and legs MUCH more vulnerable to locks when playing the guard.
2. I find it hard to pass someone who has a decent guard since I am a "cloth" passer.
I think if you start gi and become proficient you can hang in no-gi. But if you start no-gi I think the transition to gi is harder.
So, for a beginner would you recommend working gi only for awhile or both? (club has gi 3x a week and no-gi 2x a week.)
If you go gi all the time and then go no gi you will be known as a shirt shredder.
or so I have heard
thanks MarsMan i'll stick to gi only then for now.
NO GI!
I train in Japanese JuJitsu and shootfighting (it's still pretty much jujitsu just more fight oriented).
I have learnt not to use the Gi, and much prefer grappling without it, as my competitive interests lie in MMA and submission grappling. In the climate I live in people mostly where shorts and t-shirts so I think no-gi is more suitable from a self defence perspective too.
At JJJ we wear a GI, and I was grappling with a person who was very experienced in JJJ, Judo, and has also done quite a bit of BJJ. I found it incredibly frustrating how he manipulated me by use of Gi Holds, he even pulled the Gi Top over my head and grabbed my belt to secure me.
I feel like the only way to be competitive against him is to use the Gi too but then I believe that is no good for my sub-grappling and MMA.
I actually got warned in an MMA fight for grabbing the guys shorts to prevent him from passing my half-guard and I thought to myself "I wander we're I got that habit from... I guess it was from training in the Gi".
just my two cents...
NewGrappler - out of 100 answers youll get 50 gi 50 no-gi
I personaly would do both but if only one then no-gi
you can do no-gi moves with the gi , but you cant do most gi moves no-gi as you dont have the collar chokes to set-up armbars and cloth to stop them from getting out of holds and such you must learn to use your body differently Goodluck buddy
Excellent advice ppl.
Thanks!
glad you create this thread jjay.