Gi and No Gi are the 2 forms that make Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Gi Jiu Jitsu is grappling with the use of a traditional Gi, which allows you to grab the clothing of your opponent. No Gi is grappling without the traditional uniform, instead you wear shorts and a rash guard and can’t grab clothing.

 

To be a complete BJJ player, you should train in both. Marcelo Garcia and Roger Gracie are good examples of  BJJ players that are world class in both. Usually if you start training in majority without the Gi, then you will have a much harder time adapting to the Gi due to the change in grip fighting and collar chokes not found in no gi . However No Gi has many other aspects which are not as emphasised in the Gi such as leg locks and various passing styles such as float passing. The gi also allows you to control your opponent much easier and makes escape much harder which means there is less movement.

 

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF NO GI

 

  • Self Defence. One of the main reasons students start BJJ is self defence. No gi is perfect for this as it’s a more accurate interpretation of a street fight, in a real fight you won’t always be able to grab pants or a collar and this drastically changes the direction of a fight.
  • MMA. Mixed Martial Arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It has a huge fan base and a lot of people start doing a martial art such as bjj because they watch MMA or the UFC. Most MMA fighters only train no gi as it’s the most realistic to the grappling they do in the cage for this reason anyone wanting to do mma no gi bjj is the best way to work on your ground skills.
  • Entertainment. With the sport of BJJ growing rapidly no gi is becoming extremely popular. This is due to the entertainment aspect of it to the average person watching. No gi has a lot more movement and this produces more submissions and escapes which is overall more entertaining to watch.
  • Teaches better control in positions. Learning to hold down a slippery opponent is far more difficult than holding down someone who is wearing a gi. When you have learned to control an opponent who is not wearing a gi it will become easy to control someone who is.
  • Speed. The reduced importance of the grips and reduced friction in the no-gi game means the pace of the match is much higher. Practising at this higher speed improves reflexes and assists in the development of a reactive, free-flowing movement which is crucial during positional scrambles.

 

We are of the opinion that it is good to train both. Training no gi will help your gi game and vice versa. At the end of the day it’s all jiu jitsu and we believe your jiu jitsu should be universal and work under any circumstances whether it be in a gi, no gi, mma or on the street.

 

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