Gi or No gi?

[bjjfighter91]

Well im 14. I started doing wrestling for high school this year. And i've done bjj for only about 3 months (been hard lately going to class because wrestling matches). And my bjj school is making a new program a no gi class. And im wondering if i should do that because i mean gi is fun but i like the more realistic i can get and i think no gi is that.

 

[Pine]

I think after a while you'll find that gi training will help you get techniques down a lot quicker, using collars and sleeves as grips, but no gi is more realistic for self defense, plus people like to say they train no gi jiu jitsu...
My advice is to stick with the gi, your game will get bigger and stronger, as well as teach you to see different parts of the body as levers or handles.
No gi with strikes is even more realistic, maybe you should try that as well.

 

[bjjfighter91]

what if for 1 day of the week i went to a no gi class and the other day i would do gi? Im just confused on what no gi does like how much different it is from no gi. Like i know you dont wear the kimono and all. Anybody done both and can tell me which one they think is better and what they prefer and why.

 

[Pine]

I dare say no gi class will be exactly what you expect; faster jiu jitsu with less to hold and no collar chokes. Do as much no gi as you can, but don't let it interfere with your gi classes and training. I do both gi and no gi, though I force myself to train in gi most days as it's much harder to defend against a good player when you have a gi on. I understand the allure of no gi training, and the associated black shirts with jagged writing that you can wear if you do train no gi, but I honestly believe you'll get your belts a lot quicker as well as get a better grasp on the strategic elements necessary to compete.

Having said all that, you should do what's fun man, I bet you could give me just as many reasons why no gi is better if you wanted to, we are all slaves to a concept.

 

[bjjfighter91]

thanks for the help pine.

 

[Bama Zulu]

I'd get a good base in gi jiu jitsu for about 3-4 months then go no-gi. But continue to train in the gi.

 

[Pine]

thanks for the help pine.

No worries. Where do you train?

 

[bjjfighter91]

88 bjj

 

[Pine]

88 bjj

Are you speaking in code?

 

[randomg1t]

i've been doing no-gi since day one and i love every second of it. but hey, grappling is fun no matter what.

 

[LCDforMe]

I like to train with my gi on and my partner without. This way, I have no handles from their gi and they get all the advantages of rolling a guy with a gi...it keeps my game tighter.

 

[colinm]

neither is better, they are just different. people will say that you should stick with the gi for a certain amount of time, but i did both from the beginning and it didnt fuck up my jiu jitsu or anything. imo, there is no need for the dichotomy. we are all one, eh?

edit: btw, i just noticed you're 14 and doing wrestling and bjj...dude, you're going to be a monster on the mats by the time you're out of high school IF you stick with it.

 

[bjjfighter91]

yeah after that i wanna be doing some stand up game like kickboxing or muay thai but the closest thats around is Lloyd Irvin and thats like 50 mins away.

 

[Soulfly]

Try both of them. Afterwords, see what you prefer. No gi will be easier with your wrestling classes.

 

[ClubberLange]

I wish I'd done more no-gi. I've done BJJ for around 3 years, and I've only trained no-gi about 10 times.
Next weekend I'm entering my first no-gi tourneyment. Should be...
um...
interesting
LOL
At least it's round-robin, not elimination, format, so even if I get smashed, I still get a few matches.

 

[FStep]

gi is good for defense, no gi is good for offense so its a good idea to train both

no gi is also a lot more fast paced and i would say more realistic...

 

[flyingknee16]

I personally prefer no gi.

 

[bjjfighter91]

thanks for help

 

[wOg]

I prefer gi, myself. Nothing against no gi. I just like the gi game.

At 14, there aren't too many things you can do wrong as long as you stick with it: gi, no gi, wrestling ... it's all good at your age.

 

[EPT]

I don't understand what you guys mean about one being more realistic, they're both as realistic as each other. I don't really have a bias towards either one, they both have their advantages, I'd say that if you can you should do both. In my experiance I've found that I've learned things in the gi class that I've been able to use in the no gi class and the other way around too.