Interesting Comments I've heard from instructors

[SprawlanStall]

My first BJJ coach responded "There's no such thing as no-gi jiu-jitsu, once you take off the gi it's submission wrestling" to someone asking if we were doing gi or no-gi that day (the school was pretty flexible and only had 15-30 students.)

My far more popular coach also said something I found interesting "Fuck all that De La Riva, Rubberguard, Spider Guard. There's two guards, and either your guard is open or closed."

While somewhat controversial I think they ring true for the most part. The second quote is also better if read with a thick brazillian accent.

 

[BJJ Beginner]

That first quote is pure unadulterated bullshit. BJJ is still BJJ without the gi, and taking it off doesn't make you a wrestler any more than a wrestler putting on a gi becomes a judoka. It's the approach to grappling and, to a lesser extent, the techniques that define the styles, not what the practitioner happens to be wearing.

The second quote is somewhat interesting. I do think distinguishing between the various guards and positions helps beginners make sense of it all, but I also think a mindset like your instructor is implying here - that everything is connected and you should be thinking of playing open guard as a whole rather than focusing on whichever small piece of it you happen to be in - is beneficial once you start gaining more experience.

 

[Shemhazai]

I disagree with both statements. To say that it's only BJJ as long as you wear a gi is pretty silly considering BJJ's vast tradition in both self defense and NHB. Also, to say that a guard is either closed or open seems a bit of an odd way of organizing it to me - does the former mean only the conventional closed guard, or does it include traditional and lockdown half guard, reverse DLR with the ankles crossed, or 50/50 with the legs figure-foured? To me it makes more sense to distinguish between full and half guards, rather than closed and open.

 

[lechien]

My far more popular coach also said something I found interesting "Fuck all that De La Riva, Rubberguard, Spider Guard. There's two guards, and either your guard is open or closed."

While somewhat controversial I think they ring true for the most part. The second quote is also better if read with a thick brazillian accent.

He is correct.

Back in the days in Brasil, they just call it open or closed.

The rest is just created for marketing/advertising/branding etc...

 

[lechien]

My first BJJ coach responded "There's no such thing as no-gi jiu-jitsu, once you take off the gi it's submission wrestling" to someone asking if we were doing gi or no-gi that day (the school was pretty flexible and only had 15-30 students.)
.

That is also an old school point of view. back in the days, you take off the Gi, it is almost anyting goes type of training i.e heelhook, neck crank etc..

But now that the IBJJF is having its world NOGI championship, pretty much NOGI is just BJJ without GI (including the same BJJ GI rules).

In fact Gi-less term was pretty clever (I think Cesar Gracie used it forst).

 

[xcydal]

Semantics.

 

[Neu!]

My old instructor "There are no styles, there is only one guy standing and another one laying on a coma" I think he might have stolen that from a movie though

 

[Neu!]

He is correct.

Back in the days in Brasil, they just call it open or closed.

The rest is just created for marketing/advertising/branding etc...

Besides the "marketing/advertising/branding" reasons, i also think it is good to classify the different guards as a way of systematizing it and making it less confusing to learn and teach.

 

[lechien]

Besides the "marketing/advertising/branding" reasons, i also think it is good to classify the different guards as a way of systematizing it and making it less confusing to learn and teach.

I agree but you can imagine the irritation of a guy that trained for 20 years and this new students turn up asking about all these freaking new names! His response would be: "O yeah, you mean open guard!"

 

[teamcarvalho]

He is correct.

Back in the days in Brasil, they just call it open or closed.

The rest is just created for marketing/advertising/branding etc...

True...plus there was not all these stupid names for every technique....back in the day it was...."Okay in this situation you will do it like this or do like that"...no names.

 

[Cachimbo]

My first BJJ coach responded "There's no such thing as no-gi jiu-jitsu, once you take off the gi it's submission wrestling" to someone asking if we were doing gi or no-gi that day (the school was pretty flexible and only had 15-30 students.)

My far more popular coach also said something I found interesting "Fuck all that De La Riva, Rubberguard, Spider Guard. There's two guards, and either your guard is open or closed."

While somewhat controversial I think they ring true for the most part. The second quote is also better if read with a thick brazillian accent.

Is your second instructor relson gracie by any chance?

The other day we were asking our instructor about the "Tozi Pass" and he was like "What the fuck are you talking about tozi pass? That shit's just a regular newazza pass."

 

[greasemonk3]

I don't know the name of my guard, I just know the sound it makes when it takes a man's back

I see what you did there

 

[hughes fan]

I think that different guards are important because some guys can't use guards effectively because of their body shape.

 

[Doctor Venture]

Well giving it a name is a little easier than explaining, "open guard with my leg wrapped up around his leg". Its not a big deal when youre on the mat, because you can always just show the person what you are describing, but in other situations it makes teaching easier.

 

[HomerPlata]

In the old days, trains and boats were steam-powered and television was black and white. The old days aren't necessarily better just because they came first.

 

[bjjaz]

Oh well...

 

[pailum117]

My first BJJ coach responded "There's no such thing as no-gi jiu-jitsu, once you take off the gi it's submission wrestling" to someone asking if we were doing gi or no-gi that day (the school was pretty flexible and only had 15-30 students.) THAT'S RETARDED

My far more popular coach also said something I found interesting "Fuck all that De La Riva (disagree, De La Riva can have some sick open guard sweeps), Rubberguard (agree), Spider Guard (mostly agree). There's two guards, and either your guard is open or closed."

That may be the dumbest thing I've heard a bjj player say. Good luck doing ANYTHING IN JIU JITSU WITHOUT A STRONG HALF GUARD, AND GOOD LUCK EVER GETTING TO TOP WITHOUT GOOD BUTTERFLY GUARD.

While somewhat controversial I think they ring true for the most part. The second quote is also better if read with a thick brazillian accent.

Pretty much this instructor is way to narrow minded

 

[Red Harvest]

I think that different guards are important because some guys can't use guards effectively because of their body shape.

Absolutely true. BJJ is designed for the practicioner to adapt it to his/her strengths and abilities. Multiple guards are necessary and the thinking of there being only two guards is just antiquated and down right wrong. As for the gi/no gi thing, I really don't care what you call it.

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

My instructor said one time

"Jeremy you have the ability to win your division every time, you're just not in your division"

He was speaking about me being overweight

 

[Sloth]

Is your second instructor relson gracie by any chance?

Haha! That's the first thing I thought too.