Actually, BWC has a point, though it's not limited to one particular family's influence. The predominant point of view (though there's a growing number of people who disagree with it) is the gi is not only crucial but mandatory for BJJ training - so much so that most schools won't recognize rank without it (how much people should care about rank vs. ability is a whole different discussion). This is largely a matter of tradition and inertia: the Japanese used the gi, they taught judo to Brazilians using the gi, the art spread around Brazil using the gi, Brazilians spread the art to other countries using the gi, and therefore most people who've learned BJJ to this point have done so with the gi. It logically follows then that most people will back the gi as a necessary training tool, claim that it's "more technical" than no-gi, and that most high level competitors will have spent a good deal of their time training in the gi.
However, now that the art has spread to the US (which has both a long tradition of no-gi grappling and a massive population), we're going to see more and more legitimate BJJ black belts who prefer the no-gi game and choose to run their schools predominantly or entirely without the gi. This is already beginning to happen, but there aren't enough of them yet to make an impact, either in terms of numbers or prestige. Brazilians (again, the vast majority of whom have traditionally been gi-users) still dominate the art because it hasn't been widespread outside of Brazil long enough for there to be significant numbers of BJJ competitors in other countries who started training at an early age. Now, however, we're getting to the point where the kids in places like the Midwest where they start wrestling at a young age are also starting to learn BJJ early on as well, and in another 15 years or so those kids are going to start earning black belts and dominating competitions. And that's when the no-gi game will start becoming more and more respected as a separate but equal form of submission grappling, and we'll see more quality no-gi schools and instructionals.
