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I got a good response from the http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/total-jiu-jitsu-cesar-gracie-1288349/ thread so I thought I would share some more. The gi/no gi debate has a long glorious history. We haven't had one on here in a while IIRC.
I think it is important to do both even though I prefer the gi. I need to be prepared to defend myself if someone attacks me in a Speedo.:icon_twis
TO GI OR NOT TO GI
by Cesar Gracie
So you’ve been training for some time now at your local Brazilian Jiu-jitsu school and you’re beginning to feel pretty confident about your grappling skills. Your gi chokes are coming along nicely and you’ve even become adept at executing sweeps, not to mention some tricky new moves you learned from a visiting Brazilian “Master”. Watching shows like Pride and the U.F.C, however, you don’t quite understand why the fighters don’t use some of these moves to end their fights.
Then one day you train with a gi-less grappler who knows enough jiu-jitsu to not give you an easy armbar or his back for you to apply a choke. From your back (you will be on your back because you haven’t learned any wrestling and your opponent has) you vainly look for his lapel or sleeves to work with, but since there are none you quickly realize that your grappling game is not prepared for this. Even worse, unless you’re in complete denial, you come to terms that if strikes were being used you might need to reconsider your dental plan. What went wrong? Has it become time to reassess the importance of wearing a gi at all? To answer this, we should first examine why Brazilian Jiu-jitsu adopted the gi in the first place.
In the early days of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the emphasis was always on developing a system that could be employed to defeat an opponent even if you were smaller and weaker than he was. With this in mind, various moves were formulated and refined for maximum effect in self-defense situations. Kimonos were worn because average street clothes were not durable enough to take the abuse of constant training.
With the proliferation of tournaments, jiu-jitsu has now developed more for point scoring and has, in many instances, turned a blind eye to its original roots of self-defense and combat effectiveness. Tournament players are too often content on scoring a couple of points or even a mere advantage and then stalling for the rest of the match to secure the win. It’s no wonder that students are left ill prepared to deal with situations that occur outside the guidelines of sport jiu-jitsu.
However, if we eliminate the gi completely we would be making an even greater mistake than those that only train with a gi. After all, most real life confrontations will occur between people who are wearing shirts and pants. Gi training is crucial for dealing with such scenarios. If you are not accustomed to training in a gi, you might very well find yourself unconscious after being choked out with your own shirt or jacket by a simple lapel choke.
Do not think that street fighting resembles the fighting we see in the cage or ring today because it doesn’t. Street fights consist of striking and grappling while using whatever attire people wear on a daily basis. Only training with the gi will adequately prepare you for this. It is also of no coincidence that the top MMA grapplers were all at one time gi- wearing champions. The gi makes your escapes more precise and your control more defined. At the same time, it is a mistake however to be completely dependant on the gi. You must be ready to grapple without it to get used to the different holds and grip adjustments.
The conclusion? To be a well-rounded grappler, you must train with and without the gi. Only then will you be ready for any situation, whether it’s on the mat or on the street.
- Cesar Gracie
I think it is important to do both even though I prefer the gi. I need to be prepared to defend myself if someone attacks me in a Speedo.:icon_twis
TO GI OR NOT TO GI
by Cesar Gracie
So you’ve been training for some time now at your local Brazilian Jiu-jitsu school and you’re beginning to feel pretty confident about your grappling skills. Your gi chokes are coming along nicely and you’ve even become adept at executing sweeps, not to mention some tricky new moves you learned from a visiting Brazilian “Master”. Watching shows like Pride and the U.F.C, however, you don’t quite understand why the fighters don’t use some of these moves to end their fights.
Then one day you train with a gi-less grappler who knows enough jiu-jitsu to not give you an easy armbar or his back for you to apply a choke. From your back (you will be on your back because you haven’t learned any wrestling and your opponent has) you vainly look for his lapel or sleeves to work with, but since there are none you quickly realize that your grappling game is not prepared for this. Even worse, unless you’re in complete denial, you come to terms that if strikes were being used you might need to reconsider your dental plan. What went wrong? Has it become time to reassess the importance of wearing a gi at all? To answer this, we should first examine why Brazilian Jiu-jitsu adopted the gi in the first place.
In the early days of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the emphasis was always on developing a system that could be employed to defeat an opponent even if you were smaller and weaker than he was. With this in mind, various moves were formulated and refined for maximum effect in self-defense situations. Kimonos were worn because average street clothes were not durable enough to take the abuse of constant training.
With the proliferation of tournaments, jiu-jitsu has now developed more for point scoring and has, in many instances, turned a blind eye to its original roots of self-defense and combat effectiveness. Tournament players are too often content on scoring a couple of points or even a mere advantage and then stalling for the rest of the match to secure the win. It’s no wonder that students are left ill prepared to deal with situations that occur outside the guidelines of sport jiu-jitsu.
However, if we eliminate the gi completely we would be making an even greater mistake than those that only train with a gi. After all, most real life confrontations will occur between people who are wearing shirts and pants. Gi training is crucial for dealing with such scenarios. If you are not accustomed to training in a gi, you might very well find yourself unconscious after being choked out with your own shirt or jacket by a simple lapel choke.
Do not think that street fighting resembles the fighting we see in the cage or ring today because it doesn’t. Street fights consist of striking and grappling while using whatever attire people wear on a daily basis. Only training with the gi will adequately prepare you for this. It is also of no coincidence that the top MMA grapplers were all at one time gi- wearing champions. The gi makes your escapes more precise and your control more defined. At the same time, it is a mistake however to be completely dependant on the gi. You must be ready to grapple without it to get used to the different holds and grip adjustments.
The conclusion? To be a well-rounded grappler, you must train with and without the gi. Only then will you be ready for any situation, whether it’s on the mat or on the street.
- Cesar Gracie
