No gi jiu jitsu

[Headhunter]

So my club offers no gi classes as well. I was thinking about taking 1 and just wondering what the difference is. Apart from the obvious...I mean what's the difference in application between the gi and no gi. I know some say no gi is better for self defence but just wondering on opinions.

 

[marques]

Cold climate, gi. Warm climate, no gi. If it was that simple...

 

[kuniggety]

The difference is grips. This one difference hugely changes the dynamic of the roll. No gi tends to be faster paced, slippery, and winds up involving a bit more athleticism. It's a lot easier to escape different holds and submissions simply because they don't have your gi to hold onto. Gi is, I feel, more technical. It tends to move at a glacial pace compared to no gi. I practice almost entirely in the gi but I think it's important to do some training in both.

 

[Steve]

As was said, grips for sure. So, one thing to know is that in Gi, grabbing and using the Gi are encouraged. In no Gi, grabbing cloth is a no no.

No Gi, getting chokes is easier, but arm locks are not. Have to be very tight. Rolling no Gi will show you just how sloppy you really are.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

As was said, grips for sure. So, one thing to know is that in Gi, grabbing and using the Gi are encouraged. In no Gi, grabbing cloth is a no no.

No Gi, getting chokes is easier, but arm locks are not. Have to be very tight. Rolling no Gi will show you just how sloppy you really are.

I'm curious, why are chokes easier in no-gi? I've always done most of my training in a gi, and usually (except in my Judo time) worked to not use the gi except where we're purposely looking at how we could take advantage of heavy fabric (coats, etc.). I can see where some things are easier with the gi, but I'm not familiar enough with BJJ chokes to see where they get easier without the gi.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Training with the gi is good for developing defense. Your opponent has lots of handles to control (and choke) you with. It's much harder to escape bad positions or submissions with just athleticism and explosiveness, so your defensive technique gets better.

Training without the gi is good for developing offense. You don't have such good handles on your opponent, who tends to get slippery once you've been going for a while. If you want to keep your opponent from escaping your controls and submissions, you have to improve your offensive technique.

I won't say one is more technical than the other, but no-gi tends to be faster paced and rewards athleticism more.

 

[Steve]

I'm curious, why are chokes easier in no-gi? I've always done most of my training in a gi, and usually (except in my Judo time) worked to not use the gi except where we're purposely looking at how we could take advantage of heavy fabric (coats, etc.). I can see where some things are easier with the gi, but I'm not familiar enough with BJJ chokes to see where they get easier without the gi.

Less friction. On chokes like guillotine or RNC it's easier to slip your arm in. On head/arm chokes, it's easier to get your arm deeper to connect.

 

[Charlemagne]

I think you will find that no gi is faster. I also think you'll find out how well conditioned you are in pretty short order. LOL

 

[kuniggety]

I won't say one is more technical than the other, but no-gi tends to be faster paced and rewards athleticism more.

That was really my reference of more technical in gi as you can't explode out of positions/rely on athleticisms are much. The addition of grips, collar chokes, etc add a few more elements not present in no-go. Of course no-gi has some extra considerations too.

 

[Headhunter]

Yeah I thought the grips would be the main we did our takedown class which is in a gi and a guy asked could these throws be used in no gi and he said yes you'd just have to change how you grab them but thebase technique will still work. Anyway I won't go into no gi class yet a friend of mine who trains there said no gi is mainly blue belt upwards but it's not a requirement or anything it's just who goes. I'll give it a couple months yet I think

 

[Charlemagne]

Yeah I thought the grips would be the main we did our takedown class which is in a gi and a guy asked could these throws be used in no gi and he said yes you'd just have to change how you grab them but thebase technique will still work. Anyway I won't go into no gi class yet a friend of mine who trains there said no gi is mainly blue belt upwards but it's not a requirement or anything it's just who goes. I'll give it a couple months yet I think

There are some guys doing some cool stuff with Judo in a no gi context. Check out Freestyle Judo for one example, though I am sure there are more.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Less friction. On chokes like guillotine or RNC it's easier to slip your arm in. On head/arm chokes, it's easier to get your arm deeper to connect.

AH! That makes sense. Thanks!