Gi or No-Gi: a few thoughts on the subject

Should one train with or without the gi many ask. I would like to give some of my thoughts on the subject in this article.

Gracie Magazine had a good page with all the experts giving their opinions on the subject a couple of months back. The traditional view is that one should train with the gi and then once he has absorbed the fundamentals of jiu jitsu he can transition to no-gi while continuing to train in the gi.

This traditional view is no often debated as jiu jitsu continues to evolve and new techniques are developed like the Rubber Guard for example. Guys like Eddie Bravo will tell you that it worth starting your jiu jitsu training without the gi. There are certainly fewer moves and if you are training in mixed martial arts, you don't have the gi to work with.

Training with the gi is no doubt more technical. There are far more techniques available here and in a way you get used to relying on the opponents gi which can be a bad habit. For both it is a little strange to transition from one style to the other.

Some also argue that no-gi is more effective in real life for self-defense purposes. You or your opponent may not have a gi and for this reason it is worthwhile training without it. The same argument also works the other way as well and I would argue that from standing the argument is especially strong. During the colder seasons of the year everyone has a coat or something to grab. Here judo players would no doubt be at a great advantage performing throws that could be very effective especially if you land on concrete. With the gi you have so much more control and you have many more options. You can use the spider-guard, you can use chokes, you can use the additional control to carryout effective sweeps.

The central issue is that everyone has his own opinion on this and that is mainly based on the background of the person. Wrestlers prefer no-gi while judo and often jiu jitsu guys like the gi.

The other issue is how exciting to watch each of the sports are. Many opinions here also. No-gi grappling is much more dynamic, much faster but less technical. Gi jiu jitsu like the BJJ World Championships are a great display of highly technical ground game and judo from stand up. I think that both are great as long as the opponents really look for the submission and do not focus on defense and stalling.

ADCC 2009 will be a very exciting event and I will be there to enjoy it:)

ADCC 2009!!!

Ok quickly, for those that don't know ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) Submission Wrestling World Championship is a competition for professional athletes who have been successful at the highest levels of Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo, Sambo, Shooto and Mixed Martial Arts. The rules disallow strikes while promoting grappling and submissions.

This is one of the most prestigious and exciting events combining different styles of grappling and minimizing restrictions. The competition was created by Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the former United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, together with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Nelson Monteiro. The first competition took place on March 20, 21 & 22, 1998 in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. (Source: Wikipedia)

In the past many stars have competed in this tournament including Royler & Renzo Gracie as well as top-players of today including Xande Ribeiro, Roger Gracie and Jacare. (in fact almost all top stars have competed here since this is the biggest no-gi tournament around)

Now here is the link to the 2009 tournament link

I am telling you it is going to be amazing. This year it will be held in Barcelona, Spain at the end of September. This is going to be a tournament that even a remote fan is going to want to see. They havent announced the full list of competitors yet but......... just think, it is official, Fedor Emelianenko will be participating. The greatest MMA fighter ever. Everyone is going to want to be there, watch, fight it doesnt matter.

I think it is going to be very interesting. Yes jiu jitsu is very different to Sambo, but a guy with so much experience, training and ability, it will be very interesting to see how the fight goes. Of course I would also love to see Xande, Roger, Jacare and Monson there together with the other heavyweights.

Lets keep our eyes open for this one. This is going to be a sensation for the martial arts world.