Q&A: To Gi or Not to Gi? Why did you go to Gi grappling?
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Question: from Twitter: Wayne (@vinson06) asks: Why did you go to Gi grappling?
Answer:
Special thanks to xharekx33 amazing photography!
Hey Wayne n Bruce. My transition to mostly Gi BJJ occurred when my PB instructor, Tyrone Glover, introduced GI work into City Boxing which at the time was nogi all the time. Over time I began to realize that I had a lot more techniques available to me with the addition of “handles” which of course are the things you can grip on the Gi jacket; collar, sleeves, belt, pants etc. Another reason is that as I got older (and a little slower lol) the Gi game was more methodical, slower and negated some of the pure athleticism many of younger wrestlers possessed.
I also like the Judo throws that you can implement in BJJ, especially competition. Since I’m always looking for any edge I can get to catch up with some of the really experienced sport jiu-jitsu players I tried to get better at Judo take downs than my opponents. I found that a lot of sport jiu-jitsu players (people who train to compete in BJJ tournaments vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu only for self defense) didn’t always have the best stand up game.
Interestingly, I use nogi techniques when rolling gi and vice versa. You also have a lot more options for sweeps and subs in Gi game which I like. Finally, the belt system in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gives you yet another incentive to improve and train consistently.
Nice question Wayne!
