is BBJ effective without the gi?

[Panagiotis97]

i have seen that many BJJ techniques require a gi to be executed...

can BJJ be used against someone who is not wearing a gi?

dont tell me that there are techniques that can be applied to someone who isnt wearing a gi, i am talking about the entire art, all the techniques, everything

what if its summertime and the opponent is wearing a T-shirt?
can you grab his hands as easy as you grab the sleeves of the gi and do your tecnhiques?

[Sean Dempsey]

Yes BJJ is effective without a gi. You can learn effective BJJ without wearing a gi or without having your opponent wear a gi.

My instructors view on this is "I don't really care if the guy wears a gi or not. Without a gi, I lose a few chokes I can do, but really it doesn't matter to me."

You are asking alot of questions that just going down and taking a few BJJ classes would solve.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Or buying a good BJJ book, like the Master Text.

[BadgerFu57]

for the most part, the gi is a training tool. Basically, among other things, is it slows things down. I think it is beneficial to train both with and without the gi. Once you get the fundamentals, you can train without the gi. There are 100 ways to do an armbar, and I am sure 95 of them work without a gi.

[Sean Dempsey]

Everyone forgets that a big idea about the gi is to help your opponents offense, not to help your own.

You wear a gi so your opponent can choke YOU, control YOUR sleeves and cuffs, grab YOUR lapels. The gi makes it harder for YOU to escape.

[mpg9999]

Originally posted by Sean Dempsey
Everyone forgets that a big idea about the gi is to help your opponents offense, not to help your own.

You wear a gi so your opponent can choke YOU, control YOUR sleeves and cuffs, grab YOUR lapels. The gi makes it harder for YOU to escape.

Exactly. I finally bought a Gi and grappled last night for the first time in it. It was a world of difference. The other person has alot more control of you.

-Mike

[Mr. Miyagi]

Judging from how well bjj athletes have done in big tournaments like Abu Dhabi and NAGA, one would have to conclude that the gi is not necessary for bjj to be effective. From my own training I have found that the pecking order in class does not change when we take off our gis. Without the gi, because of fewer openings and sweaty slippery bodies, things take longer to materialize.

Rickson Gracie said in an interview that when he rolled with Vitor Belfort that he subbed him very quickly with the gi, and took a while longer without it.

Every legit bjj instructor I know has students train regularly without a gi.

[Sean Dempsey]

It was a world of difference. The other person has alot more control of you.

Exactly.

Learn to escape and defend while you are wearing a gi.

Now WATCH what happens when you take the gi off. It's like suddenly you are some sort of Houdini magical escape artist, because you got so good with the Gi, without it you're like a greased BB.

[Szczepankiewicz]

without it you're like a greased BB.

Ooh, I love the dirty talk!

[tekshow]

i train at a bJJ gym without a gi, we also do shooto, dumag, and judo and we tear up the guys who come in wearing gi's...



it's pretty easy to grab a handful of fabric and toss someone around...


i think without the gi it makes you sharper... in real life nobody is going to be out sporting a nice thick heavy material for you to grab with perfect lapels to choke them with...



but largely i think it's not that big of deal, more of a preference

[Sean Dempsey]

You totally missed the point, Tekshow.

And I don't feel like re-explaining the gi. People who don't do traditional gracie and who don't wear a Gi won't understand. Like teaching a monkey a math problem.

[Sean Dempsey]

Gah I couldn't resist just this one...

Tekshow - how often are you on the street wearing nothing but Vale Tudo shorts and maybe a rashguard?

Gi's aren't for you to learn how to "grab a nice thick heavy material" to throw or choke someone.

Gi's are so YOU can learn to defend against someone grabbing your perfect lapels, or ANY lapels... or a sleeve, or pantleg, or shirt...

Then again, maybe where you are from people do walk around wearing only Vale Tudo shorts. hmmmmmmm

Screw it, it's pointless.

[ryanhall]

Tekshow,
You have it backwards. Wearing a gi will make you more technical. Because there are so many places to get a hold on somebody, wearing a gi negates attributes (speed, size, etc.) to a degree. You have to watch out for more attacks when a gi is in play. It's just harder to bully people who aren't as athletic as you are when both particiapants are weaing cloth.

Sean,
You just sounded like any other traditional-minded twat there, my friend. Anybody who doesn't practice MY style just won't understand. Come on, dude. Try to be a little better than that.

[Sean Dempsey]

Originally posted by ryanhall
Sean,
You just sounded like any other traditional-minded twat there, my friend. Anybody who doesn't practice MY style just won't understand. Come on, dude. Try to be a little better than that.

I wasn't arguing that people don't understand my style, I was trying to point out that (as in half dozen other posts about this same thing) that people get the Gi purpose reversed and seem to just ignore the fact that BJJ guys keep re-explaining what purpose the Gi serves.

What I meant by "understand" was "understand how weeks of learning to defend wearing a Gi will make your non-Gi game stronger." If he never wears a gi, he'll never understand what it is like to train with a handicap, and how the Gi benefits you when you take it off.

[Szczepankiewicz]

No, I still think Sean's a twat.