MTS with a gi- revisited

My newest revelation training this week has been as a primarily gi jiu jitsu player that my game had become so grip reliant. It's been two and a half weeks since I have stopped using gi grips while rolling. What I have seen is that the positioning has come to the forefront of reliance in my game, as opposed to the grips. The question for me became which one is more essential to the essence of bjj? Both important, but if I had to pick, I would say positioning. Even the old mantra " position before submission" comes back to haunt us!

The transition has been smooth otherwise, I have been focusing on the England MTS vids and Aoki's visit- cuz I'm a huge fan! I feel they give a good base of the system to work with then branch out accordingly. What I have noticed is many gi schools like to stand up pass guard and force you to play de la riva. I started using the 1/4guard to mini stomp when they stand up. That has really thrown them a curve ball! I've been on The mats for around 8-9 years and always worked my flexibility so rubber guard and muddy waters have been instant successes! This is Just the bottom; Don't get me started on the top game!!

Being a Gracie Barbra brown belt you have a great skill set to transition from. I started by playing Eddie's 1/2 guard system at white belt so most of my game was without grips. I still pass standing up because I'm a fan of Rafael Lava to jr's pressure passing. In nogi I go double under to pass. It is a fun system that is different then what us Gracie Barbra guys are taught so we can have a lot of fun using it!

Stupid auto correct Barra not Barbra lol

It happens!!