No gi guard (specific scenario)

[Larry Williams, Jr.]

Ok so this is one of those strange questions that has been rolling in my head... And obviously this is a good place for nogi questions, all I ask is that you fairly consider the bias at the beginning of the question in your awnser.

So I am at least somewhat involved in the three sports of gi jiu jitsu, no go grappling, and mma... Probably in that order right now.
I have fallen in love completely with the open guard in gi, utilizing grips to nullify my opponents speed (I'm a bigger guy) while in nogi I have been using half guard with lots of tenth planet stylings to great success, because I can't slow my opponent down (using grips) and I often get passed before I'm able to set up a deep de la riva hook.

My question is this, do you prefer to play a VERY different game gi and no gi, or would you push yourself to execute Dlr and RDLR better no gi?

I feel like with limited training time the closer I can keep my style the more comfortable I will be, but I drastically prefer the open guard in a gi to the half guard.

This is also from the fact that obviously my "real" game is top pressure based, but my professor is (I feel rightly) on a kick of having me on the bottom at least 80 percent of the time.

So... Thoughts?

[Paul McKeown]

I prefer to keep my no-Gi game and gi game exactly the same, the way I see it is why should I learn moves in a specific way in the Gi and then have to take it off for No-Gi then not even being able to use the moves that I've been putting the reps into. My games all about pulling 1/4 guard and working from there, well that's been the case recently and so it doesn't change for the Gi, mostly because my open guard sucks big time, definitely something I need to work on in the future but when I do it, il learn the moves/concepts in No-Gi so when it comes to using it in the Gi I won't be completely lost and eventually I will be able to add in Gi grips to make it that bit easier to hit sweeps etc.

I hope that helps

[Apperz]

Marcelo Garcia doesn't train anything in the Gi that won't 'pretty much' work in No-Gi and I've always thought this is the right attitude to take. I'd brush up on my Gi defences, but if you are doing three sports, Jiu Jitsu is so extensive that to get the best bang for your buck you might as well choose to work on a game that works in all three sports. The good news is that if you tried to learn every move and transition that includes you'd need to live to about 300 to do it

[Eddie Bravo]

"If you are forced to train the gi, train the gi like nogi" -Socrates

[sean applegate]

"If you are forced to train the gi, train the gi like nogi" -Socrates

Haha Beautiful. The open guard game is still good nogi, but it isn't going to slow things down like it does in the GI.

[Apperz]

"If you are forced to train the gi, train the gi like nogi" -Socrates

I've always liked that Socrates fellow.

[bobby rivers]

Yeah man. You gotta speed up as opposed to slowing them down with dlr nogi. Not so much speed as a smooth progression through your path. Advance asap to your next grip and always have a plan b if your initial guard can't be established.

[Mike Nall]

Playing open guard in nogi is fine, and Keenan Cornelius, Rafa Mendes, and Cobrinha are all great to watch for examples. Marcelo Garcia has a fantastic seated guard, but you're talking more DLR and RDLR stuff. RDLR is a little easier than DLR in nogi, but both can work.

[Wancarlos]

Man I feel like I wrote this post. This is me all the way. I haven't figured out the right balance to the nogi game, just to train without the pajamas for longer than I have been. I am more dependent on grips than I realize, and contrary to popular belief, spider lasso with a pant grip wont transfer well..Just make sure you train lots and lots of nogi grappling to understand what can be taken from what.

[Chad Clark]

You know that when I have to train in the gi, I try to ignore it as much as possible. I think me and you have talked about this:
other than grabbing the far collar when I have a deep overhook, the only time I can recall consciously grabbing and utilizing a gi grip was collar choking Michael (an older ~60 yr old guy who learned judo before he could walk that has the strongest turtle defense I've ever encountered who does not appreciate having his legs manipulated at all) from the back a few months ago.

If I get completely demolished by someone utilizing gi-grips I don't let it beat me up too much: I'm not training to be a world beater in the gi. If I was, I know who I need to start training with to have the best gi training and where to go to find him. But for no-gi, you know it and I know it: KMAA is gonna be THE school in Knoxville to train no-gi grappling at!