
Originally Posted by
The kza
If u want to do bjj tournaments start with the gi, do wrestling, then go to nogi because its more advanced. You may get many baised responses on the gi here, i would ask in other places aswell to have several perspectives
I find that rather insulting that you say there will be biased opinions on here. I think 10th planet as a group are more than capable of removing our own personal preferences and look at the pros and cons of studying in and out of the gi.
To me it all depends on what your looking for. If you want to fight mma, then studying in the gi seems rather pointless to me as all mma matches are fought without the gi. Thus the techniques you will be practicing with the gi may not directly translate over to the no gi mma format, due to gi techniques relying more on sleeve and collar controls. Just as judo won't translate well into competeting in wrestling matches. For self defense purposes the gi could be useful as it simulates a hoody or a jacket. But then again no gi techniques will also work in street fight situations. There is absolutely loads of discussion on this topic. Submissions 101 which has both gi and no gi guys seem to cover the topic pretty comprehensively, if you search there website.The whole arguement that the gi is better for teaching fundamentals seems nul and void to me and irrational, despite alot of the great bjj guys saying thats the way to go. I think it all depends on what you want to focus on. I would actual say gi practioners are alot more biased towards the gi than no gi guys are towards no gi, they seem to want to make excuses and invent usefulness for the gi when when a bit of rational thought is applied seems to hold no weight.
I personal train in the gi as i love collar chokes. But i try and take keith owen's approach and be diverse as possible,and have as many gi and no gi techniques a spossible, its not going to make you worse off.