i train at a gi school now as well but trained 10th planet for a year. so i mix a lot of rubber guard with the gi stuff too now. when i first started i thought rubber guard was useless in a gi cuz of all the friction. but once i got used to it and realized i just needed to loosen up a little bit, things started clicking. for example, in new york, instead of grabbing my left ankle with my right hand ill just grab on the the back of his collar with my left hand. that way i got a free right arm and a free left leg and a ton of space needed to keep the friction away.