BJJ in a Gi for MMA

[Ralph]

For the nearly 10yrs I have been hearing that training BJJ in a Gi tightens up your game and improves you as an MMA fighter... The claim has mostly come from BJJ guys but also a few respected MMA fighters.

The thing is I have been training quite a long time and did about 6mths in a Gi when I first started, ever since then I have trained shit loads of sub wrestling & BJJ without the gi and im still at a loss as to why this statement is continually made.

With the Gi is so much slower and uses a lot of sweeps, chokes and control using something you wont have when you fight MMA, so surely if your game is tight and you train/drill regulary & properly without the Gi then that is more beneficial to your game? I even think its better to train without a t-shirt on if you are prepping for a fight let alone a Gi to make it more realistic.

This is a genuine question and not bashing pyjama wearers at all, im just interested in peoples experiences & opinions as to why the Gi is supposed to be better...

[Tom D]

i cant see how it makes your game tighter.. 2 different styles completely as u said gi uses lots of sweeps and chokes using the gi but will have non of that in an mma fight.. i have no expericance of training in a gi but me personally wouldn't recommend it to someone training for a mma fight

[Xanthic]

The gi is a training tool.

You would never hit your opponent with a sledgehammer - why do it in S&C?

[shielsy]

I dont think it would harm your game if you done a few Gi lessons, play the 'slower' game, see shit from a different perspective. It's not like you can say rolling in a Gi is going to make you a worse off MMA fighter...

I do have experience of training in a Gi, I roll 2 - 3 times a week. Personally I'd rather roll with the Gi guys who generally seem more passionate about the ground game than say the part-time, tapout tee wearing, cage fighters.

Go put the cloth on...

[Ralph]

Thanks for the replys lads, but the question im asking is how does training in the Gi make your game tighter for MMA as is so often said than opposed to training without it in say exactly the same circumstances...

[shielsy]

And I'm saying the diffence between making it tighter or not will be minimal. Obviously rolling with the gloves on, no top on and in shorts is going to feel a lot more like the real thing, but im 99% sure, you'll always find a higher standard of BJJ in the Gi classes than the Nogi. Just my opinion...

If my next opponent was a Shinya Aoki type fighter, I know I'd be rolling a shit load with the cloth on in preperation...

[123 MMA]

Why I think you need to train in a GI for MMA is not what people normally say but... if you only do no gi are you still rolling with brown/black belt level guys as you would be doing in BJJ since BJJ guys train in a GI? Or are you training with mma fighters in no gi with a lower level of a ground game?

[Ralph]

The question isnt about me mate, its about why people say rolling in a gi tightens up your game for MMA, its a genuine question im trying to find out the answer to as it confuses me a bit...

But yeah I do roll with some pretty good guys, and a lot of them are MMA guys with a high level ground game

[hysteresis]

Good question and I don't have an answer.

One thing I will say is that rolling in the gi with other guys also wearing the gi definitely minimises the chances of getting staph or some other nasty skin condition.

This alone makes it worth doing imo

[Xanthic]

The question isnt about me mate, its about why people say rolling in a gi tightens up your game for MMA, its a genuine question im trying to find out the answer to as it confuses me a bit...

But yeah I do roll with some pretty good guys, and a lot of them are MMA guys with a high level ground game

What the gi does is slow down your rolling due to the grips and the friction forcing you to use technique as opposed to attributes like strength and speed that some people may utilise when no gi rolling.

The use of the gi is to influence correct technique as somebody holding you in half guard with grips with you not being able to explode out will encourage you to use your hips more, dig that underhook deeper etc But that's not to say that no gi isnt as technical, they're both as technical as each other in their own right - a good gi player is one who can make gi grips work for him no gi and finds natural handles on the body.

Gi is great for no gi and no gi is great for key - both compliment each other.

Some people find it helps, others dont. But I find the guys who 'slag off' gi rolling are generally guys who cant roll in a gi - as i to no gi is an easier transfer than vice versa.

I'm not great at either but I've found the rolling in the gi has improved how I roll in regards to escapes and holding top.

In regards to how it helps you in MMA - it improves your escapes!!! Which means less chance of losing. If somebody told me and proved with examples that climbing a rope once a day for 8 weeks would improve my chances of winning, I'd climb that rope countless times a day.

http://apopandagumshield.wordpress.c...4/no-gi-or-gi/