I know my recent posts are all around grappling at the moment but bear with me as I'm going through a bit of a grappling phase. Of course I've just come back from Brasil and I'm a bit BJJ mad at the mo.
So my post today comes from recent discussions on the on going argument around Gi and NoGi and I just thought I'd give you my take on the whole discussion.
To me I see the Gi and the NoGi as two separate but related systems, similar to say badminton and tennis or more closely related to grappling, Judo and Greco Roman Wrestling. In this instance they are both trying to throw their opponent on to their back to score the points, but one uses a gi and the other does not.
However, in the case of the Gi and NoGi argument there are some more closely related basics that need to be learned and I think this is where the basic argument starts from. Practically speaking there are probably more Gi or BJJ schools than there are NoGi gyms, so it would make sense to start at a Gi school simply because you will have more chance to find a place to start training. Occasionally, the professor may well be experienced in both Gi and NoGi.
The fundamentals of pinning and moving and the basic submissions will keep you occupied for a some time and therefore I see no basic difference if you are in Gi or a NoGi school. However, there are some obvious differences between the two systems. The Gi student will be taught how to use the Gi for grips and submissions whilst the NoGi student will be taught how to develop their hooks, squeezes and curls.
There is a view that you should learn the Gi first because it makes escapes more difficult and that the friction of the Gi teaches you to move more methodically and leave less to chance. But I think the reverse can be true as well, in that, if you can learn to pin successfully in NoGi then your pin is ultimately better because you are not relying on the friction of the Gi to provide you with part of your pin.
I think the argument can go on and on using various examples like the one above, but I think what you have to realise from a holistic point of view, is that they are two separate systems with the same fundamentals and the same goals in mind. Only one uses a Gi and the other doesn't. The two systems use different means to achieve the same goals, just like Judo and Greco Roman do, only in the case of Gi and NoGi they have a very close starting point. If you want to be good at NoGi I think, to begin with, even to the level of blue belt, it will do you no harm to study only Gi. However, there comes a point when you will need to start looking at the unique elements of NoGI and that is when you will have to search out a NoGi school. Plus you could enter NoGi comps to get a good understanding on how things work and you may find you do pretty well. This shouldn't be a surprise either as your fundamental technique should be good from your Gi classes.
On the other hand if you only managed to find a NoGi school and you want to be proficient at Gi you will not have suffered any real harm here either. Your ability to pin and control maybe pretty good at this stage but you maybe surprised how difficult it is to escape when you are wearing a Gi.
However, if you wish to be good at both - and this is where I disagree with one of the main arguments in Gi versus NoGi - you cannot expect to be brilliant (read black belt level) in NoGi if you only train Gi. There will be some major aspects of your game that will be under developed if you have only trained Gi to black belt then compete against a NoGi black belt!! Similarly, the reverse is true - no surprises!!
So what is the solution?
I think it is obvious really. If you want to be good at both then once you get past say blue belt level then you really need to train equally in both systems otherwise your growth in the system you neglect will suffer.
There are of course exceptions to this but in the main, for most normal people I believe this to be true.
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So you've cut your finger on your right hand quite badly and you're right handed too. It's been healing up nicely and you're now at the stage where you've taken the plaster off but it's still quite raw.
when they get injured because their sore arm or leg or whatever will hurt. But like I pointed out with the crisps, if you really want to do something then you will always find an alternative way to do it, if you *really* want to.
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