To Gi or Not To Gi? That is the question…
Hi fellow Demons!
Do you prefer gi or no gi?
Which of the two forms of grappling excite you the most? Or are you on the fence, unable to make up your mind?
In this blog we will explore the key differences between the two and give you some insight if you train one but not the other.
Grips
The first difference to note is how different the grips are. For the athlete who predominantly trains gi, they may feel lost in a no gi setting as there are no collars, sleeves or pant legs to grip for control.
For an athlete transitioning from no gi to gi, they may suddenly feel less mobile with the restrictions imposed by those aforementioned grips.
Hence, it is evident that there are differences between the grips used in gi and no gi. However, for 90% of the game they may not be as different as you may think.
Most of the equivalent grips in no gi compared to gi, involve small tweaks.
For example, sleeve grips become reinforced 2 on 1s with C-grips to control a wrist and a cupping of the elbow. Collar grips become collar ties. Grips on the pant legs become posts on the shin. An athlete must get used to flitting between the two when they don or discard the kimono.
Of course, there are starker contrasts at more extreme ends of the spectrum. For instance, lapel-focused positions will only apply in gi. However, broadly speaking the two rulesets offer far more similarities than variances.
Speed
The gi game is slower and more methodical, whilst the no gi game is faster with more scrambles and seeming randomness. As mentioned previously, the nature of the varying grips influences the tempo between the two forms.
Some people would argue that this makes no gi more exciting, and as a result popularity has been trending more towards this form of grappling. However, this isn’t to say that gi can’t be equally as electrifying too!
Positions
The control positions are the same between both forms of grappling, although certain positions are more effective in gi than no gi and vice versa.
For example, mount seems to be a stronger control position in gi, particularly with the constant threat of the cross choke. However, the absence of this particular threat in no gi means that kipping escapes into leg entanglements are more of a risk for the top player.
This means that back control or rear mount is king in no gi. Strangles from the back don’t carry the same counter leg lock risk as attacking from the mount.
Another example would be side control vs north-south. Side control is a stronger control position in gi, whilst no gi athletes nowadays prefer north-south where they can better manipulate their opponents’ hip movement.
Lastly, it would seem that due to ADCC rule sets, take downs are becoming more heavily favoured in no gi. Currently there is no disincentive to pull guard in the gi, whereas doing so in ADCC will result in penalization with a negative point.
Submissions
Submissions is probably the area of largest divergence between gi and no gi.
There is a significantly more varied range of chokes in gi, e.g. bow and arrow, canto, tornado, cross-collar, Ezekiel, etc compared to no gi, which mainly have rear naked, head and arms variants and guillotines.
Similarly, no gi possesses the wider range of leg lock submissions, particularly heel hooks, which are banned in the gi rule set.
Therefore, your preferred method of submission is likely going to be the biggest determining factor in dictating your choice to devote more time towards gi or no gi.
Injury risks
The injury risks are going to be largely the same across both codes. Jiu-jitsu is generally a punishing sport on the body. Whilst one may argue that knee injuries are more prevalent in no gi, knee ligament injuries can occur just as commonly in gi from playing lasso or spider guard.
One area of lower risk for no gi players is with finger injury. You don’t see as many no gi athletes with taped fingers!
Conclusion
Hopefully this short newsletter gives you some insight into the key differences between gi and no gi. Our advice is to have fun training both if you can!
Whether you prefer gi or no gi, we have you covered with apparel across our Phenom and B-Evil range! Go check out our sale and bag yourself a bargain!
Also please keep an eye out for updates on our Instagram page and website. We have lots of exciting plans for 2024 which are starting to take shape!
Many thanks
The ONI Team