WHY SHOULD TRAIN BJJ IN GI?
Many newbies asks the question of “Why should we train BJJ in GI? What is the benefit?”.
Below explanation describes why you better train BJJ in Gi.
Better slow than fast
Most importantly, when start to learn something new, better to learn it slow rather than fast.
BJJ in Gi will slow down the game a lot, which will give you enough time to think and apply the right technique, or at least to analyze and feel what is going around, BJJ no Gi is so fast that initially you wont learn nor understand what’s going around.
You’ll develop strong grips
It is essential for any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete to have extremely strong grips, by training gi you develop these unbreakable grips. The constant grabbing and pulling of the gi will help your grip strength and endurance, which will add to the power and strength of your no gi grips as well.
Learn how to control your opponent and starts to sense the word pressure
Gi will force your opponent to stay under your control for much longer time and it will make scrambling much harder for an easy escape, Gi training will help you to start developing the pressure application on your opponent and to control him by only grips and pressure.
You’ll have an excellent escapes if you train BJJ in Gi
None of us want to ever get in a bad position but it happens and when it does you have to know how to escape. The friction of the gi makes it much more difficult to escape a bad position which forces you to know the correct technique. When you are confident with your escapes you’ll be more willing to attack because you know how to get back into a good position. If your escapes are sharp in gi you’ll have no problem in no-gi.
You’ll have a deeper knowledge of BJJ techniques in general
Gi is much more technical then no-gi because of all the grip options and complex guards that have evolved over the years. This in turn forces you to develop a more technical game so that you can stay one step ahead of your opponent.
If you train BJJ in Gi you will have no problem in No Gi
All BJJ heroes who are well known training in Gi, they actually competes in no Gi and they win world titles; but the athletes who train in no Gi, they usually never enter a Gi competition.