Jiu-Jitsu

Should I Train Jiu-Jitsu in the gi or no gi?

by matmartial · Published February 13, 2020 · Updated February 14, 2020

Should I do jiu-jitsu in a gi or no gi?

To gi or not to gi, that is the question that the great Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, asked many years ago, and many people still ask today. And not just beginners and princes. Increasingly, some colored belts have been be asking themselves this question.

Some of the greatest grapplers in jiu-jitsu today have publicly stated that they don’t see any reason to train in the gi. I think that from a strictly jiu-jitsu completion point of view, that kind of makes sense, but not really. Here’s why.

Origins of gi and no gi

A black and white photo of two ancient Japanese Judo Masters Kano Jigoro and Kyuzo Mifune. They are standing facing each other and each holding onto their grips on the sleeves of their jiu jitsu gi. — **Judo Masters Kano Jigoro and Kyuzo Mifune demonstrating sleeve and collar grips.**

Likely, the origins of the debate about whether it is best to train in a gi or to train without the gi, or “no gi”, date back to the very beginnings of jiu-jitsu itself.

Where do I buy a gi?

Three jiu jitsu gis. Black jiu jitsu gi, white jiu jitsu gi, and blue jiu jitsu gi. No belts.

After all, a gi can be expensive. And before online shopping and delivery sites like Amazon, gis were not easily accessible to everyone. Even today, you can’t go to any local store and by a jiu-jitsu gi. If you are going to purchase a gi anywhere besides online, you are going to have to buy the gi at your local jiu-jitsu gym. And normally, the jiu-jitsu school doesn’t just have the gis hanging on racks. Your school usually has to order your gi for you.

All about technique

Beautiful photo of two black belt judo players gripping each other's jiu jitsu sleeves.

Besides the issue of the availability of the gi, the true meaning of the question whether to train gi or no gi centers on technique. If we drill down even further, even more than technique, at the heart of the debate is whether it is useful to train in the gi. Is it useful to train in a gi, the kimono…pajamas, a winter coat, a wind breaker, a hoodie? You might start to see my opinion on this question.

In my opinion, I believe that training in the gi adds to your overall grappling game. For example, let’s look simply at self-defense. What if you encounter a situation on the street in which you get taken down or otherwise find yourself in a position where you have to defend yourself.

Self defense

Color photograph of actor Jonah Hill. His hair and beard are died blond and he is wearing a navy blue winter coat with a white collar over top of a rainbow colored shirt. He is talking into his cell phone which he is holding to his ear in his left hand. He is carrying a Barneys New York shopping bag over his right arm. He is carrying something else that can't be determined in his right hand. — **Does this guy look safe to you?**

Your attacker is almost 100% certainly going to be wearing clothes, unless you are at the beach or in the bath house. But if you get into a scuffle at a place like that, I would argue that the situation is 100% your fault, and that you are not practicing jiu-jitsu or self-defense. After all, the first rule of jiu-jitsu is: Avoid the fight. A corollary to that first rule is: Walk away.

When your attacker is wearing clothes, knowledge gained from training gi techniques will give you more options in controlling and submitting your assailant. So, yes, training in the gi is extremely valuable for self-defense.

Competition

What about jiu-jitsu competition? Ok, I’m not a jiu-jitsu competitor, yet, and at my age and athleticism I won’t be bursting onto the grappling seen. In fact, I recently missed my first tournament due to the flu. But I’ll be back. Anyway, here is why I think that gi training is valuable to competitive no gi grapplers and MMA fighters.

Slow down

At a jiu jitsu competition, a man in a blue gi is lying with his back on the floor while he executes a jiu jitsu technique called a sweep on a man in the white gi who is flying through the air unable to defend the jiu jitsu sweep with the gi grips. — Sweep utilizing the gi.

First, training in the gi really slows things down. Why is that useful? The gi slows things down because it allows your opponent more grips. When your opponent can grip your gi, he can slow the match and, more importantly, he can control you better.

Control

In the gi, your opponent can take you down and then control you on the ground easier than in no gi grappling. Because he can control you better, your escapes need to be better. If you need to improve your escapes, what should you do? You will need to focus on technique. If you are a competitor, it might also force you to work on your strength. Either way, the gi exposes weakness that you can work to improve.

Takedowns

An old black and white photo of a Japanese Judo training room. It is a crowed judo training room and the men are all dressed in white gi and executing a judo technique called a judo throw. — Judo throw

Don’t forget takedowns. The same principles apply to takedowns. If your training partner can utilize your sleeves, collar, and belt to take you down, how do you deal with that? The only way to deal with the threat of takedowns is to focus on your takedown defense techniques. Training in the gi will give all competitors this opportunity.

I can sum it all up in one little word with two letters: Gi.

Gi wins

Photo of a clean white jiu jitsu gi with a white belt tied around it.

I recommend training in the gi in addition to your no gi training. Also check out my thoughts about How Often You Should Train Jiu-jitsu. You can see what I think are the First Jiu-Jitsu Techniques You Should Learn. You might also want to check out The Best Online Jiu-Jitsu Instructors and my list of the Best Jiu-Jitsu Grapplers.

Have fun

In the meantime, have fun training jiu-jitsu. Don’t forget to tap early and tap often. Tap dance if you have to, just keep coming back to train and to check for new posts from me.