A few Questions?

[Doublelegtakedown]

In gi less BJJ do you use their shirt as a techinque or weapon? (throws?)

Do you guys have any counters to a shirt grab?

Do you guys have any counters to a headlock or sideheadlock?

Thanks

[DJmma]

in our no gi BJJ classes, we do not use the person's shirt. we do some basic throws...but nothing grabing the shirt.

[Jersey Devil]

In gi less BJJ do you use their shirt as a techinque or weapon? (throws?)

No, the whole idea behind no gi training is not being allowed to use your opponents clothing against him. Some grappling tournaments on the other hand will alllow you to use your opponents shirt to choke them and therefore make wearing shirts/rashguards optional.

Do you guys have any counters to a shirt grab?

Of course- there is a counter to every move you could suggest.

Do you guys have any counters to a headlock or sideheadlock?

Thanks

Yes- headlocks in the sense you see in Judo and wrestling are bad when used in BJJ. Side headlocks or wrestlers headlock (head and arm lock) are great when you simply need to temporarily pin someone, but such headlocks will allow an experienced grappler to escape and when he does, he'll be on your back.

[Doublelegtakedown]

What do you think would be more important to do BJJ with a gi or with out gi? I probably could do both but i'm just wondering?

Do they teach wrist locks in bjj and do they teach any kicking or punching?

[DJmma]

What do you think would be more important to do BJJ with a gi or with out gi? I probably could do both but i'm just wondering?

Do they teach wrist locks in bjj and do they teach any kicking or punching?

Well...it's up to you. and yes there are wrist locks...and many other "locks". but with a no gi class, you wont really gain rank, since there are no belts. but i prefer the no gi class personaly. but i go to both. and in our bjj class, we dont learn any striking. atleast i havnt yet. thats why i take muay thai with it.

[Jersey Devil]

BJJ with a gi does a great job of helping you to learn basic defenses that would otherwise take a long time to learn if training without the gi.

For example, with all the chokes available with the gi on, a beginner student will quickly learn the value of being able to defend his neck properly.

Quite honostly though it comes down to a matter of opinion. If you could only do one I would suggest training with the gi, simply because should you change your mind in the future, its much easier to adapt your game if you go from gi to no gi than if you were a no gi fighter who suddenly put a gi on.

There are a few wrist locks taught in BJJ, but nothing you would expect if you're watching a Steven Seagal movie and expecting that.

BJJ focuses alot on practicality. Wrist locks are very difficult to apply on resisting opponents because of so many different angles of articulation one has (he can move so many ways by stepping, moving his shoulder, and rotating his elbow). There are times when wristlocks can be an effective option, but the wrist is a small joint, offers less control over someone that locking a larger joint, and is less effective at ending a fight than locking a larger joint.

In this respect, the vast majority of locks that are taught in BJJ fall within choke holds, elbow locks, shoulder locks, knee locks, and ankle locks.

As far as punching and kicking, thats not the mentality of BJJ. The fighting philosophy is to put yourself in a position where you can attack your opponent, but he cant attack you. As a result, punching and kicking are not emphasized, and the very few strikes that are taught are often only used to bridge the gap between a standing fight and a clinch fight.

[Doublelegtakedown]

okay thanks! I think i'm going to do BJJ with a gi. Because it's easier to transfer and i get a belt!

BJJ with a gi seems more technical. Can you apply some of the gi stuff to someone who is wearing a t-shirt?

If i did it all summer and in the fall but then had to quit for winter and resume in the spring would i still be able to keep my belt rank?

[Jersey Devil]

Some of the gi techniques can be used on opponents wearing a T-shirt. There are a some techniques that rely on the gi, and some that dont. There are so many techniques that it eventually comes down to how your prefer your game to be.

For example, your instructor may show you 5 or 6 different ways to pass the guard, but chances are you'll end up only using 2 as your primary pass.

As far as your belt rank, you dont receed in belt rank in BJJ, but to be quite honost with you, if you started in the summer and only trained until the winter, you'll probably still be a white belt, so there wont really be a rank for you to retain (unless your school gives degrees for white belts- some do, some dont)

[Doublelegtakedown]

k koool! I am looking forward to doing it! I got a book on bjj by royler and renzo gracie just to study the basics.

How much standing stuff do they do in BJJ?

[TJS]

How much standing stuff do they do in BJJ?

Depends on the school but if they are teaching you sd then they will proabably teach you how to escape basic standing bearhugs/chokes/headlocks etc..aswell as takedowns and takedown defenses.