No Gi

With some prodding from a BJJ buddy I decided to try a No Gi class. I have never been particularly interested in No Gi because there is (as the name implies) the absence of the big protective Gi that makes regular BJJ less awkward as a girl; I wore several layers under my Gi trousers and t-shirt in effort to combat this. (You may wonder why in a No Gi class I was wearing Gi trousers? Well, an acceptable get-up for No Gi training appears to be Gi trousers and t-shirt, and a few others in class were sporting this particular look. I think that before one commits to No Gi and invests $$ in specific No Gi garb, that this is the de rigueur choice for training). Another reason I was not keen on jumping into No Gi is that I have watched some No Gi and it looks messy - sweaty and fast and therefore perhaps more likely for one to get hurt with elbows and knees slipping and flying this way and that. 

There were very few people in class - I think 9 in total - and most of them BIG guys! This did not help my nervousness, but the warmup, lead by Ollie, did. I have found this in competition as well - when I start to get nervous it helps tremendously to just MOVE - run or do calisthenics. I was hoping to get paired up with the friend that had encouraged me to go to the No Gi class and was not looking forward especially to getting paired up with one of these huge guys that had turned up on Good Friday for a tough, rough-n-ready roll. 

We continued the warmup in pairs doing the frog jump over and then crawl through the legs 10 times each (I was dripping!); and then 'pumelling' (exchanging alternate underhooks from a standing 'clinch' position). In effort to find a better explanation of pumelling I found this inspirational clip: Luta Livre -- No Gi Brazilian Submission Wrestling and Vale Tudo

Warmup rolled right into specific sparring from closed guard with no instruction whatsoever. I ended up paired with a guy new-ish to the academy - well, new to the advanced classes, who I had only rolled with once before and though he was very nice he was also very intense. Since I worked with him last he seems to be concentrating on technique instead of strength and speed - he said as much himself. I think that often this happens in the transition from the beginners classes to the advanced. He also had an elbow injury which likely slowed him down even more - fortunately for me. Anyway, he was a pleasure to work with, though I had no idea how to get out of guard without use of collar, sleeves or trousers! I kept grabbing his trousers at the knees as I would in a regular Gi class and heard from behind me somewhere, Ollie, chiding me that the point is to NOT use the Gi! 

I worked with a few other guys and had a pleasant experience with each of them. I didn't wonder, until now actually, how they must feel about rolling with a girl in No Gi - I could be wrong but I think that they were, for better or worse, more mindful of working smart as opposed to working hard. I was at a couple of points acutely aware of how much more exposed I felt without the Gi but for the most part I was just trying to figure out how to do anything I've learned without using the Gi. I really have no idea if I was successful or not - In my opinion No Gi is a much tighter game as it is so easy for your opponent to slip and wriggle out of anything you get him in - I think it will serve my game, Gi or No Gi, well to work on getting tighter.

I took it pretty easy and sat out for a couple of rounds - watching Braulio Estima and Roger Gracie training No Gi on one end of the mat - a definite perk of training at Roger's academy! Even with two years of BJJ behind me I still often wonder what I am looking at when I watch the masters in action - though I may not know what they are doing it is still brilliant fun to watch and maybe even inspirational...

No Gi is definitely faster, and therefore more of a cardio workout than Gi, which I definitely like. I also have to agree that I think learning No Gi will help my Gi training because most of it can be used in Gi - it could be a huge advantage! I would like to learn more No Gi technique and to become more comfortable working without the psychological protection of the Gi jacket; I think it is safe to say I may find myself in the No Gi class again.