As for people walking around in rash guards and shorts…I think that is a lot closer to normal attire than a gi

And I agree totally. Someone like Marcelo will have no problem defending themselves without a gi in a real life situation…just like Bravo would be ok if he was walking do the street in London during the winter…

At the end of the day…as long as people are training and being good ambassadors to the sports…I’m a happy guy.

I am an MMA guy and have been training for years…it is great to see how far the sport has come and I think that all art forms have evolved with the sport. I’m not sure there would be this many people training BJJ, grappling, etc if it wasnt for the explosion of MMA, most notably, the UFC.

Anyway, happy training!

Heh – I guess that depends on the climate where you live. Here in the UK, people will frequently be wearing coats, for example.

Not to mention that Bravo is far from the only person out there teaching no-gi: the place I train has regular no-gi classes, which is common at most BJJ schools (especially in the US, where there is the strong wrestling influence).

Then there are the numerous submission wrestling clubs, or indeed MMA, where unlike Bravo or BJJ schools, you learn how to incorporate strikes into your game.

Also begs the response that I don’t see a lot of people wandering around wearing their rash-guards and shorts. ;p

Personally, I’m of the opinion that training in a gi does not mean you’re suddenly helpless once you try out nogi: obvious examples would be the numerous ADCC champions who primarily train with a gi. For example, my instructor Roger Gracie, or Marcelo Garcia, to name but two.

Having said all that, self-defence isn’t really a concern for me: I train for sport, so the above is theoretical on my part. I’ve heard plenty of anecdotes about people choking out others using t-shirts and the like, but those are merely anecdotes.

Thank you for the link…great info!

Having said that, had a great lesson yesterday from one of our purple belts who is very fond of Bravo, sticking to the more straightforward half-guard material you can see at the start of ‘Mastering the Rubber Guard’.

Speaking of BJJ beginner advice, reminds me to stick up my BJJ FAQ too:

http://slideyfoot.blogspot.com/2006/10/bjj-beginner-faq.html

http://slideyfoot.blogspot.com/1982/06/history-of-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-bjj.html

Although if viewed on a broader level, Jiu-jitsu can be viewed as non-violent if one recognizes that to avoid relative destructive violence one can use techniques to help deflect or defuse a situation without excessive aggression or response. In addition as any practicioner knows, passiveness in Jiu-jitsu can also be a trap…..

Part 1 contains a 26-page introduction to BJJ that includes a brief history. I’ve checked it against a couple of reference books from the early 1980s, neither of which even seem aware of BJJ but do discuss, for instance, Jigoro Kano, his systemization of jiu-jutsu and his adaptation of it to create judo.

There’s lots of stuff on the web, but in terms of books (along with Gracie Magazine, which often has bits of history, also on its website, http://www.graciemag.com) things seem a bit thinner on the ground: there’s Kid Peligro’s ‘The Gracie Way’, Clyde Gentry’s thorough MMA investigation ‘No Holds Barred’ and the excellent introduction to John Danaher and Renzo’s ‘Mastering Jujitsu’, but I’m not familiar with much else in the way of credible sources.

You’re right that as a martial art, jiu jitsu is hardly nonviolent. As I’m sure you already know, it’s potentially lethal. Some of the submissions, if fully executed, would result either in breaking an opponent’s neck or cutting off blood flow to the brain long enough to cause death. Another possibility is to get into a position from which you can beat the crap our of someone while restricting or eliminating their ability to counterpunch.

It’s only in the metaphorical sense that jiu jitu can be applied to nonviolence.