Gi vs No-Gi

What it is

Gi versus no-gi is the choice between training in the jacket, belt and trousers, which you can grab, or in a rash guard and shorts, with nothing to hold. The positions, escapes and most submissions are the same. What changes is how you grip and control, how fast the rolls go, and a few rules.

Where it shows up

• Starting out: either is fine. Many gyms teach both, so try both and train in whichever class fits your week.
• In the gi: collar, lapel, sleeve and trouser grips slow the game down and allow collar chokes and grip-based guards.
• In no-gi: control comes from wrist control, underhooks, overhooks and head control. Rolls are faster, sweatier and more scrambly.
• Before a competition: check the ruleset. Some no-gi rulesets allow more leg locks at advanced belts.

Key details

• Gi: a gi and a belt, usually a rash guard underneath. Wash the gi after every session.
• No-gi: a fitted rash guard and grappling shorts or spats with no pockets, zips or loose drawstrings.
• The basics carry over. Frames, posture, base and the positional hierarchy are the same in both.
• In no-gi, replace each gi grip with a body grip: the sleeve becomes the wrist, the collar becomes the head or an underhook.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: holding gi grips you no longer have in no-gi. Your hands slip, you open up, and they scramble out.
• Mistake: relying on speed and sweat in the gi. Their grips slow you down and your escapes stall.
• Mistake: assuming the rules are the same everywhere. A technique legal in one ruleset can be a disqualification in another.

Gi and no-gi

This whole page is the difference: no lapel or sleeve grips in no-gi, so control comes from wrists and underhooks, and the pace is faster.