BJJ Journey Entry #2

This week I was able to get in 2 training class & sparring (1 Gi, 1 NoGi) and then an additional rolling session with one of the other smaller clubs in town invited us over for some fun. While I was over there I was able to roll with a Blue and Purple belt both who are literally twice my size, I am fairly small at 5'7" (172 cm) and 155 lbs (72 kgs). We do not have many larger practitioners at my club so this was a nice change of pace, having to play an entirely different game, as I spent most of my time on flattened on my back trying to escape. It was very cool to roll with the Purple belt because he knew exactly how to use his weight in proportion to my White belt effort, as he could have easily ran right over me and held me down the whole time but he took the time to work with me and allowed me to practice my game. I think this is one of my favourite parts about Jiu-Jitsu is how universal it is, sex, age, size, build, none of that really matters when you compare to the importance to the actual technique and skill involved.

My biggest take away from this past week was a small piece of knowledge that the Purple belt passed along. He talked to me about the importance of knowing when to go on the Offense then switching over to a Defensive position. This is very important for someone of my build because I am not going to be able to outstrength someone, so I am going to have to rely more on the technique and strategy to pick the best spots. This will require me to become more passive at times and conserve my energy when fighting for some spot becomes pointless because I will be able to better pick my spots when I explode, utilizing my small size and speed to gain advantage on my opponent.

Where this becomes most apparent is in the two different styles of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi vs NoGi. A Gi or kimono is traditional BJJ uniform. Where NoGi is probably what most people are used to in the UFC, competing in just grappling shorts and usually a rash guard shirt.

My Gi

Currently I am training in both styles with a stronger focus on the traditional Gi style. In my opinion wearing a Gi while practicing BJJ is a slower, more strategic pace. This is mainly due to the face that you are allowed to utilize both your own and your opponents Gi while competing, ie. being able to use your opponents collar to choke them or grabbing on to their selves to help manipulate their arms. Wear as competing without a Gi or NoGi, there is no material to grab on you are grabbing a hold of your opponent's body itself ie. grabbing a hold of the opponent's neck to help control their positioning.

Lately I have been I am enjoying the NoGi style more than Gi. Because there is no material for my opponent to grab on to I am able to utilize my speed and size, as well as the sweatiness of it all to help me get out of a bad spot that I may be stuck in if I was using a Gi and my opponent had the material to utilize against me. The downside of it all, is that it is way more physically demanding to continually roll in that high speed style being a lot more explosive all the time. So I try and get in at least 3, 25-30 min hard cardio sessions (45-60 min when training for a competition) in each week to keep my cardio at a base level.

Going home next week for my sister's wedding, so posting may be a bit later but I am going to make sure to get my posts in. Unfortunately I may not be able to get any BJJ in while I am there, I am just not going to have time, though I will bring my stuff just in case.