Is BJJ with the GI effective for MMA?

Question

i train muay thai and am lookin to take up bjj for the grapplin aspect of mma. the trouble is im jobless and limited to the ammount of money i can spend on trainin a week. ideally id like to take the no gi classes but at the nearest club they are on at the same time as my muay thai so theyre out of the question. my only other option is to take the bjj with gi as it is on at days im avaliable. will ti stil be effective?

Answer 1

There is a huge debate about this.  Personally if you are training for MMA I don't think you necessarily have to train BJJ with a GI, but it wouldn't hurt.  Joe Lauzon put this best when he explained this, he pretty much said that when he started to train with the GI under BJ Penn, he wouldn't utilize his opponents GI in trying to pull off submissions and fight for position, he would focus on getting wrist control, arms, legs, etc allowing his opponent to use his GI against him.  This helped with his defense/offense since he was at a slight disadvantage because his opponent would use Joe's GI to manuever whereas Joe was focusing on movements that he would use in MMA without a GI on his opponent.  

BJJ guys swear by the GI and say everyone should be trained in the GI first but there are plenty of successful MMA guys and grapplers that are not BJJ ranked and don't train with a GI.  Jeremy Horn, Couture, Henderson, I believe neither one regulary trains with a GI.

Answer 2

You won't be able to use a gi in MMA but training in a Gi first is my recommendation.  There are a lot more subtle movements when using a Gi, you learn great defense also because there are so many ways to attack when grapling in a Gi.  

In MMA Royce fought Sakuraba with a Gi and Sakuraba showed why its no longer a viable tool in MMA, Sak tossed Royce around using his Gi against him much more effectively thaN Royce used it as offense.  

Once you get raedy for competition make sure to up your No Gi classes as there are some differences you will want to be aware of.  GOOD LUCK MY FRIEND

Answer 3

Well, if you have nothing else available it will do. Many guys in my gym who train for MMA still take gi classes. Most of the time you learn same stuff.

Answer 4

The Gracie's fought with gi's for years in the first few UFC.   They never lost.  So yeah gi or no gi, bjj is effective in mma.

Answer 5

its effective in certain ways, and it will help you sweat more:)

i would def. suggest trying no gi as well if they offer it just to get used to having no clothes or gi to grab....