Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a form of martial arts and it is widely appreciated and practiced around the world. Although now it has been alternated to fit the contemporary world of sports, the traditional form of doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is widely appreciated by the true followers of martial arts.
And one of the things that is most significant to training in the traditional form of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that you train wearing the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu GI. In its modern form when played for the MMA, the athletes usually only wear a rash guard and shorts. However, the GI is quite significant to the conventional form of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
To truly understand the advantages of training in a GI we think it’s important to first understand what the purpose and meaning behind the customary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was as compared to what the new modern form entails. The established form of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has the same character as that of the martial arts. Hence it was created to help people learn about self-defense, to connect with their spirituality, to establish control over their body, and to protect themselves. For this purpose, the GI helps elaborate all these purposes and helps humans to optimize their practice. Keeping this in mind let’s look at the advantages of wearing a GI for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
- Causes Friction and slows down the Pace of the match
When you are training in a GI then the cotton/denim made kimono style dress tends to get wet from the sweat and it becomes heavier. This causes a lot of friction and the game tends to slow down. At this point both the opponents then rely solely on their techniques and their form and being fast or quick will not help them.
The game requires them to concentrate and seek for opportunities to attack or deliver moves on their opponent. Being mentally sharp and focused is what the sport of martial arts teaches you. It wants you to be observant and to seek prospects on your own, and the GI aids this purpose.
- Upper body strength is developed
Due to the friction and the slow-paced game the athletes have to use their core and upper body strength, even more, to be able to tackle and overpower their opponent. The constant use of hands and arms to strongly grip, hold onto and pin down their opponents allows for the muscles of your upper body to be used a lot.
- Many opportunities to Strangle
The GI is designed in a way through which the athletes get many opportunities to strangle their opponents. The extra cloth that is wrapped around the neck area of the athletes makes it very easy for a person to try and strangle their opponent. Remember that strangulation is an important part of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and again wearing a GI helps you understand these techniques and seek such opportunities even more.
- Many opportunities to Grapple
It is an essential part of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to be able to get a stronghold of your opponent and ground them safely so they can’t move or harm you. If your opponent is dressed in a GI then you will get many opportunities to practice grappling and then tackling them down to the floor. This is because of all the extra cloth that is wrapped around them. Keeping in mind how seeking opportunities of gripping and pinning down your opponent is essential to the game of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu then you understand why it’s important to wear a GI especially when you are learning the true techniques of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
- Teaches techniques of Escaping
Now it becomes a wonder that if wearing a GI gives you so many opportunities to defeat your opponent then how can it benefit the one who is being strangled or grappled? Well, because of how easy it is to get strangled and tackled in a GI, athletes get an amazing opportunity to learn how to escape from these moves. Again the athletes are forced to mentally think about escape plans and calculate in their mind all the ways through which they can release themselves. The GI helps not only the athlete that is delivering moves but also the athlete who has to escape these moves.
For anyone who is learning how to train themselves in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu should definitely first learn the traditional form and then move on to the more unconventional ways which are more similar to wrestling.
