Traditional BJJ Gi Training Needed for MMA?

When I first started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it was to learn techniques needed for anything goes type of fighting. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu took the martial arts scene by storm and every serious martial artists wanted to incorporate the ground game into their arsenal. However, practically every BJJ or "MMA" school trained in a gi and never really focused on actual MMA training. Almost every "MMA" school was teaching and training in sport BJJ.

Not many people complained though because a lot of people could see the practical applications of the moves and with a little creativity and experimentation, they could make the techniques work in MMA situations. Also, a lot of people got "brainwashed" to a certain degree, learning that the best MMA fighters had to be high ranking BJJ competitors first (i.e. Black Belts), then had to get good at No-Gi fighting, and finally, they then could start training vale tudo. As many people know today, this progression was and is not necessarily the best way to approach MMA training.

Although techniques from sport bjj, no-gi, and MMA can be used in each area with some tweaking, they are all still very different and require focused training--if you want to compete in sport BJJ, put on a gi and train with it often; want to be good at submission grappling, stop using the gi; and want to get good at MMA, start realizing the major differences with grappling without any kind of striking involved and train MMA. I do think that training with the gi and doing submission grappling are important to getting good in MMA. But, looking back, I don't think you need to spend years training with the gi, then years doing just submission grappling, then finally MMA. Just think of some the the great BJJ fighters who followed that path and then tried MMA for the first time. They didn't do too well.

I think if a person spends too much time focusing on ground work with the gi and/or without, he or she is developing a false sense of confidence for MMA fighting. You simply have to include the hits into your training. It makes a world of difference when someone is trying to take your head off. Just because you can grapple or take people down, doesn't mean you can fight. Moreover, a person needs to get accustomed to the various positions, techniques, and strategies that MMA fighters find themselves using all the time. The more one practices these areas, the better the person will get. It's about focusing on MMA rather than spreading oneself too thinly among sport bjj, no gi, and MMA training.

If definitely think a person should train and pick up solid fundamentals with the gi. At least a solid blue belt, preferably a purple. But, grappling training would not stop there. It should continue with the guidance of excellent grappling trainers, but the emphasis should be on MMA. Ultimately, the athlete has to pick his or her focus. Again, it's not a good idea to spread yourself too thinly.

In the Philippines, it might be a good idea for some fighters to spend a lot of time really learning the basics of ground fighting. I'm not talking about just watching techniques, doing a couple of reps, drilling a little bit, and that's that. They should really know the basics, just as well as guys who solely train BJJ. It might be a good idea that they try competing in strict BJJ competitions too just to test out their ground skills and make sure they've reach a certain level. I think this simple change in training could really increase the level of Pinoy MMA.

Tags: philippines, brazilian jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts, bjj, mma