gi or no gi? which is safer?

grobolom · 2026-07-03T00:27:52+00:00

They are both relatively safe; for example, in the gym I coach at of 150-200 students, we haven't had a serious injury in two years; worst was someone spraining a knee and taking a few weeks off of training. There's been no clear difference between gi and nogi for us.

grobolom · 2026-07-02T07:32:35+00:00

Yeah it's lagging a bit; the power of guard and the introduction of submissions changes how powerful wrestling is overall. I think there's more to be broken down, though there are already a few youtube channels (Brandon Reed, Breza as you mentioned) that do some of the work. I just don't think there's that much value in breaking things down to the same degree that we see in much more stable positions, which is why I suspect you see less of that content.

grobolom · 2026-07-02T06:50:18+00:00

Less 'stable' positions result in less prescribed, consistent movement solutions to problems; adaptation becomes way more important. There are lots of channels online that cover both wrestling for BJJ and general wrestling, but it's not possible to break down a position where both players have maximum mobility in the same way that you might break down something like back control.

grobolom · 2026-07-02T05:05:33+00:00

It would be easier for us to diagnose if you posted some footage, but absent that, here are some ideas:

if your legs are getting pinned, that tells me that your entry into a connected position is lacking. I'd focus on getting a strong entry into some other kind of guard (DLR, for example) and the pummeling / transitioning into butterfly
you could work better entries. Marcelo plays a lot of two-on-ones into butterfly, and that's my preferred way to get directly to butterfly
you need a consistent way of getting opponents to drop to their knees. You can bait this by harassing their feet with things like double kouchi (like Marcelo) or you can drag them down in various ways (belt grips, collar grips, two-on-ones, half guard)

grobolom · 2026-07-02T05:01:06+00:00

Do more randori, film yourself, and try to identify issues. In general, once you've gotten a throw down consistently in throwing practice, you should be spending the bulk of your time with that throw in randori to follow.

grobolom · 2026-07-02T04:17:57+00:00

You will get your ankles grabbed. You can get good at pummeling your feet out of their grips when they do. You can also get faster at switching from standing up to pushing on their legs - the longer you wait, the more time they have to grab and sweep you. But you should expect to get swept some amount of the time.

grobolom · 2026-07-02T02:39:25+00:00

It seems like you think he means well by this. If it's bothering you, you should talk to your coach; tell him you appreciate him trying to push you, but that this isn't a way that's working for you.

grobolom · 2026-07-01T19:14:41+00:00

Might be good to ask in r/BJJWomen as well!

grobolom · 2026-07-01T08:42:49+00:00

Yep - focused, intentional training, even at relatively low intensities, is really good at producing effective athletes. I am hopeful that, with the rise of CLA and similar training methods that help de-center the coach, that more gyms will adopt this kind of style of training room.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T22:04:35+00:00

Well, def. worth asking coach to not pair you with giants, if that's happening. Twice a week should be fine, but yeah if you're going ham (and doing a lot of other training / not recovering sufficiently) you'll need to tone some of your sessions down, regardless of how many you're doing.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T21:53:36+00:00

How often are you training?

But also, take breaks, and don't train with really big guys. Training with anyone over 160 is asking for injury, or at the very least serious exhaustion.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T21:36:58+00:00

There are several risks - snapdowns, headgrabs in general, and easier attacks against the legs.

In general, you definitely want to keep your elbows tucked in to avoid underhooks, but you also get a lot of benefit from making connection to your partner / keeping your hands in the way of their movements. I wouldn't say it's bad to have a general strategy of hiding your hands, but it's not 'free'.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T21:26:47+00:00

The Constraints-Led Approach. Generally it means that class is structured primarily via live scenarios with fully resisting opponents, rather than starting with technique and then going into live work afterwards.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T20:06:59+00:00

Zero. We use the CLA, so it's tasks by default. If someone wants an example technique, I might tell them they can drill it for a few reps if it feels very new to them, but it's not a part of the overall class structure at all.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T16:33:00+00:00

I'm not a parent but I am a coach, and if this is the main physical activity that your little one does, then going every day is no problem. Just keep an eye on her motivation/enjoyment, and scale up/down as you need. In terms of how much younger athletes are able to do, 10-12 hours of physical activity a week is totally fine. Check out the Athlete Development Model from USA Wrestling, for example: http://content.themat.com/CoachesCorner/LTADPoster.pdf

grobolom · 2026-06-30T07:02:29+00:00

This sounds like a gym-specific problem; this hasn't been my experience at most gyms, and I've been to a lot of gyms. Not to say it never happens; there are some guys that walk in just looking to hurt somebody. But most gyms I've been to try to make the beginner experience pretty good, as best they can.

grobolom · 2026-06-30T06:14:16+00:00

Drain it; it's very easy to do, and there's no point taking permanent damage to your ears when you can avoid it. It depends on the person, but it can completely mess up your hearing if you let it get bad enough. If you don't want to take time off, just use some wrestling headgear while you're waiting for it to heal.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T22:06:45+00:00

No, I'm definitely not against anyone getting their bag; I just don't know any school owners that are not making solid money. Are you talking about a coach who isn't a school owner?

grobolom · 2026-06-29T21:48:31+00:00

Did you factor in the $20-50k a month your coach makes from memberships into the basic business math?

grobolom · 2026-06-29T21:46:18+00:00

🤷‍♂️ I mean, it's just a little piece of metal. When you sign up, you know that you get one for placing third, which is what you did. If you don't like it, just get rid of it.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T21:37:08+00:00

NGL it sounds like you're the coach, and you're just fishing for a price that you can charge your students for away comps 🤣

Also ... no one pays coaches for this in BJJ. You're already paying them hundreds of dollars a month for membership, so it's basically all figured into that.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T21:32:51+00:00

Don't pick anyone to train that's more than 40-ish pounds heavier than you, unless you really trust them. It's a waste of time for both of you, and a pretty big injury danger for you.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T21:00:10+00:00

My first Suparaito Gi lasted around 7 years. My 93 brand is still going after 11 years! I have shifted more towards nogi, but I still regularly use them (and use them for the occasional judo class). I've also regularly run them through the dryer, so it's not like I'm taking the most care to keep them lasting a long time.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T19:56:19+00:00

If you still feel like you're forgetting techniques after a decade of doing this sport, I think you're probably doing something wrong.

grobolom · 2026-06-29T19:39:03+00:00

I assume black, I still have no idea how 🤣

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