Recently the former welterweight UFC champion and top-level BJJ black belt
Matt Serra went on the Jason Chambers Podcast and talked about several
things from his experiences on the YouTube show “Dana White looking for a
fight” to his long history with Jiu Jitsu mastermind John Danaher.
Among the topics, Matt and Jason discussed on the show talked about the
the controversy that has plagued the sport for a long time about the application of
techniques involving the use of the gi for self-defense.
Jason raised the question about the efficiency of training in a gi and if it is
something that all Jiu-Jitsu academies should stress or if it’s something that
should be completely abandoned.
Many people have expressed that training with a gi is not realistic because you
will rarely have the chance to use people’s clothes to control and submit them,
however other people make the case that it only requires small adjustments to
use the same techniques you would use with the gi on people with everyday
clothes.
When asked about this Matt Serra talked about how he urged his students to
train both in gi and no-gi but at the same time he personally favored the gi.
“ At the end of the day, I want my guys to be dangerous on the beach or in a New
York City subway in the wintertime. At the end of the day, the gi is the same thing
as a north face jacket, you should be able to strangle somebody with that. People
think that it’s only for the sport, I want to be a fighter.
But what about as a training tool? That’s what people don’t talk about”. – Matt Serra said
In the end, the gi can be a great tool for professional fighters or self-defense not
just as a tool to control and submit people but also as a way to understand
control and positions. More than anything it is a learning tool that can help
anyone become a better fighter.
What do you think?
