Gi or no-gi: the differences, and which to start with

Gi is the kimono: heavy jacket, belt, trousers. No-gi is trained in a fitted top (a rash guard) and shorts or leggings. People arriving from outside assume it is a question of comfort or looks. It is not: it changes what you have in your hands.

The one difference that produces all the others

With the gi you can grab fabric: collar, sleeves, trouser cuffs, belt. These are solid grips that hold even when your opponent pushes, and they let you pin somebody almost still.

In no-gi you can only grab the body: wrists, neck, legs, torso. Sweat does the rest. The person underneath slips away far more easily.

Everything else you hear about follows from that.

• Pace. The gi is slower and more positional: you build a grip, you hold it, you advance. No-gi is faster and full of scrambles, those chaotic moments where neither of you controls anything.
• Finishes. The gi has collar chokes, which in no-gi simply do not exist. In no-gi, leg locks and limb-trapping chokes carry more weight.
• Defence. With the gi, defending well pays off enormously: a good grip has to be stripped before you can get out. In no-gi you escape more often through movement and explosiveness.
• How much physical strength matters. The gi evens out athletic differences a little more, because gripping technique counts for so much. In no-gi, speed and the ability to hold a pace show up more.

What you need, and what it costs

• Gi: a jiu-jitsu kimono, roughly 60 to 150 euros as a ballpark. A judo or karate uniform will not do, as the cut, the fabric and the durability are all different. The belt is usually included.
• No-gi: a rash guard and shorts or leggings, much cheaper. Watch out for shorts with pockets, zips or buttons: they are banned on almost every mat, and they are an excellent way to sprain a finger.

Which one to start with

The honest answer is: whichever one your gym does. Many academies alternate through the week, in which case there is nothing to decide.

If you do have a choice, two practical criteria apply.

1. 1If you want to build solid fundamentals and you are not in a hurry, the gi. The slower pace gives you time to understand what is happening, and fabric grips expose mistakes that go unnoticed in no-gi because you slip out anyway.
2. 2If you come from wrestling, grappling or MMA, no-gi. The movement will feel more familiar and the skills you already have pay off immediately.

Either way it is not a permanent decision: you can switch whenever you like, and most practitioners end up doing both sooner or later.

Do belts count in both?

Yes. There is one rank and it belongs to the practitioner, not to the discipline: a blue belt is still a blue belt when training without a kimono. In no-gi competition you do not wear the belt, but the divisions are still split by rank. We cover it here: BJJ belts explained.