Lounge

Hear me out. The grips are useful. The friction is useful. But 80% of what makes someone good in the gi makes them MORE vulnerable in no-gi. Roger's mount? Marcelo's back system? Buchecha's pressure? All of it works without a gi. Meanwhile half the gi black belts get cooked in 30 seconds at sub-only. If I had to start over knowing what I know now, I'd do 70% no-gi from white belt. Fight me in the comments.

Loud, viral, hilarious. Also: where's the medal count? CJI was an exhibition, not a tournament. ADCC results have been mixed. The marketing is A+. The output, by black-belt-grade-mat-time per medal, is mid. Defend the team. Real medals only.

Mine: blue belt told a competing brown belt mid-match "his guard is open" while reffing. You know what I mean. The unhinged stuff.

Lex Friedman crying about Ukraine in a JJ podcast. JRE clips of Eddie Bravo conspiracy theories. Influencer-host podcasts where every episode is "tell us your story" with zero pushback. Which shows actually move the conversation forward? Which are pure grift? Names.

CJI changed the salary conversation for one weekend. Then went back to normal. ADCC purses are still embarrassing for the level of skill. Does the sport need a players' union? Or is BJJ structurally never going to be a paying career for more than 20 people?

When the founders were graded, it took decades. The BJJ community has steadily compressed the time. 7-year black belts are now common. 5-year black belts exist. Is the standard dropping or is the training getting better? Because both can't be true.

Every IBJJF rule change thread has 50 hobbyists telling Felipe Pena what should change. Line in the sand: do you need competition experience to weigh in on competition rules, or is everyone's opinion equally valid?

Hear me out. The grips are useful. The friction is useful. But 80% of what makes someone good in the gi makes them MORE vulnerable in no-gi. If I had to start over knowing what I know now, I'd do 70% no-gi from white belt. Fight me in the comments.