Adults · Four days a week

Gi Jiu-JitsuClasses in Cork

Traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the gi, in Ballyvolane, ten minutes from Cork city centre. Monday evening, Tuesday lunchtime and evening, Thursday and Friday lunchtime.

You don’t need to own a gi to start. We’ll lend you one until you know you’re staying.

 (01) · The difference

Gi vs NoGi

It’s the same art with one variable changed, and that one variable changes almost everything.

In the gi you can hold the jacket. That means you can grip, stall, break someone’s posture and set traps at a pace of your choosing. It slows the game down and rewards precision — the person who understands the position beats the person who is stronger or faster.

Take the jacket away and there’s nothing to hold. Control comes from your own body position or it doesn’t come at all. Faster, sweatier, more athletic.

Most people here train both, and the honest advice for a beginner is to start in the gi. Everything you learn there transfers to NoGi. It doesn’t work as cleanly the other way round.

In the gi

What changes

  • Collar and sleeve grips open up
  • Chokes using the jacket become available
  • Slower pace, more time to think
  • Harder to escape by moving fast
  • Technique matters more than attributes
  • Most Irish competitions are gi

When

Gi class times

Monday — 6:30pm
Tuesday — 1:00pm and 6:30pm
Thursday — 1:00pm
Friday — 1:00pm

Four days a week, lunchtime and evening. Saturday open mat is gi or NoGi, whichever you prefer.

 (02) · The kit

About the gi

The one bit of kit you’ll eventually need, and the questions everyone asks before buying one.

Do I need to buy a gi to start?

No. We’ll lend you one for your first few sessions. Come in shorts and a t-shirt, borrow a gi, and only buy your own once you’ve decided you’re staying. Nobody should be spending money on kit for a sport they’ve tried twice.

Any plain single-weave gi in white, blue or black will do, and a cheap one is fine to start. Ask a coach before you order — sizing runs oddly between brands and it’s the thing beginners most often get wrong. There’s no club requirement on brand.

Gi sizes run A0 to A5 and go mostly by height rather than weight. Most adults land in A1 to A3. Tell a coach your height and build and they’ll point you at the right one — a gi that’s too big is far more annoying to train in than one that’s slightly snug.

Cold wash, hang dry, after every single session. Never tumble dry — it shrinks cotton badly and you’ll ruin the fit. If you train twice a week you can manage on one gi; three times and a second one saves you a lot of grief.

Adults go white, blue, purple, brown, black. Progress is slow by design — blue belt usually takes a couple of years of consistent training, and nobody is counting down. Stripes mark progress in between. Belts are awarded by the coaches when they’re earned, not tested for.

The gi, if you have the choice. It’s slower, which gives you time to think, and the detail you build there carries straight over to NoGi. Plenty of people do both from week one — the timetable makes that easy.

Borrow a gi. Try a class.

Ballyvolane Commercial Park, Unit 24, Ballyvolane, Cork, T23 E685. Free parking on site, ten minutes from Cork city centre. First class on us — message ahead so we know you’re coming.

083 465 1592 · aontachjj@gmail.com