No Gi, 16 and over
No jacket, nowhere to hide
Take the gi away and everything that relied on gripping cloth stops working. What is left is faster, sweatier and far closer to how grappling behaves when nobody is wearing a uniform, which is why this is the session people who have watched MMA usually ask about first.
If you want to know whether the technique is real, take away the handles and find out.
No gi, in one line
Take away the handles and find out what actually works.
Shorts and a rash guard, no jacket, nothing to grip. Sixteen and over, beginners included.
When it runs
- Monday18:30 to 20:00No GiBeginners and advanced
- Wednesday18:30 to 20:00Freestyle Wrestling and No Gi
Times come straight from the club timetable, so this page cannot drift out of date on its own.
See the full timetableWhat a No Gi class actually looks like
Ninety minutes, beginners and advanced together, at a noticeably higher pace than the gi sessions.
The pace is different, immediately
Without a jacket to hold, positions break down faster and scrambles happen constantly. It rewards timing, pressure and body position over grip strength, and it punishes anyone whose game is built entirely on holding sleeves and collars.
Technique with the detail left in
Underhooks, head position, hand fighting, the specific mechanics of holding somebody down when there is nothing to grab. This is the level of detail that separates a class teaching grappling from a class doing cardio with a partner.
Wrestling actually shows up
Most jiu jitsu gyms are quietly weak on takedowns. Here the same coach teaching this session is a former Great Britain freestyle wrestler, and it shows in how the standing exchanges are taught. That is not a small differentiator between one No Gi class and another.
Hard live rounds, matched sensibly
You train against people genuinely trying to beat you, paired by size and experience. That is what makes it real, and the pairing is what stops it being reckless.
Who this is for
- People already training somewhere who want more No Gi than they currently get
- Anyone whose interest in grappling came through MMA
- Gi players who want to test whether their game survives without grips
- Complete beginners, who are genuinely welcome in this session too
The honest answer
Is this the real thing?
Fair question, and it is worth answering with credentials rather than adjectives.
Adam Toole is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Cleve Williams, in a lineage that runs Carlos Gracie, Carlos Gracie Jr, Rigan Machado, John Will, Cleve Williams. Imperial is an official Will-Machado representative club. That is a traceable line rather than a belt bought online.
He has been training and competing in jiu jitsu since 2012, with podiums and wins at PanPacs and multiple state titles. He has also been coaching wrestling since 1998 and represented Great Britain internationally at freestyle. The person teaching you has competed, recently enough to remember it, and coaches for a living rather than as a hobby.
Beyond that, the honest test is the one you can run yourself. Come to a session, train with the people in it, and see whether what you are shown holds up when somebody resists it. That costs you nothing and tells you more than any page can.
What to bring on the day
Shorts and a rash guard
A t-shirt is fine for your first session if you do not own a rash guard yet.
A water bottle
This session is sweatier than the gi classes. Bring plenty.
Short nails, bare feet
More important without a gi, not less. Cut them before you come.
No experience needed
Beginners train in this session too and are paired accordingly.
Test it yourself
Your first couple of classes are free, so you can judge the room and the coaching on the mats rather than on a website. Book in and come and find out.