Over the weekend, Chris, Jon and I headed over to Vancouver Island and did some training at Ari Bolden Sensei’s dojo 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu Victoria. This was a great opportunity to work on our ground grappling with guys who dedicated most of their training time to developing these skills, as well as a few who cross-train between Japanese Jiu-jitsu and BJJ.

Part of the package though, was that all the people who trained the two days we were there were considerably bigger than me. They ranged between 185 and 220 lbs (50 – 85 lbs heavier than me). When you grapple with someone with whom there is this big a size difference (and potentially a big difference in muscle mass if the pair is a woman and a man) your approach to training must be different for safety’s sake.

Sure, if the smaller person is significantly more skilled than the larger, it is possible to dominate or even tap their partner out. But, if the two people are of equal skill or the larger person is more skilled, the difference in weight and strength in most cases will make it even easier for the larger person to dominate.

So here is my advice on how to approach your grappling when there is a big size difference, starting with my suggestions for the larger person.

For the Larger of the Pair: This is a great opportunity for you to work on your technique. When working with a smaller person, you should strive to relax and take all your strength out of the equation, focusing on developing better positional strategy and improving the technical application of your submissions. It’s true that your weight will still give you an edge if you’re doing what you’re supposed to in terms of positional strategy. But, when you’re breaking holds, applying submissions, or doing positional transitions, you should try not to just muscle your way through. This leads to a much greater risk that you could accidentally injure your much smaller partner, plus you really don’t improve your grappling from the experience.

For the Smaller of the Pair: If the larger person you’re grappling is of equal or greater skill, you’re not as likely to tap them out (though if the opportunity presents itself, of course, attempt it). So instead, focus on developing your defensive strategies. Because you’re smaller, your technical defense must be that much better to make up the difference. Be sure to communicate with your partner as you grapple. Tap early and tap often, especially if you find they are using their strength. You will probably lose a strength battle if it comes down to it, and it isn’t worth risking injury. And if you are more skilled than the person you’re rolling with, help your partner with their technique. Stop the action when you see that they’re using strength and show them a more technical option. People often use strength simply because they don’t know any better, so it is in both your interests if you help him or her. Check out the video in this blog post in which BJJ brown belt (then a purple belt) Jennifer Weintz does this very skillfully.

Of course, you aren’t likely to end up grappling someone so much bigger than you in competition, but remember, if you face an attacker on the street you can’t count on things being equal on the size front. So as you grapple, try to recognize what other tools you have that can be added to improve your likelihood of getting off the ground should you be in this situation on the street. Here is a post a wrote about useful striking targets on the ground for self-defense.

As for me, I want to thank the guys at 10th Planet Victoria. They were all very good about not using their strength to get the better of me and I was able to safely roll with them and learn from the experience. For more detailed advice on grappling with different sized training partners, check out my book When the Fight Goes to the Ground: Jiu-jitsu Strategies & Tactics for Self-Defense.

Tags: ground grappling