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

I recently wrote a post about dealing with size differences when grappling. One thing I forgot to mention is that flexibility, especially in the hip and inner thighs, is another way to combat an opponent with greater size and strength. I find it particularly useful when I’m in the open guard.

People who are bigger and stronger often aren’t as flexible and this can be a way to prevent such opponents from passing your guard without using as much strength. That’s why I tend to favour open guards when grappling, no matter who my opponent is. I simply keep my legs loose and active and use my speed and flexibility to stop my opponent as he or she tries to power through my guard. A closed guard, on the other hand, tends to utilize more strength when keeping your opponent within your guard or preventing him or her from passing.

Here is a video of me using my flexibility against an opponent who is 25 lbs heavier than me (please excuse the fogginess, it was a steamy day in the dojo when we filmed this):

Flexibility doesn’t come easily for everyone, but you can always improve it with a regular stretching regime. If you’re serious about improving your flexibility, you shouldn’t just be doing it at the dojo. Here is a good video that demonstrates various ways of doing the butterfly and other related stretches for increasing hip/ inner thigh flexibility and leg rotation:

Another stretch I like for stretching these muscles is the pigeon pose from yoga. I find it provides more leverage for increasing the stretch even further. You can see it here in this yoga video:

Even if you’re not planning to use flexibility as a cornerstone of your ground game, it’s a good idea to work on it to increase your range of motion, which helps to improve your overall ground game. This is true whether you’re training the ground for competition or self-defense. Check out my new book When the Fight Goes to the Ground: Jiu-jitsu Strategies & Tactics for Self-Defense for more information on my approach to ground defense.

Tags: flexibility | ground grappling | stretching

My students come in all shapes and sizes. I have one tiny student who isn’t much bigger than an 11-year-old, despite being a fully grown adult. I also have a few very large students who are significantly taller, weigh quite a bit more, and are much stronger to boot. When we grapple, however, we all end up working together, using all different sizes of partners. Being a smaller person myself (5’4″, 130lbs), people often ask how I am able to make up for it when grappling with bigger, stronger people. Here’s how…

Develop Superior Technique
When your technique is spot-on, you use less strength and energy to shift your body or apply locks and submissions. If you’re going to grapple with people who are bigger and stronger than you, you should strive to make your technique superior to theirs. This is what helps me get the better of my bigger opponents.

Be Faster
Being smaller usually means you can develop your speed more easily since you don’t have as much body weight to drag around. When you can shift your body more quickly, it’s easier to prevent larger opponents from using their weight against you by staying in or shifting between optimal positions. You can also use your speed to slip into submissions and get them locked down before they can use their strength to get out of them.

Use Strength Wisely
When you do get a submission locked down, don’t fool around. Use your strength at these key times to ensure submission. If you were fast enough to get your submission locked down, your opponent is less able to rely on technique to get out. In which case, you can bet your opponent will try to use his or her strength to stop your submission, and, because he’s bigger and stronger than you, you can justify using a bit of strength to solidify your submission attempt with less risk of injuring your opponent. That being said, be careful when using strength to apply joint locks. If you use it too explosively, your opponent may not have the chance to tap out before you cause them injury.

End It Quickly
If your opponent is bigger and stronger than you, time is not on your side. The longer it takes you to end the match, the more likely you’ll eventually tire out trying to manipulate your opponent’s bigger, stronger body, especially if he has decent technique. And once you’re tired out, it’s very easy for them to get a submission in. Your goal in dealing with a larger, stronger opponent should be to try and end the match as quickly as possible, before your body gets tired and you’re less able to defend yourself.

Go forth, Davids and take on your Goliaths! Here’s a little inspiration for you to take with you. The fight between Fedor Emelianenko (6’0″, 235lbs) and Hong-Man Choi (7’2″, 330lbs). You can guess who wins…

Tags: ground grappling | women