Little Vs. Big

August 15, 2010

Here is a blog post that I wrote a while ago on my blog. I thought I would post it here as it may be helpful to some of the newer people. I hope you enjoy.

Lately I have come to an understanding. Now first let me remind you all, that I’m not a big guy. I’m about 155 and 5’8 at the most. With that said, I have come to a realization lately when rolling with bigger people. It’s a battle of inches in Jiu Jitsu, but even more so when your opponent has some extra pounds over you. Let me explain a bit more. A perfect example of this was a while back when I was a white belt there was a bigger person that would always give me troubles when we would roll. He would get a hold of one of my sleeves and I would find myself trying to play my guard with only one arm for the entire match. I realize now with a bigger person sometimes I don’t get the chance to regain that inch that was taken from me, or in that case a limb. Now when I roll with bigger opponents I really try to focus on not allowing them to get that inch to begin with, and I roll with the mind set that I won’t have a chance to regain anything that has been taken from me. Now don’t get this confused, I don’t mean in any way that I roll harder or more aggressive. That couldn’t be farther from what I am trying to say. If anything it forces me to think about what my opponent is doing and not just what I am trying to do. Why are they going for that grip? What are they going to do if they get it. How am I going to keep them from getting it? I guess this is something to think about next time you roll if this concept is new to anyone out there. This really helps me deal with a bigger more aggressive opponent in Jiu Jitsu.

And here is a bonus highlight video from the man who faces this issue all the time.