Tips for Smaller BJJ Practitioners Part 1 - In the Training Room
Though Brazilian jiu jitsu is a weight class sport, students often train with larger partners in the practice room. Some students enjoy the challenge of working against superior size and strength, while others have only a limited number of similarly sized partners and do so out of necessity. Consider the following tips to get the most out of training with students that outweigh you.
Only train with people you want to train with. Given the close-contact nature of BJJ, students should never feel like they are required to roll with any other student. If you don’t want to train with students that outweigh you considerably, you can always politely decline to roll. That said, many larger students are great at controlling their intensity and weight distribution, and roll very productively with smaller training partners.
Enjoy the challenges and benefits of grappling with larger, stronger opponents. Rolling with a stronger opponent is the jiu jitsu version of resistance training. Working under heavier pressure can help you perfect techniques such as escapes and submission finishes, for instance. It can also make you tougher, and mental fortitude is an invaluable asset in combat sports.
Focus on your advantages as a smaller grappler. Being bigger and stronger than your opponent usually confers an advantage in BJJ, but smaller grapplers are often faster and more mobile. In addition, smaller people can take advantage of smaller openings when escaping from bad positions.
Calibrate your expectations for the round. Brazilian jiu jitsu is often portrayed as a martial art that allows smaller people to defeat larger, stronger opponents. This certainly happens when the smaller grappler is far more technical than their larger opponent, or when they can exploit a gap in the knowledge of their larger opponent. But oftentimes, if your partner has a considerable size and strength advantage over you, some of your jiu jitsu techniques just aren’t going to work, even if you apply them correctly. If you’re competing in a jiu jitsu tournament against a larger, stronger grappler, stick to techniques that maximize your advantages and allow you to manage the distance between yourself and your opponent.
-OGA Staff
Oregon Grappling Arts offers adult and kids’ jiu jitsu classes six days a week in Portland, OR. All classes are led by black belt head instructors Hannah Sharp and Eddie Jamrog. If you or your child is interested in checking out Brazilian jiu jitsu, feel free to reach out to us. All prospective students receive a three-day free trial.
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