I'm rolling with a new club having moved over here to Korea. I'm having trouble adapting (mainly 'cos my game has gone to crap due to having reduced my classes from 8 a week to 1). Most of my problems stem from the fact that the guys over here are a load stronger than me and very tight and don't really move much. As a result we will roll and I'll try and create an attack becuase sitting with someone in guard for the whole session is dull, they'll power out (or more likely I'll be that bit slow/sloppy and miss it) and then they'll pass and just smother me totally and once again we lay there for the remained of the time with him cranking on my face from ide control and me not being able to move to do anything. Any tips for dealing with very tight strong guys would be really appreciated. Also anyone who has a way of getting back to guard from half guard when your opponent is too heavy to lift even on the hooks (I'm giving up alomst 30kg), this would be nice too.
Yours
Paul
Ask him if he is trying to do bjj or is he there just to dry fuck you. Most guys get the message after that.
Keep moving. Don't give him a chance at controling you. I know it sounds generic....but just do it. Play your game not there. Make them try to have to adapt to you. Not the other way around. Think about the concept and try it out. Just my two cents.
It sucks when guys just lay on you, especially if they're stronger. I asked Royce that question at a seminar, and he said, "just wait, if he doesn't move, then you don't move". Pretty soon he'll realize that he's boring as hell and he'll try something. Are there any guys your size at your school? If so then try to roll with them.
you need to be taught some escapes and not just taught if he doesn't move then you don't move, otherwise training consists of being side mounted for an hour and you learn nothing.
Thanks for the advice. I probably should just make the effort to start eating right and working out enough. I know my escapes but just find it hard when I can't even bridge to give myself enough leeway to even move my hips. the softness of our mats doesn't help as you sink a little bit and so hey are very 'sticky'. I am probably the lightest guy here and am definitely the 'weakest' as the guys lighter are a load shorter and absolutely stacked. I can roll with most of the smaller guys and beat them up badly anyway its more one of these strength/size beating technique problems that always annoys me.
P
There isn't that much you can do if someone much bigger and around the same skill level is just trying to hold you down and stall.
You should memorize a lengthy passage from Shakespeare and start reciting it. That will learn him.
Et tu, Brute?!
Or sing the extended version of "I am 'enry the eight I am".
Haj Paj (or however it's spelled)
"To be, or not to be, that is the question...."
You might have better luck if you focus on getting them on their back. Ie, don't pull guard. Improve your standup skills.
dude. theres tight with technique which ends in you tapping and theres tight out of fear of movement.
If the guy is clinging to you cause he dose'nt want you to pass or bring a knee up the middle then just be patient. He will give you an oppertunity sooner or later.
well its tight in a "hmm I'm on top of someone good, I'm stronger than him if I move he'll get guard back again, so I'll sit here and try to make him uncomfortable for the next 15mins" kind of way. As I say when I was trining, eating and sleeping well I would have no problem bridging explosively enough to get the room I need to change positions, but as it is I am trying to deal with guys who's outlook is if I'm not tapping then its good for me so lets stay here and try to kill the game.... If I'm ever on top then its game over, I just really prefer working from underneath as this is my competition game (and at 6'8" and 82kg is the one my body type lends itself to).
lol, nope, just very skinny, actually have a genetic condition that means I can't get big :/. As a result I wondered how small I could get and stay strong(ish), and 80kg is the answer (on the day, hydrated).
I'm surprised no-one suggested the KY Jelly yet.
While Royce's comment has merit, I would also train some escapes for when someone just wants to hold you down.
In a self defence situation you might be pretty fucked while his mate runs off for the kitchen knife because he's going to chop your tackle off for sleeping with his missus.... ok back on track.
Remember there are things you can do to create gap, I like to cross face, dig fingers into the nerve points under the jaw, etc... BUT the main thing I think is really hip movement.
Simply tell him, "Like most beginners, you're attacking me incorrectly."
the softness of our mats doesn't help as you sink a little bit and so hey are very 'sticky'.
Take some initative, clean the mat with 'Armor All".
Paul,
If you are giving away 30Kgs then 99% of the time you will have to fight on your back, i.e. from guard. Therefore you should be developing a tight closed guard game with mainly submission attempts. I say submissions because it is relatively hard to go for a sweep directly against a bigger guy (maybe that's why you end up in half guard ...). You will probably be stacked plenty of times initially but don't give up, at the end you should start pulling out some armlocks and triangles (subfighter.com has some great technical video clips for free !!!). Flexibility here would help enormously.
I weigh about 70Kgs and I am 173cm tall and most of the people I fight against weigh 85-90Kgs and are 180cm+ tall. Through time, I realized that trying to fight them from top is not always the best option.
Because of this, I am mainly a closed guard fighter, especially against big guys. During sparring, do your best not letting them pass to side control or even half guard, it will be hard to properly escape against a large and experienced opponent.
its called Marfans syndrome, it is genetic and merely makes you very long boned and extremely slim. It is associated with a number of minor heart and eye defects but nothing too serious and isn't really problematic just that even when on the creatine, high calorie, high protein diet I max out at about 105kg, of which I'd guess about 90 is lean, which isn't quite big enough to play with the really big boys.....
Guiness when I was in London I had no problems (well I did people beat me up) but over here in South Korea the standard is pretty low and the sport is quite new so apart from the instructor, who is himself a blue belt, most of the other students are beginners who are hyper aggresiveand will win against most of the other people using the tactic that they are using because they will panic and tap due to having their face cranked on or will fail to defend their neck and give up an easy choke. It doesn't help that I'm working 50 hrs each week and only training once a week apart from a bit of jogging and body weight stuff.