# Versing stronger/larger opponents



## hma123 (Jul 2, 2009)

Im not talk ing about 70 or 80 pounds in weight diffrence. But how do you roll with a guy that has a good 20 or maybe 30/40 pounds on you, is actually good at what hes doing (meaning not intentionally trying to use his weight), and is very strong.

Whats the secret, speed,perfect your technique,or what?


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## Steve (Jul 2, 2009)

Good technique first.  After that, it's about owning the transitions and keeping your opponent from settling into a dominant position.  What I mean is, if he passes guard start workng to reestablish right away. 

On my phone so this is brief.  Hope it helps.

Edit to add:   Strength and size are two advantages.  Other possible advantages are athleticism and a
speed.  If you have either, use them.


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## tallgeese (Jul 5, 2009)

Second good technique.  That's the key to any grappling and it will go along way dealing with offestting a weight disadvantage.  

Try capatalizing on strenghts you  have as well. If you're fast, focus on using that to gain superior position espically if you can our shoot him.  Focus on working your startegy while keeping him out of his game.

Anyway, it's a start.  That weight difference isn't insurmountable but it is an advantage.


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## MJS (Jul 5, 2009)

I'll third good technique.  Without good tech., and positioning, nothing else will matter.


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## seasoned (Jul 5, 2009)

stevebjj said:


> Good technique first. After that, *it's about owning the transitions *and keeping your opponent from settling into a dominant position. What I mean is, if he passes guard start workng to reestablish right away.
> 
> On my phone so this is brief. Hope it helps.
> 
> ...


The above, is a very excellent point. Battles are won or lost in between techniques. You are vulnerable at these times, so as stevebjj mentions above, it is owning the transitions.


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## teekin (Jul 5, 2009)

Sweetie, if I ever get to work with someone who is only 20/30 lbs more than me I'm laughing. With that little of a weight advantage (I'm assuming it man vs man) and no gender advantage it's all about clean technique, maximizing leverage, and watching the transitions. I'm a 105lbs woman and can neutralize a 185 er (guy) on the ground as long as I stay very technically sound and capitalize on every inch he gives me during the transitions.:armed:
As I am so much smaller than he is it is that much harder for him to stay tight to me during transitions, ie sweeps, throws, advancing position, ect. It is during the movement when he gives me room to work that I can turn things to my advantage. :sniper:
 Lori


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## lklawson (Jul 6, 2009)

hma123 said:


> Im not talk ing about 70 or 80 pounds in weight diffrence. But how do you roll with a guy that has a good 20 or maybe 30/40 pounds on you, is actually good at what hes doing (meaning not intentionally trying to use his weight), and is very strong.
> 
> Whats the secret, speed,perfect your technique,or what?


Against someone who has as much as 40 pounds on me *AND *very strong *AND *skilled at grappling?

Knife.  Maybe a gun.  

Seriously now, there's a reason BJJ comps, Judo Shia, Wrestling meets, etc. have weight classes.

When the other guy has all those advantages, you're just borked.  Outside of weapons, your only hope is to be a lot more skilled than he is.  (That or cheat   )

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk


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## Nolerama (Jul 7, 2009)

Take the opportunity to fine-tune your tech. You're going to get stronger wrestling with larger opponents.

When you go back to your weight class, it's definitely going to show.

Have fun!


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## Kwan Jang (Jul 9, 2009)

I will give you the perspective from the other side. I am usually the bigger guy (at a very lean 250 lbs) and have always been the stronger opponent (with a squat of over 800 and a bench of nearly 600, both raw-i.e. no lifting suit). When I first began BJJ and submission grappling (late '90's), I already held black belts in JJJ and Judo as well as a master's ranking in Hapkido. Therefore I was already skilled at takedowns and joint locks and even had a decent sense of the ground, but the flow of transitions and understanding of superior positioning from the ground were not really there yet.

 I rolled with a young BJJ purple belt who I outweighed by about 75 lbs. and was likely 2-3x stronger than. He ended up tapping me out with an armbar, partly because I was more playing with him than taking him seriously as an opponent, but regardless he got me. This was a major wake up call. What he wisely did was keep scrambling, mostly to keep ME from getting a superior position and patiently waited and transitioned until I made a mistake. And once he got superior position, all of a sudden, I wasn't toying with this 21 year old kid anymore. I was trying anything I could to escape, but at the time I didn't have the skills to do anything about it and had to tap. It was a valuable lesson for me.

In stand up striking, you use footwork and firepower to control the setpoint of the fight. If an opponent is not set so that he/she can use their weapons, they are not dangerous. No matter how dangerous they may potentially be when set, if you can control the distance and the positioning, you can control the fight. The same principle applies to grappling. If you can break down their base and unbalance them well enough in the transitions to gain supeior positioning, you can beat someone like me even if they are explosively powerful and fast. And once you have the superior position, the submission can easily follow. (Unless they learned their lesson and spent a huge amount of time training on escapes and counters. LOL).


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## PurpleParham84 (Jul 13, 2009)

The way I approach every fight situation, regardless of whether the guy is bigger than me or the same size, is always the same. Mentally. 

The first thing I do is identify his strengths and weaknesses. In the case of a larger opponent, almost always, his strength is going to be his size. Weakness? It could be a number of things, but ultimately, if you are patient and play a concentrated game, it becomes mental. 

The majority of larger opponents I roll with are wrestlers by nature, and there size advantage stems from their background in wrestling. Like mentioned before, by constantly scrambling and not allowing him to control you as easily as he thought he could or is use to doing, you begin to get into his head. Once he is uneasy, he will begin to alter his normal course of action to try to compensate for your actions, which will open holes in his game for you to exploit. Once I sense he is frustrated, then I have them. I can work my game. And the calmer I appear, the more I get under his skin. From there I slowly work a dominant position, or constantly scramble in a neutral position, to physically and ,most importantly(IMO), mentally wear him down. Then strike (not literally). 

Playing the mental game works wonders for me, I only wish I had learned it early, only recently have I discovered it and began to develop it on my own. Not saying I am a pioneer or anything, but you should experiment and work out problems on your own, everyone is unique. Try it out, make them play YOUR game.


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