I read a post on Judo in rma that made the following point (among others): We always hear that Judo/Jujutsu allows a smaller person to defeat a much larger opponent. But, isn't having weight classes in Judo in opposition to this idea? How does one train for this if one is always matched against someone of roughly equal size?
I don't find it a fully compelling argument, and the benefits of being an Olympic sport clearly outweigh it, but I did find it interesting to think about. I've trained in both Judo and BJJ and I find that in BJJ I'm more likely to be paired with someone of a dissimilar weight--though of course most of the time I work with someone my own size. But the smaller students definitely get a chance to test themselves against larger opponents.
Background material, from here:
I don't find it a fully compelling argument, and the benefits of being an Olympic sport clearly outweigh it, but I did find it interesting to think about. I've trained in both Judo and BJJ and I find that in BJJ I'm more likely to be paired with someone of a dissimilar weight--though of course most of the time I work with someone my own size. But the smaller students definitely get a chance to test themselves against larger opponents.
Background material, from here:
) - I rarely get someone my size. Usually it's some 280 pound beast of a guy, or someone I outweigh by at least 40 if not 80 lbs. To tell you the truth, I have a much harder time with the smaller guys, because they're usually quicker. It seems they get my back a lot more often, and I'm always fighting from underneath. If anything, I feel I'm getting the better of the deal as it helps me work on my quickness. When the guy is bigger than me, it's usually more strength than technique, and we basically see who gets tired enough to make a mistake. Sometimes it ends up not very graceful, or as one of my instructor's put it, "like two big dogs scrappin' for the last biscuit" 
