Size vs skill
- Thread starter Tony Dismukes
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Danny T
Senior Master
Athleticism, body awareness, and intelligence all have a factor as well.
The big boy learn a lot in a very short time. That there was no striking could also play a major factor as well.
The big boy learn a lot in a very short time. That there was no striking could also play a major factor as well.
OP
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I worked the math and figured that to get the same proportional challenge as the little guy was facing I would need to find a training partner who is 7’6” and 490 pounds of solid muscle. Any volunteers?
Danny T
Senior Master
Sorry Tony can't help in the size area... I'm only 5'7" and 165 lbs. But, I'd sure enjoy spending some mat time with you. At least until you roll me up into a ball to tightly...wouldn't like that but would be fun until then.
skribs
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I think in most cases, the "small person with skill should beat a large person" are assuming that the bigger person is just trying to get by on strength and reach, and the smaller person is going to use greater speed, technique, accuracy, and smarts to win the fight. If you assume most of those are equal, the big guy should win. That's why weight classes exist in every combat art.
Nature shows that in almost ever circumstance, the bigger animal wins. There's a reason the top of the food chain is held by animals like the Grizzly Bear, Siberian Tiger, and Great White Shark. There's a reason Blue Whales don't have any natural predators. If you have an equally trained, equally talented pair of fighters, one who is 6'4" and 300 pounds of muscle, the other who is 5'7" and 145 pounds of lean, I would assume the 6'4" guy would win an overwhelming percentage of the time.
If you're going for points or tags it may be more balanced or even skewed the other way.
Nature shows that in almost ever circumstance, the bigger animal wins. There's a reason the top of the food chain is held by animals like the Grizzly Bear, Siberian Tiger, and Great White Shark. There's a reason Blue Whales don't have any natural predators. If you have an equally trained, equally talented pair of fighters, one who is 6'4" and 300 pounds of muscle, the other who is 5'7" and 145 pounds of lean, I would assume the 6'4" guy would win an overwhelming percentage of the time.
If you're going for points or tags it may be more balanced or even skewed the other way.
JR 137
Grandmaster
I would refer you to this gentleman, but sadly he’s no longer with us...
He was only 7’4, but was 520 lbs, so that should be close enough.
One of my favorite pics of how big he actually was...
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Big lad lol
that would be a could I come back I need to go to walmart to get a pack of diapers and a spade lol
Anarax
Master Black Belt
Overall I think the normal sized guy did a good job of controlling and setting the tempo. There are definitely challenges when dealing with an opponent of that size and strength. The smaller guy figured that out with the attempted double leg in which the big guy just picked him up. The throw at 1:20 was really cool.
Both guys showed great sportsmanship and weren't trying to make it a d*** measuring contest.
Both guys showed great sportsmanship and weren't trying to make it a d*** measuring contest.
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JR 137
Grandmaster
I wonder if it looked anything like this
I wonder how he would’ve done in the cage? I mean who’s going to take him down and submit him? Who’s going to choke him out? Who’s going to be able to KO him with strikes?
What strategy could honesty be used? All I can think of would be coming at an angle and hacking at his legs until he was chopped down like a tree. Like Marco Ruas did to Paul Valerans in UFC 7. But Valerans was 6’8 300 lbs vs Andre’s 7’4 540 lbs. Huge difference there. I don’t think that would go on too long before André would grab someone and just choke the life out of them with those huge hands. I’m not saying that as a pro wrestling fanboy by any means; I just don’t see how anyone could possibly overcome his shear size and strength. Even a guy as big and strong as Brock Lesnar.
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I spent an hour with Andre and Hulk Hogan backstage after a wrestling show at the Cape Cod Coliseum back in the day. It was a lovely time, spent a good part of the time talking about food.
My boss wanted me to invite them back to his restaurant, to eat and drink for free. Unfortunately, they had a matinee show at Madison Square Garden the next day and were flying out that night. They laughed, said they loved when people did that. Said they ate so much the place would lose money for the week. Hulk said that Andre could drink a fifth of good Scotch as a warm up, and not even have a buzz. Could follow it with an entire case of beer and another fifth of Scotch like it was nothing. And he would eat ten steaks and five full chickens. Andre nodded his head and said "I like chicken"
I remember after being comfortable, looking at their knee joints, their hands, their necks, I remember thinking "I'm don't think I could hurt either guy with a baseball bat or a sledge hammer." Probably just priss them off. My buddy Billie Blanks became friends with Terry (Hulk) years later and they worked out together a lot. He said Hulk could sprint short distances really quick for a big guy. I found that frightening.
My boss wanted me to invite them back to his restaurant, to eat and drink for free. Unfortunately, they had a matinee show at Madison Square Garden the next day and were flying out that night. They laughed, said they loved when people did that. Said they ate so much the place would lose money for the week. Hulk said that Andre could drink a fifth of good Scotch as a warm up, and not even have a buzz. Could follow it with an entire case of beer and another fifth of Scotch like it was nothing. And he would eat ten steaks and five full chickens. Andre nodded his head and said "I like chicken"
I remember after being comfortable, looking at their knee joints, their hands, their necks, I remember thinking "I'm don't think I could hurt either guy with a baseball bat or a sledge hammer." Probably just priss them off. My buddy Billie Blanks became friends with Terry (Hulk) years later and they worked out together a lot. He said Hulk could sprint short distances really quick for a big guy. I found that frightening.
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they are great anecdotes as that real life not what is seen or perceived in the media etc
JR 137
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So having been in André the Giant’s presence, if you absolutely had to fight him, no weapons, what would you honestly do? You’re the reigning UFC champ before weight classes. He’s the number 1 contender for your title, and you can’t duck him. What’s your strategy?
It’s a genuine question, not a wiseass question. I’m just at a complete loss for anything that would be remotely effective. I’d say wear him down, but I don’t see how you get less than 6 feet away from the guy (his true range might even be more than that) and not get pummeled and/or get the life squeezed out of you.
I’m 5’9 220 lbs. Fighting him would probably be like me fighting my 7 year old daughter. Seriously.
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skribs
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From what I remember, he was really good at fighting whole hordes of enemies, but he didn't have very good tactics to use against a single person. Just dodge and avoid his wide strikes (going between the leg is an option) and take the back and then choke him out.
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In a more serious note, I would try to get him overheated and tired. If my understanding of physics is correct, as your size increases, the heat you generate increases by an exponent of 3 and your the heat you can sweat off increases by an exponent of 2, assuming everything else is similar (i.e. percent that is bone, skin, muscle). So if he's 33% taller than me (7'4 vs. 5'6), he will generate 137% more heat and only dissipate heat 77% faster, which means he will heat up faster than I will.
The challenge is going to be if he is patient. If he's impatient and aggressive I can dance around him and get him to waste energy. If he's patient, there isn't much you can do.
In Olympic-style Taekwondo the goal would be to get in close where he can't kick you. But that only works because you're not allowed to grapple, punch to the face, or knee strike.
But in terms of him being 520 pounds...jeez. I just did the math. 520 pounds next to me now...that's the same ratio as me back to the weight I wrestled at in 6th grade. I was 63 pounds. The lowest weight class was 78 and under. I had a ton of trouble wrestling against people 15 pounds heavier than me (the fact I was terrible at it didn't help). I know how easy it is for me to manhandle my nephew or my students that are around that size. I can't imagine going up against someone that much bigger than me.
Roy D. Mercer: "Just how big a ol' boy are you?"
Roy D. Mercer: "Well. thats just about **** whipping size"
Roy D. Mercer: "Well. thats just about **** whipping size"
jobo
Grandmaster
The most deadly animal ( to humans)in the word is an insect,
jobo
Grandmaster
Those are really thin girls, like to see him do that with four fat lasses
I've worked out with some extremely big people, but they didn't know how to fight. People who do professional wrestling are used to tremendous amounts of contact. And Andre is used to other really big, crazy people smashing into him in front of packed crowds of screaming people.
You don't fight Andre the Giant, you just don't. He is a m'f GIANT. Stay away from Giants.
skribs
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I like this.
