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Originally Posted by ArTofF16hT1ng
Any of you know some fat BJJ players from your club? I'm talking like Roy Nelson fat or even fatter.
Some fat dudes move gracefully on the mat.
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They sweat a lot more too
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So, I'm that fat guy. 6' (used to be 6' 1" but sometime between 35-40 I shrank an inch) and right now about 300 lbs. When I was younger and in good shape I was about 220 lbs with 8% bodyfat, wore a size 50 coat to get around my shoulders and 34 waist, and a good athlete - some HS wrestling and a couple years of judo. I was a better than average wrestler (and basketball and football player, also did a little TKD and Shotokan) but my family moved a lot so I never settled into a program and drilled the way I would have needed to to really maximize my talent at anything. I never did do too well in endurance sports but have always been very strong, particularly in legs and core, as well as quick and explosive for my size - That's all still true, even stronger than I was then, even though not nearly as quick and explosive as I was then, I suppose some due to being fat and some due to getting old. I can still cross guys up on the BB court though, especially when they underestimate me.
Even though it was hard to find a gym back then, I started rolling BJJ right after high school when I saw a couple of UFC events and bought some JJ VHS tapes (wish i still had those, I don't even remember who they were by) and found some friends, former wrestlers and guys crossing over from other arts, who were willing to roll with me. My life took a left turn and suffice to say I didn't get to train consistently and somewhere in there got fat to boot. It took years to recover and get back on track and now I train as often as I can again.
Yes, I sweat more than average.
I do wear a T-shirt or rash guard under the gi and try to avoid soaking my training partners - but sweat is part of the deal if you train hard and I think everybody accepts that.
I've been late to class a few times (I have 4 kids still at home, so cut me some slack) but not consistently, heck, I want the warmups to help reduce this middle area I got going on. The things that are different from when I was younger and thinner are that I'm not nearly as flexible first and foremost, though I work on it every day, my hips just don't open the way they used to. I get tired a lot quicker (obviously - even though I do actually have decent stamina, better than a lot of smaller guys) and it is so fricken hard to get this weight off and even when I do a week or two of laziness and it comes back and brings friends. Guys, seriously, don't get fat - its so much easier not to get fat than to get un-fat. I don't absorb techniques as quick as I once did when I could hit stuff live on the same day I learned it. Don't think that has anything to do with being fat, though. I also have a lot more aches and pains, though I don't have any way to know if I have more than normal for a guy of my age with my background.
Mostly I love love LOVE to roll. I'm not bad in most positions, if I do say so myself, and I have to tell you this fat middle is a big tactical advantage in top game, so I understand why Roy is loath to get rid of it. The first time I roll with someone they *always* get surprised by my agility and quickness. Even when I do (rarely) land on my back I have good sweeps and once I get on top I rarely (like, almost never) get dislodged, even when I'm rolling with another big-ish guy. I get through most guards without too much trouble and can usually land in side control at least, except against very very good guys, high brown and black belts. I like to be in side control better than mount (maybe cause I have really short legs and am top heavy) and when I get on my toes and get my weight on a guy he isn't going anywhere. Then once he accepts being on bottom and me in a control position I can move from position to position very quickly.
So, as far as fat-guy BJJ, I don't really worry about being too heavy hurting my game, if anything it helps until and unless I get so fat it affects my mobility, which right now it doesn't. For health reasons I know I need to lose this middle - but I'll have to change my JJ game when that happens...
