Does being fat help with grappling?

[seatea]

It certainly helps in +100/+78kg judo. That is until you meet some genetic freak like Riner who weighs the same 300lb as you except it's all toned, firm... [edited for excessive homoeroticism] ...muscle.

[ArTofF16hT1ng]

Originally Posted by seatea

It certainly helps in +100/+78kg judo. That is until you meet some genetic freak like Riner who weighs the same 300lb as you except it's all toned, firm... [edited for excessive homoeroticism] ...muscle.

LOL. That's the funniest thing I read all day.

[tk99]

Originally Posted by TheHereticJay

Looked helpful here...

Amazing heel hook. That transition was smooth.

[carolinasmbCR]

Being fat doesn't really help...

[ozyabbas]

In my personal experience a guy that can combine good technique with being very heavy can be very good guard passers and hard to escape their side control and sweep them.

Its particularly annoying when their bellies fill up that space that could exist between your forearm and their hip.

I find fat peopl harder to deal with than people who are heavy but have trim bodies.

[KGB256]

It's a double-edged sword. As much as it can help, it also hurts just as much or more. I have a teammate that is pretty heavyset (5'6", 265-280ish), and he does have some advantages. It's hard to maintain mount, it's difficult to secure a RNC if he even slightly tries to tuck his chin, his side control pressure (once he learned to apply it properly) is just ungodly, it's very difficult to bridge on him, he can bulldoze you flat practically at will, the way his weight is distributed makes it very difficult to roll him even if his hips are high, the way his body just conforms to you makes it hard to slip a hand between your chests (even if you bounce), his body also has a way of clearing your frame when he settles in side or north south. His sprawl is the stuff of nightmares. If a guy knows what he's doing, it's definitely something that can be used as an advantage.

However, it also has some serious drawbacks. It makes it hard to create enough space. It limits his effectiveness in open guard. His back mount is easy to escape (he has relatively short legs). He's very flexible and agile for a guy his size, but he could be even moreso if he lost some weight. Speed is an issue (he's got to go pretty hard in scrambles). Cardio is an issue (though he can roll an awful long time). I feel like his closed guard options are very limited (again, his short legs), as I don't think he does a lot of triangle/armbar/omoplata from guard compared to Americana/kimura/chokes from side/half/mount. His guard pass game is limited to more of the high pressure passes. His takedowns are limited. I also know he has difficulty getting partners, and he has to be pretty careful not to hurt people.

The guy in question is a dedicated teammate, and spends all of his free time learning about technique. He's like a walking encyclopedia. The dude is and engineer with like a Good Will Hunting type mind, so the mental part of his game is a much bigger part of his success than his weight.

[paul_db]

helped against me... i slipped, and the guy got on top of me, he was prob 100 lbs heavier than me, and i couldnt breath so i tapped lol.

[Ice 9 Cobra]

A fat guy doesn't need to sweep you, they can just turtle and use their amazing girth as the greatest back defense ever as they stand back up. Then once back on the feet, they merely need to get grips and fall forward for the takedown.

[armtriangle]

Being heavier than your opponent is an advantage. Being fat, not so much. If you weigh the same, it is a definite disadvantage to have more of that weight come from excess body fat.

[iama]

Being fat sucks no matter what you do. Especially in sports man.