How important is weight in BJJ ?

[Evenflow80]

I'm more interested in responses from mid level blue belts and above but also white belts and thier personal experience against bigger guys.

I'm any where from 167 to 170 pounds any given day

I basically get steamrolled against guys who are 210 and above. Basically 80% of my gym. Granted I'm a 4 stripe white belt but they are also brand new blue belts.

Today for example there is a guy probably my height but just meaty and built like a shit brick house. He just steamrolled me and subbed me 3 times in like 5 minutes.

There seems like there is nothing I can do. The size and strength difference is immense. I think he said he is around 220 so he is 50 pounds heavier than me.

Is this normal ? Should I expect to compete and be competitive against people so much larger ?

 

[TheMood]

This is normal. Size and strength matter until you know significantly more than the larger person does. If someone is more experienced than you, bigger, and stronger they should steamroll you. If they are not then something is wrong.

 

[Cappy Goodtime]

I weigh around 170 and tend to hold my own with a number of people around the 210 mark. The biggest step in my progression of killing big people was learning when not to be passive with grips. How are they smashing you?

 

[Habs fan]

Yes weight matters just don't be that guy that asks " how much you weight"

 

[Evenflow80]

I weigh around 170 and tend to hold my own with a number of people around the 210 mark. The biggest step in my progression of killing big people was learning when not to be passive with grips. How are they smashing you?

Well today we start from the knees. I grab his lapel / sleeve and he just basically lunges forward and pushes me to my back and quickly passes my guard to side control. It's just way too much pressure and weight for me to do anything. The 3rd sub he lunges forward and gets my head in a front choke within seconds. It's like going against a bulldozer

 

[Evenflow80]

Yes weight matters just don't be that guy that asks " how much you weight"

I tend to ask that when trying to help a new guy i.e "wow your top game is great use your weight like you just did man" etc.

But a few times I asked to gauge how I'm doing against the bigger guys. Is that bad ?

 

[Evenflow80]

I weigh around 170 and tend to hold my own with a number of people around the 210 mark. The biggest step in my progression of killing big people was learning when not to be passive with grips. How are they smashing you?

Was it always that way or until you reached a certain belt rank ?

 

[lechien]

Well today we start from the knees. I grab his lapel / sleeve and he just basically lunges forward and pushes me to my back and quickly passes my guard to side control. It's just way too much pressure and weight for me to do anything. The 3rd sub he lunges forward and gets my head in a front choke within seconds. It's like going against a bulldozer

You need to find a guard suitable to your physical attributes.

 

[Habs fan]

It's not bad to ask once in a while to guage yourself sometimes and it sounds like your giving someone an compliment. Good on you to make a new guy feel good about himself. I talking about the guys you know that are always asking it. Nothing wrong once in a while that's normal

 

[powerBJJ]

when i first started i was about 138-142, i was the smallest guy at the gym took me about 3 months to start tapping the bigger white belts.

i just got better at using leverage.

I'm 165 now being a small as i was helped me alot more i feel like, allot of big guys don't need to use leverage as much as just brute strength, i feel like i developed it alot sooner then most

 

[Evenflow80]

when i first started i was about 138-142, i was the smallest guy at the gym took me about 3 months to start tapping the bigger white belts.

i just got better at using leverage.

I'm 165 now being a small as i was helped me alot more i feel like, allot of big guys don't need to use leverage as much as just brute strength, i feel like i developed it alot sooner then most

3 months ? That's about how long since I've tapped anyone at all...

 

[powerBJJ]

3 months ? That's about how long since I've tapped anyone at all...

when i first started i did alot of private sessions was literally training 5-7 times a week

 

[AdrianT]

Sure it matters, but let me tell you, my instructor is the smallest dude in the gym, weighing about 70kg with his gi on, yet he kills everyone 99 out of 100 times. I weigh 105kg and he is a nightmare to roll with. I managed to tap him maybe 3 times the past year while he must have tapped me about 300 times. I am a white belt, he is a blue belt, although technically he should be at least purple or brown; we just don't have anyone to promote us. He just has amazing technique and really solid basics.

I have noticed he uses the sit-up guard when rolling with bigger guys like me so that we cant just overpower him and lay him on his back. Maybe that could help you as well.

 

[winterbike]

There's a point of diminishing returns with weight, but it's probably closer to 250lbs than 170lbs, sorry dude.

 

[Quebec Nick]

Sure it matters, but let me tell you, my instructor is the smallest dude in the gym, weighing about 70kg with his gi on, yet he kills everyone 99 out of 100 times. I weigh 105kg and he is a nightmare to roll with. I managed to tap him maybe 3 times the past year while he must have tapped me about 300 times. I am a white belt, he is a blue belt, although technically he should be at least purple or brown; we just don't have anyone to promote us. He just has amazing technique and really solid basics.

I have noticed he uses the sit-up guard when rolling with bigger guys like me so that we cant just overpower him and lay him on his back. Maybe that could help you as well.

We have a very good blue belt at the gym who weight about 120 pounds and about 5'6 tall, Everybody has some positions where they can ragdoll him but he's so good at taking the back from the guard and from halfguard that you always need to be aware of what you're doing.

Once he's got your back, your weight advantage is a lot less relevant. He seems to have built his game around some lapel chokes, a lot of sweeps from the guard and halfguard and to always go for the back. I rarely see him trying submissions from the guard other than lapel chokes (unless you give it to him). He doesn't stall on the top from halfguard or even in full mount because he knows he can be swept easily.

 

[Cappy Goodtime]

Well today we start from the knees. I grab his lapel / sleeve and he just basically lunges forward and pushes me to my back and quickly passes my guard to side control. It's just way too much pressure and weight for me to do anything. The 3rd sub he lunges forward and gets my head in a front choke within seconds. It's like going against a bulldozer

Don't knee-wrassle with fatties. Learn to play butterfly guard.

 

[Evenflow80]

Don't knee-wrassle with fatties. Learn to play butterfly guard.

I have instinctively been using the butterfly guard out of necessity but my professor says I need to be sitting up somewhat for it to be effective but with heavier guys I'm flat on my back but manage to sink the butterfly hooks in. Is that still good ? Seems to bother them until they smash my knees down between their legs then it's full mount city

 

[Evenflow80]

We have a very good blue belt at the gym who weight about 120 pounds and about 5'6 tall, Everybody has some positions where they can ragdoll him but he's so good at taking the back from the guard and from halfguard that you always need to be aware of what you're doing.

Once he's got your back, your weight advantage is a lot less relevant. He seems to have built his game around some lapel chokes, a lot of sweeps from the guard and halfguard and to always go for the back. I rarely see him trying submissions from the guard other than lapel chokes (unless you give it to him). He doesn't stall on the top from halfguard or even in full mount because he knows he can be swept easily.

We have some really excellent blue belts too but they tend to be taller and bigger

 

[Evenflow80]

Sure it matters, but let me tell you, my instructor is the smallest dude in the gym, weighing about 70kg with his gi on, yet he kills everyone 99 out of 100 times. I weigh 105kg and he is a nightmare to roll with. I managed to tap him maybe 3 times the past year while he must have tapped me about 300 times. I am a white belt, he is a blue belt, although technically he should be at least purple or brown; we just don't have anyone to promote us. He just has amazing technique and really solid basics.

I have noticed he uses the sit-up guard when rolling with bigger guys like me so that we cant just overpower him and lay him on his back. Maybe that could help you as well.

Sit up guard... You mean have the butterfly hooks in and sit up to stay close to your opponent ?

 

[Cappy Goodtime]

Was it always that way or until you reached a certain belt rank ?

It wasn't always that way, it was something I had to learn. I train with a handful of old guy purple and brown belts that outweigh me by 30-40 pounds, love the bullfighter pass and have good side control attacks. Survival and pride let me know that I had to figure something out.