Am I too small to try BJJ?

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sellit697

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I'd love to get in to the sport, at least just from non-competitor standpoint, but I worry that being 140 lbs. and 5'8" will make training really hard (keep in mind this is me after spending a year of P90X/etc. - it would be unrealistic to think I will get any bigger).

Side question - I'm looking at Valko BJJ in Chicago, anyone familiar with them, and is it a friendly/good place to start at? I don't have a car, and it's within walking distance, so it's my only real option right now.

Thanks in advance, appreciate any advice, tips, whatever. :icon_chee
 
Yes the minimum weight and height for bjj is 6'2" and 185 pounds.

Also, P90X will not get you bigger. I suggest you go to the strength and conditioning forum.
 
No...not at all. I'm 5'8 135lbs and a blue belt at the moment. I was 125lbs when I started (3 years ago).

EDIT: You do realize there are weight classes in BJJ/MMA that are under 140lbs don't you?
 
Looking forward to hearing about this too, considering I'm a girl and I'm going to be smaller than any of the guys I train with. I'm 5'3 and weigh about 130-135
 
Its not the size of the boat, its the motion of the ocean...
 
chii said:
Looking forward to hearing about this too, considering I'm a girl and I'm going to be smaller than any of the guys I train with. I'm 5'3 and weigh about 130-135
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I've trained with women that are much smaller...men/kids too for that matter. Just give it a try, both of you.
 
sellit697 said:
I'd love to get in to the sport, at least just from non-competitor standpoint, but I worry that being 140 lbs. and 5'8" will make training really hard (keep in mind this is me after spending a year of P90X/etc. - it would be unrealistic to think I will get any bigger).

Side question - I'm looking at Valko BJJ in Chicago, anyone familiar with them, and is it a friendly/good place to start at? I don't have a car, and it's within walking distance, so it's my only real option right now.

Thanks in advance, appreciate any advice, tips, whatever. :icon_chee
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You'll do fine. Just work on conditioning. conditioning is 90% the most important aspect of grappling. the other 10 is strength, and that will come. Makes sure you have good cardio, but all these things will come once you start training.

I don't know that gym, but it seems good. Seriously bro enjoy and welcome to the wonderful world of submission grappling.
 
Jiu jitsu is good for all sizes. Jay Valko is an excellent and highly recommended instructor. There are a few of his students on here, I'm sure they can give you more insight.
 
Your size is fine, but it is going to be really difficult at first because at your size you need to use a lot of speed an technique and while you may have the former you obviously won't have the latter. You will need to work a lot on taking the back and transitioning to different positions of control when in side control (I recall that SGBi has a great series about top control that deals with this well) You will need to learn how to escape well as you will spend a lot of time under heavier guys until you learn how to escape. Don't even worry about submissions as much at first because getting out of bad positions against bigger people and maintaining control of bigger people when you get into good positions is going to be very important when rolling with people 50lbs heavier than you or more.
I am a big guy and I train with a lot of guys about your size so I think I know what works on people much bigger. The people with speed and good escapes cause me the most trouble.
 
At 5'9 135 I'm going to say no, no weight is too little, we have three of four girls that train with us, they're highly competitive but none of them are over 5'6 120, they're loving it too. You just have to keep your opponents out of their strengths and apply all of yours. You can slide your knee through and get arms through gaps they can't you're more agile and likely more flexible. Caio Terra is a rooster weight (126 pounds) world champion and just recently won both his weight and the absolute (all weight classes) division. 126 pounds, and he won a big tournament's absolute division. If you ever think you're too small, look up/down to Caio Terra's angelic face and you will hear him say "you're being a moron, go train"
 
There is a guy that comes to our No-gi classes, He's either 115lbs or 125lbs (forgot which exactly) but he's probably 5'7" and did a ton of wrestling in highschool. And he does just fine.
 
Valko's great and from what I hear, his team's getting quite solid. I wouldn't hesitate to train there if I were you.

Size will always be a factor, and I'm sure you'll experience frustration at points. But you're not really that small, maybe in the bottom 25% of BJJ practitioners, if that. I know plenty of guys smaller than you who are demons and routinely crush far larger opponents. If anything, you sound like you're probably strong for your height (I'm six inches taller and only fifteen pounds heavier, for example).

Trust your teacher, train hard, and work on developing a game that fits the attributes you have (here's a hint: big guys hate having smaller guys on their backs).

Good luck!
 
My favorite little guys (look up videos, they're insane): Bruno Malfacine, Felipe Costa, Samuel Braga, Cobrinha, Denilson Pimenta, Rafael Mendes, Theodoro Canal, Robson Moura, Ary Farias, Justin Rader, Sebastian Lalli, etc... All about your size or smaller.
 
short answer: no. you'll learn to compensate for your size. you'll get smashed a lot your first year, and it'll suck, but almost everybody goes thru it, if not for their size than for some other obstacle. and those who are too big to get smashed get dominated from the bottom.

regarding your weight: how old are you? if you're under 23 there's a very good chance you'll get bigger, but probably just not as soon as you like. around 23-25, your metabolism starts slowing down. i've seen it dozens of times: guys who were rail thin in HS and early 20s manage get pretty solid (buff, even) by the time they're in their late 20s/early 30s.

regarding chicago schools: use your search function, that'll give you the quickest, most comprehensive answer to your questions (this particular thread may only be seen by a tiny fraction of the ppl who could answer your question). in fact, search regarding your initial question as well. there's been a few identical threads in recent months.

cheers, and good luck!
 
When I entered the thread, I expected OP to be 5'1 and 75lbs.
 
I don't think that anyone is too small for BJJ, I'm 6'0 and 200lbs, there are blue belts that weigh 150 at my school who submit me left and right...You will develop a game that fits your size and build.
 
sellit697 said:
I'd love to get in to the sport, at least just from non-competitor standpoint, but I worry that being 140 lbs. and 5'8" will make training really hard (keep in mind this is me after spending a year of P90X/etc. - it would be unrealistic to think I will get any bigger).

Side question - I'm looking at Valko BJJ in Chicago, anyone familiar with them, and is it a friendly/good place to start at? I don't have a car, and it's within walking distance, so it's my only real option right now.

Thanks in advance, appreciate any advice, tips, whatever. :icon_chee
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There are plenty of guys your size in bjj, don't worry. It can be frustrating at first (I'm 5'8 150 lbs) to get smashed at first by bigger and stronger people who know what they are doing, but keep training.
 
sellit697 said:
I'd love to get in to the sport, at least just from non-competitor standpoint, but I worry that being 140 lbs. and 5'8" will make training really hard (keep in mind this is me after spending a year of P90X/etc. - it would be unrealistic to think I will get any bigger).

Side question - I'm looking at Valko BJJ in Chicago, anyone familiar with them, and is it a friendly/good place to start at? I don't have a car, and it's within walking distance, so it's my only real option right now.

Thanks in advance, appreciate any advice, tips, whatever. :icon_chee
Click to expand...
if you are bigger than a cabbage patch doll you are big enough for bjj
 
I've always felt like a small guy (5'6) but I'm also pretty built (175lbs - and not a fat guy :p )

I started at 185lbs and dropped to 155 just via training. Then I started lifting my way up to 175. I could stand to maybe be a bit smaller, say 160 or so, but~
 
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