Bigger guys, why do you train BJJ?

HomerPlata

HomerPlata

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As a smaller guy, the main selling point of all this submission nonsense is the "allows smaller guys to level the playing field against bigger guys" thing. So what's in it for the bigger guys, bearing in mind they could probably smash 99% of the population based on size alone? I don't imagine you could really relate to the odds facing Royce in the early(er) days, so who/what inspired you? (If you say Frank Mir, well, just don't).

And does any big guy really train BJJ from a self defence perspective?
 
I've always wondered the same thing. I train BJJ to defend myself against big guys and they go and learn how to defend my submissions. :eek:(
 
I'm pretty average sized, but I'd imagine because it's fun?
 
I'm not a big guy but I don't see why their goals and motivations would be any different from yours. BJJ helps people of all sizes.
 
Iif BJJ enables small guys to beat up big guys, then obviously, big guys train BJJ to prevent that from happening.
 
Of course they train to learn how to defend themselves. You think because a man weighs over 200 lbs he is tough?
 
I find it silly to think that a big person can't look at the victories of Royce Gracie and understand the value of BJJ or be inspired.

It had a profound impact on my thinking. I'm a big guy (6'2" and 260ish) and always felt some comfort in that fact, but then I see this little guy beating all these large guys that have trained themselves as fighter....wow.

"If I knew what that little guy knows, I could combine the technique with size."
 
On a more serious note, there is always someone bigger. I'm 5'11" and 205 lbs, decently strong for my size, and generally considered a big(ish) guy at my academy. A friend/bouncer colleague of mine is 6'5" and 360 lbs. Grappling with him is a goddamn nightmare.
 
Aside from defending yourself from even bigger guys, the ability to control someone smaller without hurting them is useful.
 
I'm not saying "why do you bother training if you're big?", it might have come across like that, I just wondered what motivated an already generally low-risk-from-assault big guy to embark on such a long training journey.

I refuse to believe it's partly motivated by the fear of smaller guys already knowing BJJ! :icon_chee
 
i train bjj to keep the small guys off of me.

jp-i'm short (5'8-9) but weigh 190ish. i do it to stay in shape and because it is a more practical way to defend myself. i've never been in a situation where i had to actually use it. i do occasionally mess around with friends my size and bigger, and i do pretty well against them. of course they dont do jiu jitsu...
 
I'm a big guy and I don't train to learn to defend myself. I don't know where the hell you people live but I don't get put in the position to have to defend myself ever.

I actually started BJJ because one day I was sitting at work, I am in IT, and I realized that all I ever did was sit down. I would go to work and sit down and then go home and watch tv and sit down.
 
anything to do with fighting is fun. any style that actually works is fun. testing yourself is fun.
 
I always liked the idea of defending myself without hurting anyone.

I heard a lot about Royce before I finally saw UFC 1. My first live UFC was Tank Abbot's first fight. I knew people like him. Goons that wanted to fight for fun. You could punch them in the face and they would just smile. At 6'1"/205 lbs I am pretty big. The really big Godzilla looking monsters were the ones I wanted to be ready for.

I don't think about self defense too much any more. I do bjj because I love it. It's an art form like painting or dance, it's a sport, a form of self defense: a way of life.

My training partners range in size from 50 lbs. (kids) to 350 lbs. I teach, I learn, I live!
 
I'm fairly big(6'3 220 when i started) and I just thought it would be something fun to do that would get me in shape. Which it did, while also turning out to be a huge lifestyle change and the best thing I've ever done for myself without question. I honestly feel like bjj was a huge part of my life that was missing and I didn't even know it. Once I gave it a try I knew right away that it would be something I would do for the rest of my life since it aligned with notions and feelings about life I already had, and not only that it grew and stretched these ideas. Everyday bjj continues to open my mind and gives me countless analogies for complex life choices. It is also a great social outlet to meet new and interesting people who aren't drunk.

Another reason is because bjj is the first thing i've ever done that I haven't got bored with. In fact, the farther I get the more I realize how far away I am from my goals and this always leaves me wanting. I am enjoying the journey and excited to know that, even if i do reach the top, I will always be able to learn more.

TBH, I could care less if I know how to fight because I'm not a dick and I live in a nice neighborhood, but bjj has changed my life in all the other (more important) areas and no doubt will continue to do so.

So, I may be bigger, but that is why I train.
 
LemonHerbWRX said:
I'm a big guy and I don't train to learn to defend myself. I don't know where the hell you people live but I don't get put in the position to have to defend myself ever.

I actually started BJJ because one day I was sitting at work, I am in IT, and I realized that all I ever did was sit down. I would go to work and sit down and then go home and watch tv and sit down.
Click to expand...

I often wonder that. I've always trained for "self defence" and I do like that training but recently I've been concentrating on the sport side because I'm 99% more likely to compete than I am to need to defend mself.

At the risk of derailing the thread, from my very very limited exposure to BJJ (mma training and a few lessons) it seems that BJJ is probably the "worst" sport for self defence...... (I don't want to start arguing about self defence I want to know what sort of training BJJ does for it)
 
You're always going to find a bigger guy out there, why risk it?
 
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