rolling with fat guys

A word of advice, if you know X-guard, use it. I use it a lot and am pretty successful at it. Big guys, especially if they're new, want to be on top, smashing you. Well, if they're in your X guard, they are techinically on top smashing you, but with the slightest push of your legs and pull with your arms and they topple over.[/QUOTE]


How do you even get into X-guard against someone a lot bigger than you? Those big bulky guys invariably never even get off their knees.
 
You have to have a very good guard,you could train a lot of De La Riva moves.
 
Zankou said:
Going up against such heavy guys is great practice because you must use great technique to survive. On the flip side, heavy guys often have a hard time learning technique because they usually prefer to lay & pray from N/S and sidemount.
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That pretty much sums up the whole thing. If you roll with a big guy, you will find where your technique is lacking. All the small, but highly technical guys I've rolled with never had a problem tapping me. It's the small guys that got used to muscling guys their own size that come up lacking (and usually complain) about rolling with big guys.

And on the flipside, as a big guy, it's harder for me to learn good technique since it's easier to muscle most of the time. So I try and focus on my weaknesses when rolling. You should see the look on a little guys face when a 6'2", 300lber pulls guard on him, hehe.
 
Zankou said:
How do you even get into X-guard against someone a lot bigger than you? Those big bulky guys invariably never even get off their knees.
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I start out in butterfly or a modified De la Riva (shin to shin). I have a pretty good guard, not stellar, so when people start to pass, they usually get stuck in my half guard. This is where I go to X Guard. From half guard, I try to always keep my outside hook in (rather than the traditional half guard of both legs wrapped around your opponents one leg). From here, I will grab underneath their free leg with my arm. Despite what you think, it's real easy to pull a heavy guy on top of you, because of that hook I have in. With the guy fully on top of me, I'll extend my hook and bring my other leg in for the X-guard and grap his other ankle with my other hand.

I hope you can somewhat visualize it.
 
Zankou said:
Going up against such heavy guys is great practice because you must use great technique to survive. On the flip side, heavy guys often have a hard time learning technique because they usually prefer to lay & pray from N/S and sidemount.
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Just an interesting little tale... my instructor Shawn Williams used to train with this one guy back in NY. They started at the same time and both got their blue belts around the same time. The other guy was huge and very strong, muscling every move. In the beginning, he would beat Shawn all the time. But Shawn was smaller so he had to use technique. He got his black belt in four years and now, it's been something like 8 years since they both started, and the guy is still a blue belt.
 
Thanks for that interesting explanation of how to pull x-guard. It's your weird way of pulling half guard that makes it possible. I may try this tonight.
 
relapselve said:
My teacher makes me roll with a huge fat guy at my gym all the time, the guy is well over 300 ibs and does nothing but use his weight to keep a position on you.
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What colour is the thing that holds his pants up?
 
dude, i'm 5'9, 170 and last week my rolling partner for the whole class ended up being about 6'0 350lbs. It was terrible, and i actually got a rib injury from him squishing me.
 
As the biggest grappler at Relson's academy I take pity on the little guys.

I rarely ask anyone under 200 pounds to roll or spar and if we do I always pull guard and work a sweep or submission from there. If I can't sub the guy then I sweep and yes, take side control.

But I try to stay on all four points hoping not to just crush the other guy with my weight. I work my techinque hoping to get a knee to the belly or mount for the submission. I am sorry for the other guy and really try not to use my weight with my classmates.

I think the real problem here is, is this guy asking you to roll or are you asking him? If you are asking him then develop your defense / guard or get better at your take downs to get the top position or just ask the guy to start on the bottom and you try to pass guard or sub him from the cross side.

Good luck with your training.
 
As quite the heavy fellow myself, the thing that gets me is consistent, constant scrambling. The more you move the better you'll do, and don't EVER let a big man get you flat on your back, its like giving us a sub.
 
You should be able to take teh bakc pretty easily...I doubt he is agile if he is 3 bills+...
 
Case in point. Roll with Jake Shields - January 23, 2006 Start time est. 8:00 p.m. - End time Est. 8:25 pmish.

Last night I rolled with Jake Shields 4 times. I tapped 4 times. Total time for all 4 matches, maybe 25 minutes. Jake probably turned his game down because I was just a blue belt.

We started from the kneeling position. He tried an arm drag I pulled guard.

Jake goes, "A big guy who pulls guard? Not too often I seen that."

I told him the same thing I stated above,

"Jake I'm the biggest guy here, I take pity on the little guys."

Jake says, "So people will continue to ask you to roll."

"Yep." I say.

Then we rolled.

Then I tapped to 3 gullotines an arm bar.

After we talked about our roll and my faults in the game, then I took him and Gilbert to the Sheraton to save cash on a taxi.

So it depends on the big guy is I say and who asks who to roll. Oh yeah, its been a hell of a week training in Hawaii. First the Rumble on the Rock fights, then training with Shogun and Ninja, BJ Penn and Jason Miller, now Jake Shields.

:D
 
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