Short and Stocky vs. Tall and Lanky

[Aussido]

It seems like in every sport a predominant body type emerges. Kickboxers are never short and stocky, wrestlers are never tall and lanky. Boxers and judoka seem to range a little more, but boxers are never too short and judoka are never too tall.

But in bjj, I can't find a dominant body type. They literally come in all shapes and sizes and every body type seems to have advantages and disadvantages, but none overwhelming.

So in your opinion, what's better? Short and stocky or tall and lanky? Or is it something in between? A muscular adonis or round and barrelly? What DO YOU THINK is the perfect body type for bjj?

 

[MistahSpock]

I'm a total noobie at BJJ, but as a taller, skinny guy I have the most problems with stockier guys. They seem able to plant themselves better, and I have a hard time getting their knee off my belly.

On the other hand, I overheard a couple other guys saying they hated skinnier, taller opponents. Apparently we're hard to hold on too.

 

[Calibur]

It seems like in every sport a predominant body type emerges. Kickboxers are never short and stocky, wrestlers are never tall and lanky. Boxers and judoka seem to range a little more, but boxers are never too short and judoka are never too tall.

But in bjj, I can't find a dominant body type. They literally come in all shapes and sizes and every body type seems to have advantages and disadvantages, but none overwhelming.

So in your opinion, what's better? Short and stocky or tall and lanky? Or is it something in between? A muscular adonis or round and barrelly? What DO YOU THINK is the perfect body type for bjj?

To me it just sounds like you don't pay as much attention to other combat sports.

Mike Tyson was a short and stocky boxer
Melvin Manhoff is a short and stocky kickboxer
Ben Akren is a lanky wrestler
Flavio Canto is a tall and lanky Judoka

You could argue they are the exceptions, but IMO every combat sport has a way for every body type to win.

Marcelo Garcia is essentially the only short and stocky player to consistantly win in current sport BJJ. Everyone else has a thin body type. One of the things that make Roger Gracie so great is he has long powerful legs that he can use in a lot of different ways but a good frame of muscle to compete in all divisions.

People like him and Romulo Barral are the body type that I would want for BJJ.

 

[Macungah]

Long and lanky = guard based hell
I'm short and stocky and most people say that I'm difficult to sweep. I like to think that it's because I'm amazing, but it's more because most of my weight is in my legs and butt, and my center of gravity is lower than the average person.

 

[Aussido]

To me it just sounds like you don't pay as much attention to other combat sports.

Mike Tyson was a short and stocky boxer
Melvin Manhoff is a short and stocky kickboxer
Ben Akren is a lanky wrestler
Flavio Canto is a tall and lanky Judoka

You could argue they are the exceptions, but IMO every combat sport has a way for every body type to win.

Marcelo Garcia is essentially the only short and stocky player to consistantly win in current sport BJJ. Everyone else has a thin body type. One of the things that make Roger Gracie so great is he has long powerful legs that he can use in a lot of different ways but a good frame of muscle to compete in all divisions.

People like him and Romulo Barral are the body type that I would want for BJJ.

I watch enough combat sports to see obvious trends. Yeah you get some variety, but even Tyson is, I think, 5'10" so he's not that short. Askren is only lanky by comparison to other wrestlers. Manhoef and Zambidis are the short stocky kickboxers, but they are not the norm and they are only effective because they can get inside on kickboxers with poor boxing. That's a deficiency within the athletes of the sport, not an innate characteristic that makes being short generally advantageous in kickboxing. I don't know who Flavio Canto is and I'll take your word on him, but like I said I'm referring to trends. Anyway, that's all beside the point.

As far as I've noticed, there isn't a dominant body type trend for bjj. But thanks for giving your opinion: Someone with long legs and a good frame like Roger or Barral. Barral definitely has more of a frame than Roger, but you make a good point.

 

[Aussido]

I'm a total noobie at BJJ, but as a taller, skinny guy I have the most problems with stockier guys. They seem able to plant themselves better, and I have a hard time getting their knee off my belly.

On the other hand, I overheard a couple other guys saying they hated skinnier, taller opponents. Apparently we're hard to hold on too.

Tall, skinny, and FLEXIBLE is a hell of a guard to pass.

 

[Rod1]

Yes Judoka are never too tall.

Just by looking at Ogawa, Geesink and Riner tells you everything, in judo being tall is advantage.

You are basing your experience of avergae BJJ with the elite of other sports, in the elite of BJJ you also have long lanky people.

 

[K1HerosNakamura]

Tyson, Jack Johnson, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey were all HW champs under 6 feet. I mean, Dempsey wouldn't have been able to whoop on the Klitchko brothers like he did Jess Willard. I think BJJ is in the same type of infancy period where technique trumps physicality at this point and we won't see a dominant body type emerge for a while. Whereas something like thai boxing (in thailand)...it is so refined and specialized and specific that the physiques of thai boxers are almost indistinguishable from each other. Pointless debate IMO though, because if history has proven anything it's that you can dominate in any combat sport with any body type.

 

[Jeff Goldblum]

 

[td82394]

Actually I can think of a few good wrestlers who are tall and lanky. You can't use the same tactics to be sure, but being tall and lanky isn't necessarily going to keep you from achieving greatness. Everyone is physically capable of being able to wrestle.

 

[ElKarlo]

Don't compare top level athletes to regular guys. What they do and what we do, really aren't the same thing.


Every body type has strengths and weaknesses, and oddnesses. Look at Anderson, he is tall and lanky, yet is really powerful as well. Sometimes the pieces don't fit the way we think they should.

 

[hcteks]

Personally I have a harder time with short, stockier builds. But I'm one of the tall, lanky guys.

 

[Narsil**]

being tall and lanky

i would say that is the best

 

[Uchi Mata]

One of the things I love about fighting is that unlike say, basketball or football you can have any body type and still do well, though you will have to tailor your style to your attributes. I am tall and lanky, and I find it to be a great body type for BJJ, the only downside being that it's sometimes hard for me to be really tight defensively because there's just a lot of space between my limbs for people to attack.

When I was competing a lot of Judo, however, I often wished I wasn't so lanky because it made certain throws very hard to do. I could never hit Seio Nage even though I really liked the throw, and any shooting style throws like Kata Guruma were also hard because the level changes took me a lot longer.

 

[bagelgod]

You know what's the worst? Being in the middle.

Tall guys are assholes with their guards and triangles and all that other crap. I'm not small enough to be a fireplug, and have to deal with the inherent tallness.

Guys shorter and stockier than me are turds. I can't submit those stubs they call limbs to save my live, and wrestling with them makes me want to rip out my hair by the follicles.

Bigger guys think its fine to use strength on me because I don't look like a twig, and I don't have the inherent speed of a lightweight to zoom a zoom zoom around them.

Smaller guys yell at me for using strength (strength I don't have), meanwhile they travel at the speed of light around me.

There's a saying that if you're tall, make yourself taller, and if you're small, make yourself smaller. Any build type is great; except being the middleman.

 

[MUFC]

Looking at Mundial winners and finalists from 2010:

Caio Terra- Lanky
Samuel Braga- Avg
Pedro Silva - Avg
Rafa Mendes- Tall
Cobrinha- Avg
Langhi- Avg
Ceslinho- Stocky
Marcelo - Stocky
Calasans- Avg
Romulo- Tall
Tarsis- Stocky
Xande- Stocky
Faria- Avg
Roger- Lanky
Demente- Epically Stocky
Cavaca- Tall
Cyborg- Stocky

I differentiated between Tall, and Lanky because they're not the same thing.

Doesn't seem to be a dominate body type, but that is such a tiny sample that we can't actually draw any conclusions.

 

[Splatterbeast]

I'm a mesomorph, so I'm right in the middle. Not too tall and lanky, not too short and stubby. Naturally muscular, average height, get the best of both worlds. Winning! :icon_chee

EDIT: Just read bagelgod's post. And in response: Disagree!

 

[bagelgod]

EDIT: Just read bagelgod's post. And in response: Disagree!

It was a joke.



Obviously us middle roaders are the superior species.

 

[Narsil**]

It was a joke.



Obviously us middle roaders are the superior species.

superior at being average.

not superior at being superior