What do us little guys have going for us

[snakeybizz]

I've always been fascinated with physical attributes...how that combined with your brain creates the unique grappler that you are

Now I'm not exactly little ... 5 ft 8 and 180 lbs well muscled I suppose I'm not exactly short short but I'm typically smaller then my opponents

Its well known the benefits you get if your are heavy and if you are tall (increased reach, strength etc)

but what if your on the shorter side?

Something's I have noticed

1) I'm hard as hell to leg lock... my short stocky legs are very hard to leg lock for a few reason, one is that the leg knot or any type of leg control that involves a reap is typically loose when done to me by a lankier individual and secondly for knee bars in particular are just harder to hit in general because there is less leg to hug!

2) I'm good at leg locks...if I get the leg knot its tight as hell and could probably get a sub by extending my legs, counter acts are easier to deal with because you have less leg sticking out for heel hook counter attacks etc

3)Takedowns ? - I'm a pretty average wrestler myself but I've heard being shorter and compact helps with wrestling

4)Less injury prone - I don't have any scientific evidence for this but from anecdotal observation all the bigger dudes either them being taller or heavier are always getting injured...knees, back you name it

what else do you think we are good at ? submissions? certain grappling styles? what kind of advantages do we get from our physical attributes

 

[snakeybizz]

some debatable benefits I think are:

Cardio - A controversioal one but typicall you see in combat sports as the weight classes decrease the level of conditioning is higher...easier to provide oxygen to the working muscles by having less mass

Athletiscm - Another controversial one as its not a strict rule...but you typically find smaller athletes to be naturally more mobile, nimble and flexible then the taller and heavier counterparts

 

[7437]

As a lanky guy, I have noticed shorter stocky guys can get their bodies in tighter side control, and give less space.

 

[Darwinist]

It's way harder to block a small guy from getting under your center of gravity. This applies everywhere, from standup wrestling to when they dive into deep half guard.

 

[Knock Out Ned]

You're not small.

 

[mattemate]

Easier to find hiding spots when the shit hits the fan.
No, lol. My original karate/kickboxing teacher was 5 foot nothing, 110 lbs or so. Hit hard, quick as fuck, very well conditioned, and knew how to DEFEND. That's really important. Little guys get good at that. Big guys are easier to sub, imo, than small, compact strong guys.

 

[mattemate]

You're not small.

^^ This guy knows! But I'll say, Ned is stronger than most welterweights.

 

[DilltheThrill]

There are advantages and disadvantages to being lanky/short for wrestling too. Its not as simple as how you state it.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

In my humble opinion, I think that constantly being crushed and put into terrible positions all the time develops our bottom and escaping game exponentially. It's not exactly a physiological advantage, but I feel like it is a great tool that is sometimes unique to the smaller guys.

 

[Spiderguard Man]

In my humble opinion, I think that constantly being crushed and put into terrible positions all the time develops our bottom and escaping game exponentially. It's not exactly a physiological advantage, but I feel like it is a great tool that is sometimes unique to the smaller guys.

except for big guys samshing each other and having to deal with all the horrors of big guy game all the time.

 

[snakeybizz]

In my humble opinion, I think that constantly being crushed and put into terrible positions all the time develops our bottom and escaping game exponentially. It's not exactly a physiological advantage, but I feel like it is a great tool that is sometimes unique to the smaller guys.

yeah I agree, we are forced to become technical where as the 260lbs oath can sometimes hide poor technique behind brute strength...not to say big guys can't be technical but sometimes they can just force poor technique where as a smaller guy will be punished if hes not maximising leverage for example

 

[snakeybizz]

There are advantages and disadvantages to being lanky/short for wrestling too. Its not as simple as how you state it.

same with reach in stand up...yeah its generally better to have long reach but what if someone is inside your reach and is called mike tyson?

its not as simple but generally people consider reach to be an advantage

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

You're not small.

5'8" 180# is the new small. You're now classified as micro

 

[snakeybizz]

5'8" 180# is the new small. You're now classified as micro

okay I concede I am a little lombard looking but I have a small frame I'd say, just quite well muscled from powerlifting/bodybuilding before I started grappling

I'm not 5 f 5 135 but I'm not big either lol

 

[jcandoitbig]

okay I concede I am a little lombard looking but I have a small frame I'd say, just quite well muscled from powerlifting/bodybuilding before I started grappling

I'm not 5 f 5 135 but I'm not big either lol

yea you've gotta be jacked if you're 180 at 5 foot 8....im 185 at 6 foot 2 haha and I am pretty muscular

 

[Leify]

I hear everyone under 6' gets free entry into the Lollipop Guild, so there's that.

 

[AgonyandIrony]

I'm 5'7 and 145 pounds. I'm broad chested though so I find my center of gravity is perfect.

I also noticed my trips are pretty good. I got the idea from watching a little dog get underneath someone's feet. They're usually way more annoying than a big dog. So I get inside someone's feet and stay there.

I actually prefer no-gi largely because I hate gi-grips. I love being smaller and more nimble.

Also being small the uchimata as a single leg defense is money. Deep half is great, if you know how to stay tight an compact you're a pain in the ass for anyone.

 

[DilltheThrill]

same with reach in stand up...yeah its generally better to have long reach but what if someone is inside your reach and is called mike tyson?

its not as simple but generally people consider reach to be an advantage

Its not quite like that with wrestling though.

 

[snakeybizz]

Its not quite like that with wrestling though.

i'd say its very similar

the general consensus is the shorter guy has an advantage in wrestling

but the reality is both heights have pros and cons

just like reach in striking

most people would consider reach to be an "advantage"

yet the reality is both a short and long reach have its pros and cons

 

[IamnotJonFitch]

i'd say its very similar

the general consensus is the shorter guy has an advantage in wrestling

but the reality is both heights have pros and cons

just like reach in striking

most people would consider reach to be an "advantage"

yet the reality is both a short and long reach have its pros and cons

I'm not sure many people would agree that there are many pros to a striker with a short reach. It seems that in fighting a guy with a drastically longer reach seems to win on the feet more easily.

Anyways, I'm 5'7'' and 180 (basically have Fedor's build with bigger legs) and the advantages I've noticed are that

A) I don't seem to get choked too often, and when people who are much better grapplers than me go for them I tend to be able to defend. Granted, then they just go for a different limb successfully, haha.

B) Bucking in mount seems to work well, with my large butt/legs and smaller height, I can usually pop a guy up pretty high and explode out, and to the same point it's really hard to buck and escape from my mount.

C) Taller people seem to have trouble getting their hooks in when they take my back. It usually at least stalls them a bit.

That's just in general though, plenty of guys have had no problems with any of this.