What do us little guys have going for us

[StevenCrowder]

Definitely less injury prone. It's a simple matter of torque and leverage points. Taller guys get tweaked more, as each extra inch away from the joint can exponentially increase the torque generated against it.
Also wrestling lends itself well to compact builds.

 

[SFCFighter]

shorter/smaller people are far more athletic, strong, and fast relative to their own size

they are less injury prone and usually more healthy

theres a reason you hardly ever see large gymnasts and why olympic weight lifters from the lower weight classes have more impressive lifts relative to their bodyweight

if you watch 133 lb wrestlers and then watch heavyweights you will see a clear speed, technique, and athleticism gap

i say this as a tall, heavy person

 

[Thai Otoshi]

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

This one shouldn't be controversial. It's simple physics.

The square cube law says hi.

 

[snakeybizz]

This one shouldn't be controversial. It's simple physics.

The square cube law says hi.

well its not always the case...you can have big athletes with amazing cardio...tall soccer players... cain velasquez etc...

also if your larger you will typically have bigger organs so this can make up for the extra mass you have

but generally speaking the smaller guy has the better cardio

 

[Thai Otoshi]

As a shorter guy who gives up a couple inches to other guys in my weightclass, having a short reach in Muay Thai SUCKS.

By the time I get close enough to capitalize on my shorter limbs, I've already taken several shots. If I get close enough to kick, I'm close enough for them to punch me. If I get close enough to punch, I'm close enough for them to knee me.

 

[Thai Otoshi]

well its not always the case...you can have big athletes with amazing cardio...tall soccer players... cain velasquez etc...

also if your larger you will typically have bigger organs so this can make up for the extra mass you have

but generally speaking the smaller guy has the better cardio

Yeah it's not set in stone, but the vast majority of people fall into the smaller = better cardio thing.

 

[Higus]

In general, short limbs usually mean tighter chokes. Long limbs have an advantage at getting into position to secure a choke, but can be more easily escaped, whereas someone with shorter limbs will have difficulty getting their limbs in the right position to secure a choke, but once it's in their opponent can't tap out fast enough.

Guillotines are especially effective for stockier people because of this principle. Developing a nasty guillotine will pay off huge dividends for a shorter grappler!

 

[Silas1222]

At 5'4" ~190 lbs, i feel that I have good top pressure when passing which I contribute to my stature. Also with short limbs and natural strength, i find it easy to power out of a ton of subs....which usually get me locked into another sub....I should probably stop doing that

 

[1neeto]

You're not small.

No shit. 5'8 180 lbs is not small. I train with guys that are 5'5 130 lbs with a soaking wet gi.

 

[snakeybizz]

At 5'4" ~190 lbs, i feel that I have good top pressure when passing which I contribute to my stature. Also with short limbs and natural strength, i find it easy to power out of a ton of subs....which usually get me locked into another sub....I should probably stop doing that

5 ft 4 and 190 lbs what are you a fucking chimpanzee? you must be either super fat or super yoked lol

 

[Silas1222]

5 ft 4 and 190 lbs what are you a fucking chimpanzee? you must be either super fat or super yoked lol

:-D brick shit house. Always had a little belly fat but even at my peak I fought hw in karate

 

[pesadissimo]

Speaking as a big and tall guy, I think the biggest advantage little guys have is their ability to recover guard against bigger players. What may be tight control against another heavyweight or larger is extra space for lightweights and below. There's much less room for us to be sloppy. We've got to be extra technical while smashing you small guys, or you're going to find a way to use your extra athleticism to take our backs.

 

[DilltheThrill]

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

The general consensus is wrong then.

 

[SwtTeaStrangler]

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

Not many advantages to being smaller. The last gym I was at, pretty much everyone was small and smaller. Cardio? Maybe for warmups, but during rolling they get warn out just like anyone else. Injuries? I can only remember one injury ever and that wasn't during rolling. Meanwhile, little dudes are crawling off the mat all the time because they spaz so much.

As a bigger fella, I try to use strength as little as possible. I'll give up bad positions to the little guys to let them work stuff and just wait till they make a mistake and capitalize. But it's annoying when they say 'well, if you weren't bigger than me that wouldn't have happened...' To those guys, I stop being so nice.

You're more medium than little though.

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

This is pretty much it, in my experience.

 

[bloosteak]

1. live longer
2. less prone to knee injuries

 

[vcmmafan]

Bigger with similar skill will win just about every time.

Stop trying to justify you're height lol train for enjoyment
Btw you're really not short...

 

[snakeybizz]

Bigger with similar skill will win just about every time.

Stop trying to justify you're height lol train for enjoyment
Btw you're really not short...

then il make sure I have more skill

nothing to do with justifying anything I'm perfectly comfortable with my physical attributes

if you offered to make me a 6 ft 5 265 lbs Overeem type alpha male I'd turn it down because I like being me

in fact I think I like it more being me because when I do slay the giant I feel more alpha then ever

anyways to get back on track, the whole point of the thread is to better understand my own strengths so I can learn skills, techniques or game plans that compliment my attributes to out skill the bigger opponent

 

[magick]

You can throw people more easily, but only if you have a good bit of strength to begin with and can handle the momentum of a 200+lb man moving on your back/hip.

Beyond that... Nope, not much of an advantage to be shorter than people.

 

[Einarr]

1. live longer

"It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep" :wink:

 

[RJ Green]

"It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep" :wink:

http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/01/12/0192513X13519256.abstract

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v403/n6766/full/403156a0.html

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/sbp/sbp/1996/00000024/00000002/art00005

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924723

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2729491/