size matters

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by mai tai, Sep 28, 2005.

  1. mai tai

    mai tai Valued Member

    2 months ago we had a guy walk into our gym. 6'6" 320 lbs and a good 320. he bench presses 470lbs and squats in the high 600s. former wrestler and college football player.


    day 1. me verse him in take downs. i saw him snap someone down so hard it was sick. just grabed them by the back of the neck and boom.

    im like" no way he does that to me( wrestler 5'10 175 very strong. bench in 300s squat in 500s). well....he snapped me down so hard...it was like splat on the mat.

    i tryed again this time i shot.....i was in deep...he still sprawled and when i tried to dump him i hear my back cracking . it was like i shot in on a tree.

    i tryed again. i had underhook and in a domonant position....he reached under my armpitts and picked me up...like what are you going to do little man.


    since that time i have figured out ways to gethim down and are takedowns go about 50/50.

    i am a much better striker. and even on the ground i always tap him out.....so the little guy can win. however im aware that i only got about 4 more months of this......as he get more skilled sooner or later i will have to face the physics of it.


    its like a race car.....

    skill being the driver and the car being the body.

    a skilled driver will beat an unskilled driver if they have the same car.

    a skilled driver with a corvette may beat a unskilled driver in a ferari

    but a skilled drive in a yugo will not beat an unskilled one in a ferari.


    like my girlfriend says size matters.
     
  2. ~Natsumi Lam~

    ~Natsumi Lam~ New Member

    in a real fight, size doesnt matter... his knees are as weak as yours when they are kicked. Size only matters in where you choose to strike, so strike in the even playing field.

    ~NL~
     
  3. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    I disagree - size (especially muscle) is a huge advantage. You may be able to overcome it if you're very very lucky (or very very good), but a hulking brute has a definite ace up his sleeve. This is especially the case with two martial artists of equal skill - the biggest/strongest one will usually win.
     
  4. Swoop

    Swoop Valued Member

    Size matters whether the fight is real or just sparring. Some people don't like to admit it but thats the way it is. If two people are of equal skill then the bigger one will probably win. He may have weak knees, nuts, throat, whatever but so do you. And he can put more weight behind his strike when he hits you there.

    What you need to do is keep a couple of steps ahead of him so he doesn't learn how to read you. Vary your techniques and use feints and misdirection.
     
  5. Garibaldi

    Garibaldi Valued Member

    Eh!?

    That all depends on whether its a straight speed race! What if there's sharp cornering involved and the unskilled driver understeers? The skilled driver in a yugo could win then! (especially if he forces the other driver to make a mistake)

    Never fight anyone in a situation that suits them...make sure you put them in a situation that suits you.

    If he's stronger, don't try to wrestle or outstrengthen him
    If he's a better boxer, don't try to box with him
    etc etc

    There's more to takedowns than underhooks and shoots, and there's more to racing than who has the fastest car.

    And if all else is equal, why does the biggest guy win? What if skill, size, everything was equal, does that mean all fights will always be a draw!? Course not!! Fight clever and take the fight to where you have an advantage.

    All you need is 1% in another area to tip the odds in your favour from 50-50!
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2005
  6. tellner

    tellner Valued Member

    Lots of things matter. Size and strength matter a lot (unless we're talking about a gun fight). They aren't insurmountable, but everything else being equal a good guy who's big and strong will be a good guy who's small and weak. That's just reality.
     
  7. Yohan

    Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

    My brother and I are in the same class. 20 pounds makes a big difference in sparring and (especially) grappling and balance drills.
     
  8. Jointlock

    Jointlock Valued Member

    Of course size matters, so does speed. There are many factors that "matter". But, what does admitting that size matters do for you? You can't really control how big you are.

    If I get into an altercation, I don't want to have in the back of my mind "whoa this guy is way bigger than me, I'm going to get creamed." No, I'd rather be positive that I am going to come out alive no matter what the cost. He may have an advantage, but if I psych myself out it will become more of an advantage.

    Garibaldi, I would consider yourself lucky to be able to train with someone so big. This will help you immenslly if you have to come up against someone of equal size in a self defense situation.
     
  9. Zankuro

    Zankuro Valued Member

    The less you've trained the more important size and strength are. If you have a certain amount of skill it becomes negligible.

    Take people like Mifune and Ueshiba, tossing around bigger people with seeming effortlessness. It obviously takes a long time to get that good, but it's what we all aspire to.

    If you have an impossibly big person attacking you, grab a weapon. No matter their size, everyone is just as vulnerable as everyone else when stabbed with a pen, or when you cave their skull in with a stick.

    Obviously this isn't appropriate to a class setting.. thus the reason my school is strictly self defense, without competition. :)
     
  10. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Of course size matters, its only little people that say otherwise. Why do you think they have weight devisions etc.
     
  11. Freeform

    Freeform Fully operational War-Pig Supporter

    Of course size matters, this is why we have weight divisions in all combat sports!
     
  12. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Too many puns on this thread. Brain going off on too many tangents to continue..... :D
     
  13. Garibaldi

    Garibaldi Valued Member

    Got the wrong guy dude.

    Anyway, my point was that size matters as much as anything else, but you can't do anything about it, so concentrate on changing something you can improve...your skill...whether that be physical or mental skill in defeating an opponent.

    Its a daft hypothetical arguement that size and strength is so "all deciding" if all else is equal because nothing is ever 100% equal. Its a clever fighter that knows this and can use that to their advantage.

    Why the talk about weight classes? Its an attempt to even things out, but does it mean that everything is equalised so the most skilful fighter will win in their weight class? Absolutely not!

    If you can't beat someone by strength, don't try to fight against their strength.

    Look at something like Judo. The whole purpose of it is using minimum effort to obtain maximum effect. Yes they have weight classes in an attempt to even things out, but are you all saying that with 2 judoka of equal skill the bigger, stronger one will always win?!

    This is one of those typical generalisations when nothing is ever decided by one factor alone.
     
  14. Jointlock

    Jointlock Valued Member

    Whoops, when I was writing my post I just scrolled down to see who started the thread. For some reason I stopped on your post. Sorry.
     
  15. Garibaldi

    Garibaldi Valued Member

    No need to apologise!
     
  16. Hades

    Hades the deskjob boxer

    Owkay, just for my information.. If you say: "a big guy" you mean a very broad shouldered heavy muscular guy right?? It doesn't neccesarily involve someone's height right??

    Because I would call Mike tyson a big guy, allthough he's like 5'10"

    Talking about a big guy without much skill :D
     
  17. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    And I think that really brings up one of the big differences between training for sport and training for self defence. If you want to make the transition between the two smoother, you need to make sure you train with people of various sizes. There's no reason why training for sport (MMA, Tournament TKD/Karate) has to mean that you can't also train for self defence... as long as the students and instructors make the necessary adaptions and take the time to do both.

    There are no weight divisions on the str33t... so be ready for them all! :cool:
     
  18. mai tai

    mai tai Valued Member

    no its me...and for some reason my guy is filled with huge roiders. i only picked him cause he was the biggest. in some ways im luck..... but it gets painful.


    i was with a 240 lbser the other day. i spent so much time in the gaurd that my the next day my brething muscles were sore! from him being on top of me smothering me.
     
  19. Davey Bones

    Davey Bones New Member

    Meh. I'm always the smallest guy in class. You either learn skills to dance around them or you get your ass kicked. Can I go toe-to-toe with someone that size? Nope. Can I make him fight on my terms? Yup.

    And I agree with Thomas. Weight classses are great for sports, but in real life, I better know how to fight a big guy cuz, well, they're all bigger than me!
     
  20. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    There a reason boxing commentators compare boxers on a 'lb for lb' scale. Best featherweight of all time will get floored by a decent heavyweight nearly every time.
     

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