Tips for grappling with someone larger than you

[karate4Christ]

I am learning how to grapple in my karate class. I am not a very big person amd I know I am going to have to build up my strength,but does anyone have any tips on how to keep hold of somone stronger than you while grappling?

[Rich_2k3]

Remember that the hole point of styles like ju jitsu and judo is about using your opponents weight against them.

 

Ju jitsu means "Gentle art".

[karatekid1975]

Rich is right. It's not about strength. It's about technique, timing, and leverage. In Judo, we don't use strength at all. If you can get him in an armbar or choke, he won't go nowhere without tapping first (my two fav moves)

[AndrewGreen]

Size and strength do matter, always have always will. No way around that.

 

But they can be overcome with timing and technique.

 

On the bottom - elbow escapes and a solid guard game are key.

 

On top, stay loose and let him move, but stay on top.

 

Chokes are also your friend

[SevenStar]

on the ground, you're not gonna be using his weight to your advantage... he will use it to his advantage... he will crush you. What you need to work on is positioning.

 

1. become proficient at escaping a bad position - upa, elbow escapes, etc.

 

2. become proficient at esablishing and maintaining a strong position

 

3. work attacks from those positions.

 

out of curiousity, what kind of grappling experience does your karate instructor have?

[SevenStar]

karatekid, do you compete in judo, or do you only train it at the dojo?

[karatekid1975]

I'm only a white belt in Judo, so I don't compete yet. But my TKD school also teaches some grappling. I learned some moves already before I signed up for Judo (which made it a bit easier for me).

[aefibird]

Keep practicing your technique. The better your timing becomes, the more you'll be able to hold your own against a bigger opponent.

 

I'm only small and I found it really hard at first to try to grapple with someone bigger than me, especially males. (we do quite a bit of grappling in my karate class as well as throws, sweeps and trips, BTW) The more I practiced and learned how to time my movements effectively, the easier it became.

 

Work on your elbows!

[SevenStar]

I'm only a white belt in Judo, so I don't compete yet. But my TKD school also teaches some grappling. I learned some moves already before I signed up for Judo (which made it a bit easier for me).

 

That's about what I had guessed. I was basing it on your comment about strength. Strength actually plays a big role - you'll see when you compete. Technique is key though.

[White Warlock]

Competitions are generally geared toward weight classes, so strength does play a large part in such circumstances. But, things change dramatically when size is the predominating factor.

 

I used to wrestle much larger opponents than me all the time, and found them easier to deal with than smaller opponents. This was based primarily on the fact i was more skilled, but secondarily because i utilized my advantage... which was that i was smaller and quicker.

 

Capitalize on your strengths, always. In the case when you are smaller, stay mobile, apply leverage over brute strength, do your best to avoid muscle contests, and don't let them sit on you.