Help to fight Goliath

[AnonymousOne]

Speed and agility is the need of the hour for smaller people.

My teacher, 9th Dan, is only 5'4" and is totally lethal.

A smaller person has many advantages. They are naturally faster and have less mass to move. They are also usually naturally more agile.

A bigger person isnt necessarily stronger either. A good weight programme can make a smaller person far stronger than a taller person.

With taller people you need to move faster, side step more and be so agile you are a hard moving target to hit.

When I was in Japan in 1982-84 there was a sandan there that was only 5'0" tall. But he was incredibly hard to spar with. He was so incredibly quick. I also noticed in his performance of Kata he was lightening fast.

I pity the 6'5" 220 lb muscle bound bojo that tried to pick on a Karate-ka of that calibre

[Mr Pockets]

In boxing and kickboxing this happens all the time. What you need to do is quickly maneuver in so that you are in the optimal range for your punches and kicks and a little too close for him. You are likely to take some hits, so be ready to cover up and block (like you should be anyway.) Usually you will want to move in diagonally, and the more you can get him on the defensive the more control you will have, so when the time comes, let those hands go. Feet too if you need an opener (or closer).

[jarrettmeyer]

I would work on that groin kick, if allowed in your rules. Trust me, as a recipient of this kick. I was sparring with this smaller female. My kicks effectively add a 1' range advantage. She got it down perfectly. While my leg was up near her head (missing), she side-stepped, and *BOOM*. My cup was displaced to the side of my hip.

Through force of intimidation, I didn't kick the rest of the night. Her legs are longer than my arms, and she's a contender again.

Anyway, her solution is exactly what has been proposed here. She moved side-to-side. She stayed out. Eventually, the bigger guy telegraphed something.

[Saotome]

Something else that works if you're relatively short is to get shorter. Go low. In open sparring and being female, your target zones are already freaking small It's very hard for a tall man to punch a short woman in the guts without accidentally punching a breast, so we just don't go there a lot....

Of course, you'll get all kinds of ridgehands and backfists and such raining around your ears... but if you go lower, they'll be swinging down at you too.

If you get smaller, and spring in close, and add power with a bit of leg thrust, you'll be able to terrorize the larger guys who can't move quite quickly enough.

* * *

Don't assume the more massive opponents are slow. Speed is about power-to-weight ratio. The more massive fighter can train to be just as fast, if they're willing to do the explosive-movement training to get their power/weight up equal to or better than the lighter opponent. Most bigger guys don't go to that effort, though.

[Mr Pockets]

Going low can have one serious drawback if you're allowed to throw knees, or apply chokes and grappling stuff like that.

[Saotome]

Going low can have one serious drawback if you're allowed to throw knees, or apply chokes and grappling stuff like that.

What happens when you "throw a knee"? You mean, actual knee-strikes? Not grabbing a knee and throwing the other guy? Just wondering. Obviously my dojo doesn't do either in free-sparring.

For grappling, if you have to go for a lower opponent, you're having to reach down for them. I'm seeing Goliath accidentally fall on top of the smaller opponent (squish), but not seeing any increased vulnerability to chokes. On the upside, the short, low opponent has increased opportunity to do leg sweeps and leg throws.

Everything's a trade-off

[cross]

What happens when you "throw a knee"? You mean, actual knee-strikes? Not grabbing a knee and throwing the other guy? Just wondering.

Im pretty sure he means knee strikes. i.e. knee to the face.

but not seeing any increased vulnerability to chokes.

You potentially leave yourself open to guillotine chokes and knees to the head if they sprawl effectively.

[Mr Pockets]

Yea, Cross said it, throwing a knee like throwing a punch.

If you have the slightest idea what you're doing, goliath isn't going to just fall on you.

[Killer Miller]

To the original post:

You never try to overpower a more powerful oponent. So how do you take the advantage?

Being with Oyama's group you should be be familiar with Sen (before oponent comitts to an action), Sen no sen (same time oponent commits to an action), and Sen go no sen (after oponent commits to an action) concepts. With the first two concepts your longer armed, bigger, more powerful oponent will have a definate advantage over you and will win. However, the third concept (Sen go no sen) you now have an equal advantage. Your oponent has already comitted his body weight, size and power to or towards you and can not expend any more force as an action to you. The nano-second after he contracts from comitting to a technique, this is exactly when you attack back and either take him/her down or kick/punch them out. They are totally helpless at this point. After this, you create your distance back just out or their range and be creative to force them to commit to another action towards you - then you attack again after their technique has completed.

There are many drills for Sen go no sen, but I don't have time to expand on them at the moment. Perhaps when I have more free time.

- Killer -

[Saotome]

If you have the slightest idea what you're doing, goliath isn't going to just fall on you.

Yep, but you're postulating 'competent vs. competent'. My bunch lets people start free-sparring at 8th kyu - basically just 4 months of training - at which point we can have a 5' tall, 100-pound woman up against a 6' 3" 250-pounder.

Big guys do fall down go boom at that point. I've seen it before, I'll probably see it again. Sweat puddle on the floor, or the shorter opponent catches a leg and pulls, or the big guy doesn't keep an eye on his surroundings and falls over another sparring pair...

Best regards.