Size Difference in Takedowns

[sensei8]

We mix it up. We line up & rotate so I'm facing old / young, heavy / light, inexperienced / experienced.

same here.

Same here as well!

[Chitsu]

We mix it up. We line up & rotate so I'm facing old / young, heavy / light, inexperienced / experienced.

same here.

Same here as well!

In my Jujutsu days, my sensei was always keen for us to train with everyone else in the club - regardless of size differences.

What it makes you realise is that techniques that work on one size of person, may need to be modified (slightly) to work against, say, someone a lot taller than you. I hear what others are saying about learning first with a similar sized opponent, and to an extent I would agree. Indeed If you consider that many traditional Japanese Jujutsu techniques were designed to work only against people of similar build (due to the limited diversity of body type found in south east asia).

The most important thing though is that the core principles (of movement / timing and entering etc) must remain unchanged.

The basic principle of Kuzushi (off balancing) is key to good takedowns, so once you have that sussed you should be able to modify it to suit any size opponent.

Chitsu

[Pajarito21]

I definitely agree with the others on this topic. I am not to experienced in judo. But, I feel, that you should always try a new technique with someone your size, this will allow you to be able to use your body more comfortably then some one bigger. When sparring or training in real life situations you should pair with all different type of people so you start to learn how to adapt. I definitely love to fight people that are larger and stronger because they try to use that as a advantage and I get to show a little bit of what the short man can do. lol

[still kicking]

I have enjoyed all of the good responses to my question, and it's interesting to see that there are reasonable arguments to both sides, pairing with someone close in size vs. mixing it up. Several people mentioned that they would match up beginners with someone near the same size, and I think this makes sense. However, neither I nor the dojo mate in question is a beginner! We are both second kyu, and both have more than 10 years experience in our style, hers consecutively, and in my case 4+ years currently, 6+ years in the past. We train 3-5 times a week, and have been consistent.

We do rotate partners in most paired exercises, including sparring drills and free sparring, but I think the reason sensei pairs us up by size in one-step is that it's more formalized. It's not just making it work, but they emphasize precision to a great degree, every foot movement, precise set for blocks, full extension, etc. It just looks prettier and works better (usually) with symmetrical sizes. At 2nd kyu it's still at least 2 years until we can test for black belt, but even so we are training one-step in preparation for it, so we can make it work and have good basics.

quoting ps1:

your partner needs to either participate or not participate. She's more likely to get hurt and hurt someone else if she only wants to go really slowly through the techniques. When falling, the momentum of the throw is what often allows you to land safely.

YES! This is what has been bugging me! This is exactly it, you are much more likely to hurt, and I am too, if you want me to go slow, and it's much safer to just go with it.

Oh well, it's none of my business but I don't see how she can progress without getting past this timidity. It's only my business to the extent that it impacts my own training, which it does. I have e-mailed sensei about it, but we have not had a chance to speak yet. I am sure it can be worked out one way or another.

Thanks for helping me figure it out, everyone.

[sensei8]

Size difference in takedowns warrants the maxim that speaks about size and how size doesn't matter in the martial arts. It's nothing to be afraid of, size of an opponent, but, it's something to accept and to embrace.

[KarateGeorge]

Size difference in takedowns warrants the maxim that speaks about size and how size doesn't matter in the martial arts. It's nothing to be afraid of, size of an opponent, but, it's something to accept and to embrace.

Agreed. Size does indeed matter. Any martial artist should understand their own personal strengths, weaknesses and physical attributes and be able to work within them. Size being one of them.

In a real self-defense scenario, you can't choose how big your attacker is compared to you, so its good to train with people of different sizes and learn how to defend against someone bigger than you. But, especially when learning new techniques, I think its good to work against someone of a similar size when possible. If you can simplify the equation and remove extra factors, it helps you focus more on the technique and getting it down. As the student gets more comfortable with the technique, then new elements, such as a larger opponent, can be added to the mix to make things more challenging for them to successfully execute the technique. Depending on the student mix at the school this may not always be possible, as it depends on the number of students in the class, the physical attributes of those students, the skill level of those students, etc. But to the extent possible, I think its a good idea to start simple and work your way up to more challenging scenarios.

[sensei8]

The maxim speaks that size DOESN'T matter because knowledge DOES matter. A smaller person doesn't have to be afraid of a bigger person just because that bigger person is, well, bigger.