Finesse in the grapple

[danfaggella]

I've been grappling a whole lot lately and getting more and more into it daily. I have decided to focus my grappling game on some certain aspects of it that I enjoy and that work well with my body type. I am a smaller guy and I'm not strong, just wirey and quick. I don't know the physics of grappling well enough to know what kinds of moves are better for smaller guys (I don't want to be the little fellow who just hangs in the bottom gaurd all day long...), would it be strait/bent arm locks? Chokes? Spine locks? Knee locks? Foot locks? I'm looking for moves that require a lot of timing and finesse rather than strenth and weight and bulk.

Comments are apreciated.

[Clooneytkd]

trips always worked for me. a reverse head and arm to trip was my best move. getting a guy off balance is the easiest way. so shucking him and selling it in one direction then going the opposite way works well, obviously it takes time but if you can get it down it works.

[JkD187]

I've been grappling a whole lot lately and getting more and more into it daily. I have decided to focus my grappling game on some certain aspects of it that I enjoy and that work well with my body type. I am a smaller guy and I'm not strong, just wirey and quick. I don't know the physics of grappling well enough to know what kinds of moves are better for smaller guys (I don't want to be the little fellow who just hangs in the bottom gaurd all day long...), would it be strait/bent arm locks? Chokes? Spine locks? Knee locks? Foot locks? I'm looking for moves that require a lot of timing and finesse rather than strenth and weight and bulk.

Comments are apreciated.

If your working from your back the first thing i would recomend would be using the rear naked choke...thats the small man's move right there.A simple arm drag from the guard will expose your opponents back...grab the RNC..dont worry about the hooks...alot of grapplers only go for it if they have the hooks...if you have ever seen Takanori Gomi grapple you will see you can grab the RNC from anywhere.Besides you will be in a position that will give you lower body control because you will be in a guard sorta position.Another tech i would recomend is the arm triangle choke....alot of times when your holding the guys head down he will try and put a forarm on your face or throat and thats the perfect time to push the elbow in..sit up and lock in the arm triangle.If your subs are not working or you dont feel like trying them...get very very good at sweeps such as the scissor sweep...elevator...spider web etc etc.

[danfaggella]

Coincidently, RNC and arm triangle are my most relyable submissions, so good call. I feel that chokes are best suited for smaller guys, but I wonder if some chokes are more brutus than finesse or if any other kinds if moves would fit me, my triangle choke works well, is that considered a good choice for a smaller guy?

Are strait or bent arm submissions better suited for smaller guys? I seem to be okay with both, but its hard beating the bigger man's strenth.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

I agree with the others. Practice armdrags and wrist controls and stay away from tying up with the opponent(from the free movement phase or neutral position in wrestling). Practice duck unders so that when big guys try to tie up with you you can pop the arm and go into a takedown. One thing that I find works fairly well is that if their hands are low you can shove both their hands with yours to one of their legs and shoot a takedown right after. If you do it right they won't be able to fight back that well because the'll have both their hands caught.

I can only give you advice for your stand up game because that's my only good game. My ground skills are only mediocre so I'll leave the advice on that for some of the other guys. But do note that if you have a good stand up game that you can control the tempo of the match and sometimes decide what position you land in on the ground.

[jubaji]

I've been grappling a whole lot lately and getting more and more into it daily. I have decided to focus my grappling game on some certain aspects of it that I enjoy and that work well with my body type. I am a smaller guy and I'm not strong, just wirey and quick. I don't know the physics of grappling well enough to know what kinds of moves are better for smaller guys (I don't want to be the little fellow who just hangs in the bottom gaurd all day long...), would it be strait/bent arm locks? Chokes? Spine locks? Knee locks? Foot locks? I'm looking for moves that require a lot of timing and finesse rather than strenth and weight and bulk.

Comments are apreciated.

Hit the weights, lazy. "I'm not strong" is an excuse for not making yourself stronger.

[JkD187]

Coincidently, RNC and arm triangle are my most relyable submissions, so good call. I feel that chokes are best suited for smaller guys, but I wonder if some chokes are more brutus than finesse or if any other kinds if moves would fit me, my triangle choke works well, is that considered a good choice for a smaller guy?

Are strait or bent arm submissions better suited for smaller guys? I seem to be okay with both, but its hard beating the bigger man's strenth.

Triangle chokes work excellent as long as you make sure that you have his head pinned down.you MUST have a good grip on his head to make sure you can lock it in.Bent armlocks such as the Kimura(or Ude Garami call it what you will)are pretty good from the guard as long as you have patience with it...some times really strong guys can hold the grip for a long time.Relax the hold so he forgets that its on and when he least expects it..expoled the armlock out and take the tap...or the sweep is only a hip hiest away.Also with the straight armlock from the guard the best way to get it is to have absolute head control(as in the triangle) and throw the hips up and lock the shoulder in place.This eliminates the option of him pulling his arm free...all you have to do is swing your hips over and take it....however big guys will try and stack you...in which case you have his shoulder locked in...so reach underneath with your hand and grab his calf and turn in a counter clockwise motion...now the big guy is on his back and the armlock will come much easier...all you gotta do is watch out for a scramble...in which case keeping a grip on his hamstring eliminates that option as well.

[EmptyneSs]

im a smaller guy. my best position is kesa gatame/head & arm/scarf hold, whatever u want to call it. this works great for me and im only 5'10, 160lbs. when i get someone in it, i grab a hold of my own pant leg so i can have more control. by doing that, and keeping my weight on his chest i can really lock it down so they cant escape. from there its really easy to finish them with an elbow or shoulder lock like americana or just grabbing his wrist and pushing it down while raising your leg under his elbow. just watch out for the 2 main counters to this position, which is being rolled over or having him wrap one of your legs and popping out the back and taking your back. also u have to remember to post with one of your hands if he tries to roll over u.

my fav thing to do is lock someone down in this hold, and watch them flail helplessly for a bit and lose more energy. then ill go for americana or something.

[JkD187]

im a smaller guy. my best position is kesa gatame/head & arm/scarf hold, whatever u want to call it. this works great for me and im only 5'10, 160lbs. when i get someone in it, i grab a hold of my own pant leg so i can have more control. by doing that, and keeping my weight on his chest i can really lock it down so they cant escape. from there its really easy to finish them with an elbow or shoulder lock like americana or just grabbing his wrist and pushing it down while raising your leg under his elbow. just watch out for the 2 main counters to this position, which is being rolled over or having him wrap one of your legs and popping out the back and taking your back. also u have to remember to post with one of your hands if he tries to roll over u.

my fav thing to do is lock someone down in this hold, and watch them flail helplessly for a bit and lose more energy. then ill go for americana or something.

Im very fond of that position as well.I remember one time i caught a purple belt in the scarf hold position and he couldnt do anything to escape...it a very powerful hold down.The guy was like 6'0 230 lbs....and im 5'7 205lbs.

[BigRod]

Don't worry so much about a particular technique. Instead think of attribtues - concentrate on speed and timing. Use combinations, positioning, set ups and keeping people off balance to acheive your victory. Those are the core skills you need, and if you are good at those, any technique will work fine. But as far actual techniques, eventually you will discover the moves you like best, and then you should hone those. There are not necessarily specific moves that work "best" for a small man.

Learn to recognize when and how people use their strength, and then avoid those situations. Make them play your game. Keep your opponent busy so he has to spend all his energy defending your attacks, and has no time to mount his own.

These things I mentioned work well against anybody, not just big guys.

[danfaggella]

jubaji- Not strong meaning unless I take steroids and pump iron for a long long time, I will not be anywhere near equal strenth to most of my opponents. OF course I work out but its not pumping iron as much as it is jumping rope, doing pushups, doing legs lifts, and squats. I pump iron now and again when the wrestling team does, cuz thats when we are allowed to.

anyways, thanks guys. I have been working on getting to peoples backs recently, and staying there. I'd just hate to develope into the little guy who just sits on his back, I want to be more dynamic than JUST a bottom gaurd game.

[jubaji]

OF course I work out but its not pumping iron as much as it is jumping rope, doing pushups, doing legs lifts, and squats. I pump iron now and again when the wrestling team does, cuz thats when we are allowed to..

You should be lifting much more often then (and yes, I mean 'iron'). No excuse for not making yourself stronger than you are if that is your weakness. Anything you do to compensate will be that much easier if you get that much stronger.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

You'd be surprised how fast you gain muscle. I just started working out over the summer and I gained 15 pounds of muscle in 2 months. I weigh about 155 now and my strength is comparable, if not equal, to guys who weigh 180 or so(no I don't take supplements or steroids ). Just give weightlifting a shot. Hit the weights 5 days a week working one body part a day and you'll be lifting sumo wrestlers off the ground with one arm in no time(sarcasm).
God I sound like an infomercial.

[danfaggella]

Its not like I don't train. I spend plenty of time on the mat and with the bags and reading when stuff whenever I have spare time. I know strenth is important but if I can work on other things in the same time I could pump iron, I woiuld rather do the other things. I don't think I need to "jacked" to be a good submissions grappler, so I work on cardio and technique a whole lot, though I do a bit of strenth training as well, but I don't feel that it would be a more valid way of spending my time than actual grappling or cardio/flexibility work.

[blitz]

If you lift 4-5 times a week you can increase your strength...