Guard -Vs- Someone much heavier/stronger then yourself?(BJJ)

[NYBJJ]

I tend to find myself in this postion in class fairly often. I'm not small... 205ish, and I'm not weak. But for some reason I alway end up against some the bigger guys in class, and at times they aren't necessarily stronger then myself, but much larger (30-60 ponds more). I'm short, 5'8" (well short compared to the majority) which is also a problem with my short legs.

to the point...

What do you shorter guys do when you have someone that is that much heavier then yourself?

I tend to get stacked, which is preceed by them throwing all their weigh on me, at which point I'm pretty much out of the game. I try to scoot and reach for far lat or a choke... they usually just crush me.

In class I tend to shy away from using arm submissions, I don't want to hurt anyone (I am still recovering from an armbar from class), plus I feel I am better off just learning how to improve my positions, passing guard, mount etc...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Rich

[grappler-jordan]

Hmmm, well it's hard to say without seeing the actual situation and knowing what level you are at as a practitioner.

So they are stacking you in closed guard? Are they trying to use a standing pass? Are they just coming up on their knees and stacking to make you uncomfortable?

I will give a typical situation answer, ... Typically when people are stacking I look for a sweep, I know the armbars are available alot in these situations, but they leave vulnerable to the guard pass if you do not succeed. Keep good control of one of the arms and look for the sweep... give me more specifics and I will try to give you more specific techniques that might be effective in your situation...

Another thing to do is switch your guard as they try to stack. If you know your way around spider guard (Gi-Only) that is another thing you can use. Spider guard will discourage stacking against you if properly employed. X-guard can be very effective too, but is what I would consider advanced and sometimes difficult to employ if you don't know what you are doing...

Hope that helps ya some Rich....

[NYBJJ]

Thanks for the reply Grappler-Jordan.

My bad... forgot to mention.. I'm training for about 4 months now. Very new, but coming along. I'm still one of the "newer" people rolling in class.

Typically, they will go to a standing position, at which point I will try to hook one leg and see if I can sweep. If I can't sweep, thats about the time I get crushed. Spider-guard is an option, I haven't tried it yet. I have only gone over it once in class... but will try it out and see if I can set it up. I may have a better chance at a sweep with that, as long as I can maintain control of their arms.

I feel as though many of the larger guys use their weight to their advantage (which is great for them) but in a training enviornment, it makes learning extremely difficult (sucks for me)... but at the same time, it is realistic.

Thanks again for the reply.

Rich

[danfaggella]

If you're scared to use arm submissions, work sweeps and taking the opponents back. The hip hiest sweep is usually good for you larger guys.

[JkD187]

This is a very explosive quick scramble move....if you are pretty athletic then this is prob the easiest thing in the world to do even against people more experienced then you,Im a blue belt in BJJ and ive used this on purple brown and black belts....i still get my ass handed to me but at least i can escape.When they stand up in your guard.....post your left hand on your left side on the mat and your right hand on the right side on the mat and keep a slight bend in your elbows.Now here is the athletic part....open up your guard andscoot your legs out(your basically using your arms to support your bodyweight for a few seconds so its easier to scoot your legs out)and just stand up as quick as you can or shoot right into a double leg takedown.A similar move can be used from the closed guard when the guy isnt standing up...you just grab on the back of his head and learn all you weight on that arm and scoot your legs out and stand up.

[Dale B.]

When your partner stands up in your closed guard try this sweep:
Open your guard, but not so much that its wide open. Just enough to put your knees on his stomach. Your legs thighs should be almost together with your feet apart like this:

\ /
\ / <- your calves, shins, feet
|| <- your thighs
It is important to bring your knees together putting them on his waist/stomach. While doing this, grab the back of his heels with both hands and extend. He should fall over pretty easily. Practice it a few times half speed before trying this in your free roll time.

[grappler-jordan]

Thanks for the reply Grappler-Jordan.

My bad... forgot to mention.. I'm training for about 4 months now. Very new, but coming along. I'm still one of the "newer" people rolling in class.

Typically, they will go to a standing position, at which point I will try to hook one leg and see if I can sweep. If I can't sweep, thats about the time I get crushed. Spider-guard is an option, I haven't tried it yet. I have only gone over it once in class... but will try it out and see if I can set it up. I may have a better chance at a sweep with that, as long as I can maintain control of their arms.

I feel as though many of the larger guys use their weight to their advantage (which is great for them) but in a training enviornment, it makes learning extremely difficult (sucks for me)... but at the same time, it is realistic.

Thanks again for the reply.

Rich

Well, I would try to look for more sweeps to work with at your phase... Try to catch them as they are preparing to stack but if not, there are a few sweeps that will still work. A big key is to make sure you keep control of there arm, grab that Kimono/GI at the wrist and keep the arms extended... If you can keep arm control, the overhead sweep is an option (especially if they are leaning their weight forward on you), if not the double ankle push sweep is an option as well. Below are some sweeps explained briefly that might help you.

1. As your opponent stands, attain control of both arms by grabbing the Gi at the wrist. Once he is standing release your closed guard and place your feet on his hips, At the same time pull his arms out straight forcing him to bend forward. Most guys will fight this by pushing their weight back against you (as your opponents have been doing). As soon as they push back let your knees bend some and let his weight come on your legs. Now extend your legs straight out again and pull his arms all the way into your chest. Continue to push through with your legs until he goes all the way over your head and is forced to either face plant, or forward roll. Use your opponents momentum to pull yourself over on top of him and into mount.

2. As your opponent stands, attain control of both arms by grabbing the Gi at the wrist. Once he is standing release your closed guard and place your feet on his hips, this time instead of pulling hard forward take one foot and hook behind the knee, pull his knee in towards you as you push with the foot that remains on the hip. Once again use his momentum to pull yourself up (release your feet and put them on the floor, you should be able to stand right up during this sweep). Maintain control of one of the arms during the sweep, as you stand, step over his guard and take the arm bar. This one if one of my favorites and works consistently for me. One of my "high percentage" moves if you will.

3. As a variation to #2, you can release one of the arms as you get your feet on his hips, hook his leg with your free arm from the inside (at the heel) with your elbow (reach around and grab your own lapel if you can). Take the sweep by pushing again on the hip, if he bases out with his free leg, drop your same side leg behind it at the heel and hook and push again at the hip. IF he does not go you can transition to X-guard and take several sweeps from there as well.

The best thing I can say is be ready to be dynamic in your guard. Don't be afraid to go for the sweeps, if you lose position, you live, you learn. But defend regardless don't let them stack without any attempt at defense. Even if you just "almost" sweep them as they stack, they will think twice about doing it again and allow you to open up other parts of your game. Keep training hard and good luck Rich...

Jordan

[Shoot]

I hate the guard. I can't move very well on my back and it feels very unnatural to me. My solution has been to learn how to kick out and start over. I know that in time my guard will likely get passed because I have large thigh muscles which make it difficult for me to maintain a closed guard. So, instead of getting passed, I kick out and start over to get the top position. From there I pass. Simple, but works for me.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Instead of locking your legs around him, put your feet on his hips and lightly squeeze your knees into his ribs (your knees should be in his armpits). Or if you're just having trouble with them passing your guard, just pry their hands off when they try to use their hands to push your leg down. Or (another or) if you're good at moving on your back, attempt to lock your legs together, if you can't just squeeze hard, and use your legs to throw him at you. If they don't let go of your hips they face plant on the ground.

[shamster]

Another trick I like to do is to "walk" on my shoulders. When someone stands straight up so that their upper body in line with their hips, they have more leverage to stack you. If you can walk back using your shoulders while holding on to the closed guard, you will force their upper body to move forward of their hips, thus disleveraging them and forcing them back down on their knees.
The way I see it, the guard is not used to just stall and wait for submissions. It's also a time you should be busy moving around and making sure your opponent doesn't have a chance to posture up and work towards a pass.

[NYBJJ]

Thanks for some great replies all...

Kind of deja-vue... Class last night (Mon-Wed-Fri) was all about sweeps from guard. All three moves seem to be very effective. I was able to land them a couple times last night... but none of my opponents were the usual "big guys".

Grappler Jordon, your descriptions were almost dead-on with what the instructor went over last night... Thumbs up! Thanks!

Dale, I have tried the double ankle grab, knees together and extend foward... some of the bg guys seem to hold good positions which prevent me from getting them back.

I do believe I need more time on the mat before I can start pulling a lot of these techniques off on a regular basis. Learning when the right time to react is obviously key, which at times I am not fully seeing. Also, a level of explosiveness is necessary. Since it is training... I tend not to push too hard. A lot of the guys I train with, really go at it, which I don't personal think is the right way to learn.

Most people (white belts) resort to using almost all strength. I learned the hard wayby injuring myself that this shouldn't be. I am fortionate to have made some friend who are blue belts that take time to show me stuff before class... using too much strength is a point they all emphasize. I was burning out fast... Since I relaxed a bit I see improvement.

Anyway... Thanks for the great ideas!

[blitz]

If they stand up i usually go for the thrust dale mentioned, and if that doesn't work I usually switch to and x-guard or delariva.

[OmaPlata]

sweep him from the guard, put your right foot and hook it under his left knee and lift it up in the air while pulling down his right arm and flip him over, it works on big guys and u end up in the mount usually.

[daringdex]

hi NYBJJ,

when you are trying to spar with someone bigger try to always take the back of your opponent. It is very effective especially when he or they are bigger than us. I'm 5'4" and I have short legs. there are times i cannot Triangle choke my opponent. I just catch their back and choke them or apply face locks. but I do tap out too.. I prefer sparring with guys who are bigger than me becasue for me it is the best way to practice my techniques.

when your in the guard postion, try to sweep your opponent. there are people who are good in defending submissions while on the guard, rather than wasting your time getting submission fom the guard then try to sweep so you could get submission from the top or side mount...

My advice... Try to be in the guard position at all times. submission Grapplers are god in top game but not that good in guard game. Wrestlers are god in takedowns and postioning. Judo are good in throws and locks and chokes. BJJ is good in guard. I myself is a submission Grappler but I try to utilize the guad at all times. I am confident in my top game but i do admit that I need work in my guard game... I teach a few guys ground fighting and my drills always include guard passes.guard submissions and sweep from the guard...

I May be wrong about the opinions I wrote but that is how I view it...

[daringdex]

Forgot to mention that scissors sweep always work for me... there are times that they know I will be applying the sweep so they guard their base but when i se that they will guard their base, that is the time I do something else so that their attention will go there and when the attention is somewhere else then that's the time I use the sweep again then I will land on top again...

there are a lot of sweeps in particular... I try to practice them but when on the actual spar itself that is what I always end up with.. So it works well for me...