@@Ezio9791 some people are better at jiu jitsu because of genetics. Stuff comes to people at different speeds. Just because something is influenced by genetics doesn't mean it can't also come from hard work
You might like this one: Anyone who says size and strength does not matter has never fought anyone bigger and stronger then them. It comes down to the Six “S’s” as taught in Bando: it comes down to your strength, speed, stamina, strategy, skill, and spirit VS the other man’s.
I roll with this guy at my gym who's about 6'5" and 250lbs of muscle (looks like the Mountain). It's almost humiliating rolling with him because he never uses strength. He never forces any submission or technique. He's so gentle with everything it's even more humbling when he dominates on the mat. Really really nice guy. Super glad I roll with him
@@Koldfusion234 Yup, alot of those in the military. Just scary the level some people are at (skill & strength wise), I would never try to start shit with any of that.
I really like rolling with people bigger than me. It causes me to know when my technique is sloppy, because suddenly my fairly moderate strength just isn't enough. Then I have to be tricky.
Ill take whatever advantages I can. When someone has good triangles for being long and flexible no one knocks that.... so size and strength should be no different.
@@ironsurvival7011 This is a really good point, different body types are better for certain things. I'm not blessed by being the man ape type, but if you are just born with the ability to force some things like butter....eventually you'll meet a skill threshold but can't hate it either. Shouldn't knock natural strength, some just get blessed.
Lol that’s usually someone’s insecurity coming out. Especially when they absolutely HAVE to tell you that. I acknowledge mentally when someone is bigger or stronger than I am. But that never negates their skill and hard work.
Hi. I’m in the middle of cancer treatment and I’m 48. I now realize small battles won or learned should be acknowledged and celebrated. I had this thing in my head about getting to a blue belt standard, even though I have only rolled about 20 times in last 3 years. I never committed as I was awkward, bad, uncoordinated, and uncomfortable but now I know the secrets of small successes. As soon as I’m allowed to start again I’m going to take training one day at a time, be patient and inwardly / hopefully I’ll be in blue by 50th birthday. Honestly if not then who cares, I’ll try for 51st. Everyone listen up. Enjoy the grind, consistency, losing, winning, that shower after you know you’ve done your thing. Sun is good, rain is great cold is fine. Enjoy the scent of it all. Appreciate your teachers and if you can pass on the good knowledge you receive in life . ( first time I’ve ever posted) OSS👊👊👊
I'm an enormous man, and I never weight train, 100% farm boy genetics. I've done bjj for 8 months or so and I go 50/50 with the blue belts at my gym and maybe 20/80 with the purples. I constantly get told "stop using your strength, use technique" and I'm usually not trying to use my strength.(usually it's just incredible pressure from leaning into people so they carry my weight) so my partner usually feels my weight and equates it with strength. I always tell them jokingly afterwards that they should stop being faster than me or more flexible than me and they need to use technique instead 😆
I’m not saying your lieing but a lot of people say what your saying and are indeed spazzes in the gym using only muscle, on the other hand people like to use their opponents strength as a cop out or excuse for why they lost, at the end of the day if u are forced into an altercation outside of the gym you can’t tell some juiced up meathead to stop using strength as he power drives you into cement, people need to learn to deal with it it will make them better. For the new people at bjj muscle is all they know they don’t have technique yet so they use what they have it’s up to the higher belts to beat them and show them the way
That's so stupid. If you get someone whose technique is better, sure you should put a bit of power behind to stifle them. There's nothing wrong with it. That's just people who aren't physically that strong moaning because they haven't developed their technique to deal with strength yet. Keep doing what you're doing
Well, I could see the difference in my second lesson. Not using much of stregth during ROLLS (not using it in a competion is plain stupid) is good for you, because you focus on the technique and movement. If you use strength without technique you waste so much energy, but when you put strength INTO your technique, that's damm different game than...
Your strength is an engine, your size and build is your chassis, and your technique is just representative of how well you can drive your racecar/monster truck/single occupancy smart car.
I grappled for 8 years @ 149lbs. The past 6 years I decided to put on some mass.. currently @ 198lbs and it makes a hell of a difference. Of course one must take experience into account but it definitely helps against the 265lbs guys.
Think about technique as adding pullies to a weight. If you’re strong, you may not need the pullies, but you’d be able to lift way more weight if you did use the pullies. Better technique is like adding more pullies, it makes the weight significantly lighter, and allows you to lift more weight than someone stronger, but if that stronger person adds the same pullies as you have, they’ll outlift you anyways.
i imagine that early on when bjj was first introduced , it was possible for the technique to overcome stronger people unfamiliar with the bjj attacks. now that it is so everpresent, i believe that it would be harder to achieve. strength is trained either by lifting or grappling, it is as technical as any other trained technique/skill. thank you chewie for all of your videos!
Very true, had a power lifter come and just test out the gym where I go, he was a cool guy but rolled a lil hard but nothing crazy. The dude was just so strong but even though he never trained just off what he got from watching UFC he was able to pull off Kamuras and Guillotine easily. You are right it is so well known people can get the basic concept from how much it is out there.
Dave B I hear what your saying but in all honesty when you get a big strong guy in mount and you go for a cross collar choke he still only have 2 options let you choke him or defend with his arm, as he defends you take an armbar when you go for a hip bump sweep your opponent has 2 options base out his hand to stop it or don’t base his hand and get swept, when they base their hand you can triangle or kimura, strength alone won’t win against higher belts, it doesn’t matter if your farmiliar with it or not when someone’s forcing you to make a choice out of 2 options you have to make 1 . If it came down to people being farmiliar with moves no black belts would ever sub each other in competition but that’s not how it works
Well said, I'm sick of people 40kgs heavier than me and higher belt telling me size doesn't matter, it's BS, I'm 70kgs and I have so much trouble with guys taller and heavier
I watched this channel for about 6 months before joining my best local gym. Im stil a white belt and i used to wrestle but this has been a great experience as well as humbling.
Instructors always explain how "your X body part is weak but your Y body part is strong." Would be interesting to measure the actual forces being applied to see the difference between X and Y as well as across body types/strength levels. For example, at what point can someone with bad technique muscle through something because their body is just that much stronger than the other person's?
@@SevenRiderAirForce I muscled my way out of a black belt’s submission and he was right on top of me. He still submitted me at the end due to skill level, yet, I still went the distance with him [about 30 min of rolling]. Strength matters! We were the same height but he was 20 lbs heavier than me from what I could tell
I’m a longtime powerlifter and weightlifter. I eased up since getting into BJJ and MMA. But I can’t change that I’m stronger than a majority of people It’s only in BJJ where I feel guilty for exploiting it
Nah don't feel bad, i always like grappling with people like you. Massive strong guys exist and the only way to get better at taking someone on like that is by....taking on someone that big and strong, it sucks but shit at least I know what the mountain of force feels like. The way I see it, maybe I may get into a fight with a power lifter for some reason, better to at least know what it feels like than find out right then my time in BJJ isn't what I thought it was.
@@bigbay1159 You've got the right attitude man. Mysticism is of no use in any art. Rolling with big guys is the best way to get good at fighting big guys.
Dakota Dohr I’m only 6ibs heavier then my friend but he’s really strong and I’m really weak so you have to take account of the Strength/Fat ratio of you didn’t already
One of my favorite coaches told me early on when I was frustrated that there are some things that little girls just can't accomplish on full grown men. Although I played college Rugby and competed in Powerlifting and am strong among females and a lot of guys...there's just some things (especially combined with the size/height differences) I won't be doing on my training partners.
1. K2 and Son Goku, you two are disgusting. 2. You need a new coach, that's a load of crap. I'm a purple belt and I've been tapped out by plenty of women. It's true that certain techniques are compatible with certain body types, but I can't think of a single technique that I can do that most women who train couldn't do..
Its the same dor the guys. As a smaller fuy there are aome things that just wont be possible when it comes to rolling with bigger guys. We all have our own body's that come with there limitations.
It would be cool to collaborate with you if that is something you are every interested in! I'm a competitive strongman & Strength Sport athlete/gym owner/youtuber and I've been doing BJJ for about 8 months now. Love your content, keep at it brother!
I've always seen technique and strength as a Ying and Yang, you need both to be the best you can possibly be. Technique will amplify your physical abilities, but just like strength it can only get you so far on it's own.
Superb answer! I’m a blue belt who never wrestled, but have been doing various arts since the 80’s. After I had been training for a while, a new big strong guy would start training & I’d eventually roll with him. It would be a challenge, but my (limited) experience in Jiu Jitsu would allow me to submit the bigger, stronger guy, sometimes multiple times. I credit that to Jiu Jitsu/technique as I’d have little chance otherwise. But one of those big guys (and I’m 194, so they’re big) started saying to me: stop taking it easy on me, you’re not really trying, to which I’d reply: I am! You’re just strong! 🤣
Completely true on the newbie watchers...... I'm one, and have easily watched 50+ of your videos before my first class 2 days ago. I probably watched over 100 before sacking up and going to my first class. Very much appreciate your frankness and willingness to entertain newbie questions. 👍🏼
I just roll with 2 blue belts the other day and the first told me “you are strong” ...I was thinking “I’m not even using all my strength , so next time I’m really going to show him my strength ... second blue belt begun sinking his elbows on my tights (like that’s going to work in real life) I pull him like a puppet just to let him know I can be meaner and stronger than him... I hate to use all my strength when rolling ... usually I try to match my opponent strength ... sometimes I need to show them we can do this the easy way (where both of us can benefit and train technique) or the hard way (where I can overpower them and not benefit as much from the roll) This ego thing is not helping them.
Why does it matter if sinking elbows in wouldn't work in real life? Neither does pulling or jumping guard. Train something else if you want a 'real life' experience.
Technique is an efficient application of strength. It's true that the better your technique is, the less force you have to use to get a desired outcome, but at the same time if you have a massive amount of strength, like if you're a strong-man or body-builder, than getting the outcome you want is also easier. Technique isn't magic, you need to have strength to apply it, so I encourage martial artists of any kind to do some sort of strength training. The stronger you are, the more options you'll have when it comes to training, because it'll be easier for you to apply whatever technique you want to use.
I’m a 5’4, 115 male rolling with people who weigh 155-250. Strength matters... A lot. I been doing JJ for 3 months and love it. I want to also say that I am blessed for the gym I attend. My teammates aren’t there to hurt me. Being smaller has it’s perks because when I roll with people, they tend to go ‘light’. I can go all out on one of my teammates while they’re not breaking a sweat. (Can be a bad thing too, hehe.) Basically, I’m not too concerned with hurting my teammate. However I find it difficult when someone 3 times my size just muscles through me or simply just sits on me whether it’s on mount or side control. Initially I try to outmuscle the other guy but in result I would gas out in the process and then get into a worse position afterwards. Being the smallest person in my gym means this: Since I don’t have all the strength in the world, I’m more focus on the positions I’m in. I’m mostly defending because I enjoy playing guard. I’m prepared to get passed when in guard, I have precautions like having my hands on their hips to create space and having my knees high to my chest. I guess for the 3 months of JJ I been focusing on preventing taps then actually going for the choke. Be prepared to get tapped out, be prepared to be muscled around for your first few months. I got tapped out 90% of the time my first month. The rest of the time was just surviving the round. The next month I tapped 80% of the time. This means I survived 20% of my rolls this month. And my 3rd month, Im surviving 25% of my rolls now. I get tapped A LOT, but it’s still enjoyable and it’s also a treat knowing you’re getting better everyday just by a little bit. Last week I got my some of my first actual taps :) Being the smallest person in the gym is great, I don’t want to be but i’m enjoying it because I’m going against my limit everyday. My rolls are consistent and I know I’m getting better. Everyone sucks at the beginning so you don’t need to get into shape before joining JJ. 90% of it is just showing up, don’t be hesitant of joining a gym. I’m 19 years old and Jiu Jitsu is one of the things I know for sure, is good for me.
When I was a white belt, I had this Brown belt who would get to side control and just sit there. I'd waste so much energy trying to get out, but he had an under hook and head control. I wasn't going anywhere. One day I realized that he had to make space to attack me or advance his position. So I just stayed there waiting for him to move. He got frustrated and ended up giving me space I need to escape when he tried to advance his position. Sometimes you just have to be patient, and wait for the opportunity to escape when big dudes try to muscle you.
Size and strength are two different things. I'm a 260lbs blue belt, and I have rolled with brown and black belts a lot smaller than me. Most can hunt me but can't finish. However, I've rolled with a really good black belt, 110lb lighter than me, and he was actually stronger than me. He'd finish me every 30 seconds on average, when he wanted to. This is no gi btw. If he gets the hold of my elbow, it is over, I simply cannot get it back despite the size advantage. He's just too strong, it's like a vice. I'm sure I can deadlift and squat more than he can, but at the angles and motions that count for grappling, he's way stronger than me.
Love this video. I admittedly am not the best at technique but I am usually either the strongest or the best endurance in the gym (not always but a lot). I put a lot of time in lifting and HIIT exercises. Having that said I have been told by my opponents "You only won because your stronger." Yep and... I won. My strength is part of my technique.
Finally!! chewy says it right, this concept of strength has always come as what i would think is logical strength does matter, but there are different types of strength that is connected with muscle memory.
I have been training bjj for 3 years, first 2.5 years were nogi only, and then recently have added gi into my regimen. What I have seen in myself, is that no matter the size of the guy, if they are brand new, I can beat them at least 1-2 times in a 3 minute roll. I'm 155lbs and I've gone against guys who are a little over 200. However if they are that big and have even just one year of wrestling they can beat me. So think on that and take it for whatever you want.
Disappointed in your answer Coach. We know where the “myth” came from; THE GRACES. They not only cultivated that belief, but it became part of their dogma & IS STILL PROMOTED BY THEM. The efficacy of the myth is one thing ......... the genesis & propagation is another. I respect what you’re doing but this earns you a demerit on transparency & sharing openly & honestly. Peace & Good Health, RKN
Kaiser de Emperana The Myth “ the weaker smaller person can overcome all odds” as Chewi put it The Truth: This “MYTH” has long been declared & promoted as “ TRUTH” by the Gracie Family ..... Here’s an example of that belief as described by Kron Gracie ruclips.net/video/ilf9OoRNPRM/видео.html
@@robertnewell4054 he didn't say the smaller/weaker guy can't beat the bigger/stronger guy. He said it's important not to ignore the physical side of grappling
Strength matters obviously. So does speed, endurance, flexibility, technical ability and intelligence. I won't argue that being stronger isn't an advantage I'm just saying it's not the only thing that matters
It's kind of the stereotype in all eastern martial arts, and I blame primarily Bruce Lee for spreading this idea that technique overcomes all size differences. As much as he's spread the sports around the world, there's some ego affixed to it, and it made me not take martial arts seriously (and especially not take seriously the teachers that perpetuated this) for a long time. It seems like an obvious lie when it isn't worded properly. If you are small and skilled, take on a bear-sized person of your skill level and see how it goes. But if you word it slightly differently 'Skill difference mitigates size difference', you get a statement that is much closer to the truth. Maybe starting off it's 90% strength/size/build 10% technique, and as you get to the higher end it's 50% strength/size/build 50% technique.
For a lot of people, it can be hard to go to the gym. Before I started Taekwondo, I was trying to get into shape by going to the gym. I can't even use money as an excuse, because I had access to a free gym membership and free time with a personal trainer as a perk of my job. But it was hard. I had every excuse NOT to go to the gym. "I coughed today, I might be sick." "I got a good workout yesterday, I can skip today." "Oh, I've got this event today, I'll just skip and make it up" (and then I don't). When I started Taekwondo, I could not stay away. Now, I still don't work out much outside of TKD. But that's where I get my exercise. I train hard at what I need to learn, but I'm not trying to go to championships. For some people, the martial arts training is their exercise, and if they're not intending on competing at a top level, I don't think it's a bad thing if they're not also strength training.
If your skill is fairly equal, it's more than likely going to come down to who is stronger. I dont have a lot of technique yet so there have definitely been times where I had to muscle my way out of a bad situation when rolling with more skilled partners. The whole "strength doesn't matter" is a cope for little guys (like my former self) who, let's face it, are too lazy, intimidated, or unmotivated to schedule a few lifting sessions into their week.
I'm two years late but agree 100%. I'm the least experienced by quite a large margin at the gym I started a few weeks ago. I deliberately don't go 100% when rolling however there are times where I believe I could end this simply by picking my partner up and dumping them hard on the floor, or simply push them away hard or pulling my arms away hard which has resulted on having a strength based regime for the last good few years. Thats not what its about though and its about being humble, focusing on the techniques and accepting you're in their world and will be submitted especially at the beginning until you become somewhat competent Edit: Dont get me wrong though, the not going 100% for me applies to the training only, in competition or in life and death its certainly anything goes
This is so true. I had a powerlifting background and even when I was an white belt with some experience, I was giving blue and purple belts a hard time. People don't want to believe it but it's true.
Nope you are correct, we had a guy like you come into our gym (gracie barra) and yeah. The guy only knew what he saw in UFC but was able to pull off the kamura. The guy was just so strong he was able to break the technique of all the lower belts. He was a really cool guy but in a roll he would be considered "rough" but he was only testing out the gym and thought he was proving himself to us as someone who is hear to roll and not waste people time. Me and him started in the standing and he shot in (wrestler style for single) and I locked in a guillotine, we hit the ground, I try to sinch in, he is able to muscle his way out and puts me in one, I tap. Some people hate that even thought they train, some guy just testing the gym one day can murder them. I don't see it that way, I alwasy feels it's awake up call to get better because I have to compensate for that. In a real world fight if the guy is a muscle mountain I have to accept i and be ready.
If this is true then these guys aren’t worthy of their belts. Despite he strength and size advantage they really shouldn’t have a problem with you unless you have a wrestling or judo background.
@@damiondouglas4145 You can disagree all you want, the fact remains. When I knew absolutely nothing, they were able to tap me at will, but after a year of training, I had them struggling for their lives. Now that I'm the experienced one, I see how much easier it is to take people down, control them, and submit them, when I am much stronger than my partner as opposed to when we are closer in strength.
I am 6ft and 220 and a white belt. Day 1 one of the black belts I am now friends with told me prior to my first roll to relax and go at about 40% of my maximum strength. It wasn't what I now realize going light for the sake of going light it was to relax and not spazz out. This made open mat more fun since people knew I wasn't going to flail around or just use brute strength. Everyone at the gym are really nice and and the upper belts are very patient with me, which makes it enjoyable. I get tapped a lot but no one is trying to injure me intentionally, so it is more fun.
Tank Abbott has said that although he didnt train ju jitsu, when he was younger him and some of his high division wrestling friends went to a ju jitsu school where the instructor said he was willing to roll/fight with them all. Tank said that the instructor quickly tapped out his two wrestling friends, but when he (Tank) went up against the instructor, he said the guy arm barred him, then Tank said he lifted the guy up, slammed him down, and then stuck his fist over the instructor's face and asked him if he wanted to get hit, and the instructor declined and the roll was over. Tank said he was weighing approx. 270 and benching 600 at the time.
I remember my first class as white belt. I am 6.3 feet tall and 225 pounds weigh and I was stronger than most of the people I was sparring with in the mat. But this did not help me at all because even the ones with few months of experience were using the technique to use my strenght against me. I think the technique is more important than strenght... but obviosly when the level of technique is similar to your oponent strenght level is very important. Obviously strengh matters and can make the difference between you and your oponent.
I think another point is that strength unlocks a range of techniques that are effective and not technically demanding. Eg you occasionally see pro wrestling moves in MMA and they can be devastating - you just need to be incredibly strong to pull them off.
Not heard Daniel Strauss's name in a while - that guy used to absolutely tear up the competition scene here in the UK when he was a lower belt (I'm sure he's continued to do the same since!). Interesting vid as always, thank you.
I have a little over a month of BJJ training so far and my natural athleticism and strength are playing huge factors in my early relative success against my more experienced white belts. I spend my off time studying videos and improving my technical skills and ensuring I am relying more and more on my technical skills when I train. Skills is king but strength makes a difference, in my limited and humble opinion.
It's just like any sport, technique and athleticism are both vital if you want to be at your best. You could be the best in the world at catching a football, but you aren't gonna be in the NFL if you are fat and slow. Conversely, Usain Bolt can't just be an NFL receiver because he has little football skill Skill can overcome size and strength in jiu jitsu, but only to a point. I experience this firsthand as a very physically strong white belt. I've been training for 7 months, and I'm at a point now where I can get the better of a lot of the smaller blue belts because their technique, while slightly better than mine, is overcome by the size difference. However, once you raise the skill bar a little higher, I start to get outclassed. The higher level blue belts and purple belts, even the ones that are 70-80 pounds lighter than I am, can still work me over pretty easily
A general rule, I like is thinking of BJJ as leverage/magnifier of strength. For example, 40% advantage doesn't let you overcome someone who is 100% stronger. The exception is that getting to a finish first and landing it by surprise (no direct opposition).
I was a wrestler through high school, and I had a lot of people who would make passive aggressive comments about my strength. They would get frustrated when things they would try wouldn't work. I was stronger than most people I was up against, but it had more to do with positioning abd weight distribution I learned from wrestling. Really these people just needed to quit complaining and train more. The higher belts could tap me. They never complained about my strength. I never complained about them having better technique. But unlike these people I'm gonna keep working.
I swear as a big guy(235 lbs) I hate the “hey use technique not strength” it’s a difference in hulk smashing vs normal movements by a big strong guy but most can’t tell the difference
I liken the skill vs athleticism argument to racing cars. Skill is the most important aspect, but if you are a master driver in the shittiest car, racing an average driver in the best car, you are probably going to lose.
The strongest men will always be calm and collected and then when required will exert strength like you wouldn't believe because it isnt wasted on little things
I’m a 5’4 125lbs green belt (I’m only 15 so I can’t get my blue belt until I turn 16 next year) I do pretty well with the adult blue belts and okay with purple belts but when the adults want to use strength they can outmuscle me and for the most part, I can still play my game and either submit or survive, but they do catch me and submit me and others tell me that their strength doesn’t have anything to do with it because technique wins, which I agree with but I believe that strength does play a big role as well
Perfect example of this is when Rampage Jackson was in a triangle choke or whatever it was and just stood up and slammed that dude on the mat knocking him out. Just pure power.
Fairly new at the game. Bigger than anyone in my dojo. I give the blue belts hell but they always end up smashing me. Because I can roll around and fight, but in the end i get tired, in the end I don't know how to finish anyone, in the end all I can do is delay the inevitable or maybe get up and away. Biggest problem with being bigger than everyone and not having a good knowledge is that I can injure white belts just through accident and them not having a complete tool kit to handle it. Something to think about.
Well once again on point, would you please stop that (lol just kidding). I strength train 3days a week even before BJJ, and now I know I made the choice to continue my strength training once I start BJJ 9 months ago. So train your attributes, strength, cardio,flexibility, mobility, etc. Roll and have fun.
Strength matters, size even more and combined it's tough. I'm 185lbs, can bench 335, squat 515 and deadlift 535 and if I choose to do a powerlifting meet I usually win or place highly. But I don't think my strength makes me win very often. But if I was say 240lbs I'd win more often.
I needed to see these comments from other "big and strong guys". Literally the first week that I was training, I was told that eventually no one will want to roll against me, because I'm big and strong. A month and a half in, I started submitting and beating blue belts, along with all the white belts. Now I beat blue belts regularly., submitted two earlier today. I also am the only person who will traib often with the best person there, who is also big and strong, he's a purple belt. I try to push myseld to use at modt 50-75% of my strength, and normally much less. But, I still always have people telling me that I'm strong, especially my professor, who is a wimpy and nerdy guy, who is obsessed with strength not being used in jiujitsu, I think that he'll hold me back because of it. I actually attend classes and roll more often than 90% of the people there, and I work hard to use as little strength as posisbke, and use different techniques, and follow the details. For me, I actually utilize my body weight, over strength, so that I don't get tired, also I have very good balance, because I skateboarded and snow boarded for over ten years. At this point, I'm trying to not be offended, when I beat someone, and they comment that I'm strong, or biggee than them. I'm literally just a 1/4" under 6 feet tall, and weigh 186lbs currently. I am not that big. I also had been sitting on my butt a lot for the past seven years, and never could workout or do any activities, because I had chronic back pain, yet in just three months, I'm submitting and dominatinf bkue belts, but am just now about to get my first stripe.
Strength matters, but if they don't know how to use it then it doesn't. I weigh 160lb and don't lift. Tapped a dude last session who was 250lb easy, covered in tattoo's and asked me "how much do you bench" after the session. All I said was... "ya bjj is weird like that."
Technique is the skillful application of strength (power, flexibility, etc). I personally think of it like this: If you put me in a car race against a professional driver in equal cars I will lose If their car is sightly less than mine I'll still lose If their car is garbage I'll win If their car is good enough then no matter how fast my car is I will lose.
One thing that I do notice is the 'bigger' guys seem to gas out quicker. If I can rope-a-dope them for a while and weather the blitz I can turn the tides on them eventually. I'm about 180lbs, but I'm the lighter of the heavies in my gym. Most of the really stacked guys are 215+. I just need to weather that first 2 minute blitz and then I can start working on a submission.
Strength always helps, but it's even more important in submission grappling/ jujitsu (especially no gi). Imo it's even more important in jujitsu than all of traditional wrestling, because it's more anerobic than arobic.
@@iramswrestlinghighlights1164 I think your misunderstanding me . Yes wrestlers are in better shape, which then carries over into strength yes- ex just like the average power lifter is in better overall shape than someone who never works out, same kinda thing. I've always thought wrestlers were stronger because of this "carryover" but the sport of jujitsu itself, strength is more valuable than overall fitness. Basically the sport allows more shorter explosive movements, followed by rest vs a 200-400 meter all out Sprint like wrestling. Nope not gonna bad mouth wrestling lol ! Maybe I should have made it more clear. Ex I'm better at no gi jujitsu than I ever was at wrestling, for this reason. It's perfect for short explosive movements vs the latter, but to say wrestling has helped me with the other would be a understatement.
I should have been more clear, I wouldn't want anyone to think I was dissing wrestling at all seriously; it's a big part of my identity even if I wasn't that great, I would get smashed in jujitsu if I never wrestled. A matter of fact I actually like to consider myself a catch wrestler with my style when grappling, but that makes things awkward when you go into jujitsu class and beat people at a completely different martial art than the one there training in, so im so used to calling myself a jujitsu artist, when in reality I'm not, I roll/spar like a catch wrestler, so I basically don't ever acknowledge my style just to blend in better. It's funny now that I think about it .
I had a rough childhood, getting beaten on, and although i was never trained at all i can dare say my strength and speed definitely saved me in some encounters where i had to defend myself, some of my attackers were even trained in MMA too. Did i win all the time? No. But if i wasnt stronger than my stature implied i wouldn't even have lived past my teenage years, i can guarantee you that
I'm a big guy myself, around 240lb. I have been in the gym hitting weighs for years with some pretty impressive numbers on the compounds. Just started jiu jitsu recently and yeah I've had guys half my size destroying me.
And I finally realized it's because that with a higher level of strength, it takes less output to perform the same move like an arm bar. So when you get stronger, you can do an arm bar with less effort. Kinda like how getting stronger makes a light weight even lighter.
In my gym, everyone glorifies smaller and technical guys. I am 80 kilos and I am strong, very often when I won in sparing they would tell me - you are strong that is why you won. well, let me ask a different question - why I never said that you are 10 years younger than me, you have better cardio, lighter - therefore faster and more dynamic than me, why it always goes in one direction? bit unfair. anyway, you can't underestimate the strength and size, even if you are a purple belt - an untrained, stronger and bigger guy can fuck you up. of course, his chances decline with the time the fight goes on, he doesn't know the technique, he will gas out faster than you, so if you manage not to get knocked out in the first few minutes, your chances of choking the shit out of him increase. only my two satoshis. oss
Strength does not matter when a guy is absent skilled and can't even balance his ass on the mat. But when this guy gets the moves and skills - he is a legit killer. I felt that my learning improved since I joined the gym and started weightlifting and doing kettlebells. My grips became stronger, my defense improved, and I can now roll longer and be more effective. AND LEARN MORE! Strength and power (as a flexibility) can buy you some time and neglect your opponent technique. And don't "powershame" people, it really takes effort to build it.
Technique is efficient use of strength and power
Coach Ramsey was definitely correct when he stated that
Johnnie Siller who ?
Isaiah Alvarado Ramsey Dewey, he has a RUclips channel about mma and he said that once look him up he’s got some really good stuff
Nickb184 B oh cool! I’ll check him out!
Neuromuscular efficiency is what it's all about
Strength is a skill.
Motherfuckers don't even know how much work it takes to become strong.
It's a developed skill.
I mean that's true but some people are just stronger than others because of genetics. Not that it matters or anything, just putting it out there.
ohhh yeaaaa you knowww becausssee youre sooooo stronngggggg
@@Ezio9791 some people are better at jiu jitsu because of genetics. Stuff comes to people at different speeds. Just because something is influenced by genetics doesn't mean it can't also come from hard work
Facts, I could be a Black belt in BJJ right now, that doesn't mean a white belt Jon Jones wouldn't kill me.
Some people are just pussies too.
You might like this one: Anyone who says size and strength does not matter has never fought anyone bigger and stronger then them.
It comes down to the Six “S’s” as taught in Bando: it comes down to your strength, speed, stamina, strategy, skill, and spirit VS the other man’s.
Wow...my comment was highlighted. Thanks for the recognition Chewjitsu!
Obviously, I like your channel. 🙏
couldn’t you make it seven “S’s” just add size
Dang, mind if I borrow your “S’s”?
100%
You said it best
I roll with this guy at my gym who's about 6'5" and 250lbs of muscle (looks like the Mountain). It's almost humiliating rolling with him because he never uses strength. He never forces any submission or technique. He's so gentle with everything it's even more humbling when he dominates on the mat. Really really nice guy. Super glad I roll with him
Those are the scariest guys: The ones who have a large strength reserve but rarely have to use it because their technique is on point
@@Koldfusion234 Yup, alot of those in the military. Just scary the level some people are at (skill & strength wise), I would never try to start shit with any of that.
i mean if you would show someone like hafthor how to defend an armbar i doubt anyone below 100kg is ever going to armbar him.
I really like rolling with people bigger than me. It causes me to know when my technique is sloppy, because suddenly my fairly moderate strength just isn't enough. Then I have to be tricky.
@@itchykami Exactly, you know you can't force it and realize the technique needs to be refined. For sure
As a big guy, I'm tired of my drilling, study and hard work constantly being written off as me simply having a size/ strength advantage when I roll.
Ill take whatever advantages I can. When someone has good triangles for being long and flexible no one knocks that.... so size and strength should be no different.
That's life buddy
@@ironsurvival7011 This is a really good point, different body types are better for certain things. I'm not blessed by being the man ape type, but if you are just born with the ability to force some things like butter....eventually you'll meet a skill threshold but can't hate it either. Shouldn't knock natural strength, some just get blessed.
Lol that’s usually someone’s insecurity coming out. Especially when they absolutely HAVE to tell you that. I acknowledge mentally when someone is bigger or stronger than I am. But that never negates their skill and hard work.
Eh get over it. Just keep working hard if it works.
Grappler strength is a real thing, very common in wrestling.
Yes!!!
Yup
Hi. I’m in the middle of cancer treatment and I’m 48. I now realize small battles won or learned should be acknowledged and celebrated. I had this thing in my head about getting to a blue belt standard, even though I have only rolled about 20 times in last 3 years. I never committed as I was awkward, bad, uncoordinated, and uncomfortable but now I know the secrets of small successes. As soon as I’m allowed to start again I’m going to take training one day at a time, be patient and inwardly / hopefully I’ll be in blue by 50th birthday. Honestly if not then who cares, I’ll try for 51st. Everyone listen up. Enjoy the grind, consistency, losing, winning, that shower after you know you’ve done your thing. Sun is good, rain is great cold is fine. Enjoy the scent of it all. Appreciate your teachers and if you can pass on the good knowledge you receive in life . ( first time I’ve ever posted) OSS👊👊👊
I hope you beat cancer
Hope you’re still going strong brother. OSS
Remain strong
I'm an enormous man, and I never weight train, 100% farm boy genetics. I've done bjj for 8 months or so and I go 50/50 with the blue belts at my gym and maybe 20/80 with the purples. I constantly get told "stop using your strength, use technique" and I'm usually not trying to use my strength.(usually it's just incredible pressure from leaning into people so they carry my weight) so my partner usually feels my weight and equates it with strength. I always tell them jokingly afterwards that they should stop being faster than me or more flexible than me and they need to use technique instead 😆
Oh man that's me. It's so annoying to be told don't use your strength when you're not even trying to use strength.
I’m not saying your lieing but a lot of people say what your saying and are indeed spazzes in the gym using only muscle, on the other hand people like to use their opponents strength as a cop out or excuse for why they lost, at the end of the day if u are forced into an altercation outside of the gym you can’t tell some juiced up meathead to stop using strength as he power drives you into cement, people need to learn to deal with it it will make them better. For the new people at bjj muscle is all they know they don’t have technique yet so they use what they have it’s up to the higher belts to beat them and show them the way
That's so stupid. If you get someone whose technique is better, sure you should put a bit of power behind to stifle them. There's nothing wrong with it. That's just people who aren't physically that strong moaning because they haven't developed their technique to deal with strength yet. Keep doing what you're doing
Well, I could see the difference in my second lesson. Not using much of stregth during ROLLS (not using it in a competion is plain stupid) is good for you, because you focus on the technique and movement. If you use strength without technique you waste so much energy, but when you put strength INTO your technique, that's damm different game than...
Sounds like your using strength and dont even know
Your strength is an engine, your size and build is your chassis, and your technique is just representative of how well you can drive your racecar/monster truck/single occupancy smart car.
Then there's the assholes who use nos, we can them dopers.
I grappled for 8 years @ 149lbs. The past 6 years I decided to put on some mass.. currently @ 198lbs and it makes a hell of a difference. Of course one must take experience into account but it definitely helps against the 265lbs guys.
Think about technique as adding pullies to a weight. If you’re strong, you may not need the pullies, but you’d be able to lift way more weight if you did use the pullies. Better technique is like adding more pullies, it makes the weight significantly lighter, and allows you to lift more weight than someone stronger, but if that stronger person adds the same pullies as you have, they’ll outlift you anyways.
i imagine that early on when bjj was first introduced , it was possible for the technique to overcome stronger people unfamiliar with the bjj attacks. now that it is so everpresent, i believe that it would be harder to achieve. strength is trained either by lifting or grappling, it is as technical as any other trained technique/skill. thank you chewie for all of your videos!
Very true, had a power lifter come and just test out the gym where I go, he was a cool guy but rolled a lil hard but nothing crazy. The dude was just so strong but even though he never trained just off what he got from watching UFC he was able to pull off Kamuras and Guillotine easily. You are right it is so well known people can get the basic concept from how much it is out there.
Dave B I hear what your saying but in all honesty when you get a big strong guy in mount and you go for a cross collar choke he still only have 2 options let you choke him or defend with his arm, as he defends you take an armbar when you go for a hip bump sweep your opponent has 2 options base out his hand to stop it or don’t base his hand and get swept, when they base their hand you can triangle or kimura, strength alone won’t win against higher belts, it doesn’t matter if your farmiliar with it or not when someone’s forcing you to make a choice out of 2 options you have to make 1 . If it came down to people being farmiliar with moves no black belts would ever sub each other in competition but that’s not how it works
I’m really glad that some people’s introduction to your channel is their first interaction with BJJ. This is an amazing starting point
We have big guys show up at the gym and they get destroyed until they learn the basics then it sucks feeling like your fighting a wet mattress
Then get bigger
Well said, I'm sick of people 40kgs heavier than me and higher belt telling me size doesn't matter, it's BS, I'm 70kgs and I have so much trouble with guys taller and heavier
I get destroyed by higher belts who are half my size. Strength and size matter, but not as much as people make it out to be.
strenght training isnt only to overcome an opponent, its for health issues, a strong muscle is not a damaged one.
More bulk can generally make you harder to kill.
I watched this channel for about 6 months before joining my best local gym.
Im stil a white belt and i used to wrestle but this has been a great experience as well as humbling.
Technique is the efficient application of strength. Roll against somebody strong enough, technique can come up short. Fitness matters.
Instructors always explain how "your X body part is weak but your Y body part is strong." Would be interesting to measure the actual forces being applied to see the difference between X and Y as well as across body types/strength levels. For example, at what point can someone with bad technique muscle through something because their body is just that much stronger than the other person's?
@@SevenRiderAirForce I muscled my way out of a black belt’s submission and he was right on top of me. He still submitted me at the end due to skill level, yet, I still went the distance with him [about 30 min of rolling]. Strength matters! We were the same height but he was 20 lbs heavier than me from what I could tell
It’s interesting to think that someone would want to engage in a physical activity but try to bypass physical ability/effort.
I’m a longtime powerlifter and weightlifter. I eased up since getting into BJJ and MMA. But I can’t change that I’m stronger than a majority of people
It’s only in BJJ where I feel guilty for exploiting it
It won't kill them to go pump weights, don't feel bad that you're working harder.
Nah don't feel bad, i always like grappling with people like you. Massive strong guys exist and the only way to get better at taking someone on like that is by....taking on someone that big and strong, it sucks but shit at least I know what the mountain of force feels like. The way I see it, maybe I may get into a fight with a power lifter for some reason, better to at least know what it feels like than find out right then my time in BJJ isn't what I thought it was.
so long as your not being a bully with the strength you shouldn't feel bad for the work you put in, that shit is it's own art.
@@bigbay1159 You've got the right attitude man. Mysticism is of no use in any art. Rolling with big guys is the best way to get good at fighting big guys.
@@Horus-Lupercal Thanks! indeed, my time in HS wrestling and then the military trained me that the only way to get good is to swim with the sharks.
A 5 yr old kid can have all the technique in the world, would he beat a 25 yr old white belt w 200 pounds? Nope
So yes strenght matters alot
Hell yeah. Size and strength matters.
What if the five year olds mother starts fighting
I used to train with a guy that said I only beat him because I'm strong.
We were 10 lbs apart.
10lbs of shredded differance 😂
Dakota Dohr I’m only 6ibs heavier then my friend but he’s really strong and I’m really weak so you have to take account of the Strength/Fat ratio of you didn’t already
One of my favorite coaches told me early on when I was frustrated that there are some things that little girls just can't accomplish on full grown men. Although I played college Rugby and competed in Powerlifting and am strong among females and a lot of guys...there's just some things (especially combined with the size/height differences) I won't be doing on my training partners.
1. K2 and Son Goku, you two are disgusting.
2. You need a new coach, that's a load of crap. I'm a purple belt and I've been tapped out by plenty of women. It's true that certain techniques are compatible with certain body types, but I can't think of a single technique that I can do that most women who train couldn't do..
@@jacobday3826 re point 1 let’s be honest they only wrote what every other guy’s thinking 🤷♂️😆
Its the same dor the guys. As a smaller fuy there are aome things that just wont be possible when it comes to rolling with bigger guys. We all have our own body's that come with there limitations.
May you make a video of how to breath in Jiu-Jitsu fight please
It would be cool to collaborate with you if that is something you are every interested in! I'm a competitive strongman & Strength Sport athlete/gym owner/youtuber and I've been doing BJJ for about 8 months now. Love your content, keep at it brother!
I've always seen technique and strength as a Ying and Yang, you need both to be the best you can possibly be. Technique will amplify your physical abilities, but just like strength it can only get you so far on it's own.
Superb answer! I’m a blue belt who never wrestled, but have been doing various arts since the 80’s. After I had been training for a while, a new big strong guy would start training & I’d eventually roll with him. It would be a challenge, but my (limited) experience in Jiu Jitsu would allow me to submit the bigger, stronger guy, sometimes multiple times. I credit that to Jiu Jitsu/technique as I’d have little chance otherwise. But one of those big guys (and I’m 194, so they’re big) started saying to me: stop taking it easy on me, you’re not really trying, to which I’d reply: I am! You’re just strong! 🤣
P.S. Once those huge guys get some technique, look 👀 out...😆
Completely true on the newbie watchers...... I'm one, and have easily watched 50+ of your videos before my first class 2 days ago. I probably watched over 100 before sacking up and going to my first class. Very much appreciate your frankness and willingness to entertain newbie questions. 👍🏼
Very well explained 👏🏼 I always say an athlete that lifts weights is a better athlete
Great video, I've wrestled some skinny guys who have never lifted but yet felt so strong and had stamina for days.
I'm a strong guy, 6'2" 230lbs, I'm regularly humbled by guys half my size. But then I'm old as shit. Keep up the awesome content chewie 🤙
I just roll with 2 blue belts the other day and the first told me “you are strong” ...I was thinking “I’m not even using all my strength , so next time I’m really going to show him my strength ... second blue belt begun sinking his elbows on my tights (like that’s going to work in real life) I pull him like a puppet just to let him know I can be meaner and stronger than him... I hate to use all my strength when rolling ... usually I try to match my opponent strength ... sometimes I need to show them we can do this the easy way (where both of us can benefit and train technique) or the hard way (where I can overpower them and not benefit as much from the roll)
This ego thing is not helping them.
Fulca yeah, I actually killed three big blue belts the other day for pulling too hard on twisters
Why does it matter if sinking elbows in wouldn't work in real life? Neither does pulling or jumping guard. Train something else if you want a 'real life' experience.
Technique is an efficient application of strength. It's true that the better your technique is, the less force you have to use to get a desired outcome, but at the same time if you have a massive amount of strength, like if you're a strong-man or body-builder, than getting the outcome you want is also easier. Technique isn't magic, you need to have strength to apply it, so I encourage martial artists of any kind to do some sort of strength training. The stronger you are, the more options you'll have when it comes to training, because it'll be easier for you to apply whatever technique you want to use.
Feel like you got that first part from Ramsey Dewey
@@bigbay1159 I got the exact phrasing from him, but the idea behind it is something I always picked up from training martial arts
@@ConCoClem For sure, Ramsey is an awesome down to earth fighter. So get what your saying
I’m a 5’4, 115 male rolling with people who weigh 155-250. Strength matters... A lot. I been doing JJ for 3 months and love it. I want to also say that I am blessed for the gym I attend. My teammates aren’t there to hurt me. Being smaller has it’s perks because when I roll with people, they tend to go ‘light’. I can go all out on one of my teammates while they’re not breaking a sweat. (Can be a bad thing too, hehe.) Basically, I’m not too concerned with hurting my teammate.
However I find it difficult when someone 3 times my size just muscles through me or simply just sits on me whether it’s on mount or side control. Initially I try to outmuscle the other guy but in result I would gas out in the process and then get into a worse position afterwards.
Being the smallest person in my gym means this: Since I don’t have all the strength in the world, I’m more focus on the positions I’m in. I’m mostly defending because I enjoy playing guard. I’m prepared to get passed when in guard, I have precautions like having my hands on their hips to create space and having my knees high to my chest. I guess for the 3 months of JJ I been focusing on preventing taps then actually going for the choke.
Be prepared to get tapped out, be prepared to be muscled around for your first few months. I got tapped out 90% of the time my first month. The rest of the time was just surviving the round. The next month I tapped 80% of the time. This means I survived 20% of my rolls this month. And my 3rd month, Im surviving 25% of my rolls now. I get tapped A LOT, but it’s still enjoyable and it’s also a treat knowing you’re getting better everyday just by a little bit. Last week I got my some of my first actual taps :)
Being the smallest person in the gym is great, I don’t want to be but i’m enjoying it because I’m going against my limit everyday. My rolls are consistent and I know I’m getting better. Everyone sucks at the beginning so you don’t need to get into shape before joining JJ. 90% of it is just showing up, don’t be hesitant of joining a gym. I’m 19 years old and Jiu Jitsu is one of the things I know for sure, is good for me.
When I was a white belt, I had this Brown belt who would get to side control and just sit there. I'd waste so much energy trying to get out, but he had an under hook and head control. I wasn't going anywhere. One day I realized that he had to make space to attack me or advance his position. So I just stayed there waiting for him to move. He got frustrated and ended up giving me space I need to escape when he tried to advance his position. Sometimes you just have to be patient, and wait for the opportunity to escape when big dudes try to muscle you.
Really had to type out 4 paragraphs.. Smh
Size and strength are two different things. I'm a 260lbs blue belt, and I have rolled with brown and black belts a lot smaller than me. Most can hunt me but can't finish. However, I've rolled with a really good black belt, 110lb lighter than me, and he was actually stronger than me. He'd finish me every 30 seconds on average, when he wanted to. This is no gi btw. If he gets the hold of my elbow, it is over, I simply cannot get it back despite the size advantage. He's just too strong, it's like a vice. I'm sure I can deadlift and squat more than he can, but at the angles and motions that count for grappling, he's way stronger than me.
Love this video. I admittedly am not the best at technique but I am usually either the strongest or the best endurance in the gym (not always but a lot). I put a lot of time in lifting and HIIT exercises. Having that said I have been told by my opponents "You only won because your stronger." Yep and... I won. My strength is part of my technique.
Finally!! chewy says it right, this concept of strength has always come as what i would think is logical strength does matter, but there are different types of strength that is connected with muscle memory.
I have been training bjj for 3 years, first 2.5 years were nogi only, and then recently have added gi into my regimen. What I have seen in myself, is that no matter the size of the guy, if they are brand new, I can beat them at least 1-2 times in a 3 minute roll. I'm 155lbs and I've gone against guys who are a little over 200. However if they are that big and have even just one year of wrestling they can beat me. So think on that and take it for whatever you want.
I do workout, not as consistently as I should but I'm also skinny and only 16 and have trouble putting on size
I feel it bro, all I'm saying is that I'm doing my best. I'm taking weight lifting this entire school year so wish my luck
Thank you 😑...glad someone said it STRENGTH, speed, explosiveness, and endurance matters if we have the same amount of technique.
what i don’t get from my coaches in my gym in terms of understanding the sport and the culture, i get from you. thank you man
Happy to share. Glad the videos are useful for you brother.
Disappointed in your answer Coach. We know where the “myth” came from; THE GRACES. They not only cultivated that belief, but it became part of their dogma & IS STILL PROMOTED BY THEM.
The efficacy of the myth is one thing ......... the genesis & propagation is another. I respect what you’re doing but this earns you a demerit on transparency & sharing openly & honestly.
Peace & Good Health,
RKN
Kaiser de Emperana
The Myth “ the weaker smaller person can overcome all odds” as Chewi put it
The Truth: This “MYTH” has long been declared & promoted as “ TRUTH” by the Gracie Family ..... Here’s an example of that belief as described by Kron Gracie
ruclips.net/video/ilf9OoRNPRM/видео.html
@@robertnewell4054 he didn't say the smaller/weaker guy can't beat the bigger/stronger guy. He said it's important not to ignore the physical side of grappling
Technique multiply strenght. Both matter. And in certain positions (basically 100kg - side control) even being fat is positive.
Strength matters obviously. So does speed, endurance, flexibility, technical ability and intelligence. I won't argue that being stronger isn't an advantage I'm just saying it's not the only thing that matters
With strenght, techniques just becomes more powerful
It's kind of the stereotype in all eastern martial arts, and I blame primarily Bruce Lee for spreading this idea that technique overcomes all size differences. As much as he's spread the sports around the world, there's some ego affixed to it, and it made me not take martial arts seriously (and especially not take seriously the teachers that perpetuated this) for a long time. It seems like an obvious lie when it isn't worded properly. If you are small and skilled, take on a bear-sized person of your skill level and see how it goes.
But if you word it slightly differently 'Skill difference mitigates size difference', you get a statement that is much closer to the truth. Maybe starting off it's 90% strength/size/build 10% technique, and as you get to the higher end it's 50% strength/size/build 50% technique.
Ramble on brother. Your ideas and philosophies are interesting to listen to regardless of whether they're scripted or not.
For a lot of people, it can be hard to go to the gym. Before I started Taekwondo, I was trying to get into shape by going to the gym. I can't even use money as an excuse, because I had access to a free gym membership and free time with a personal trainer as a perk of my job. But it was hard. I had every excuse NOT to go to the gym. "I coughed today, I might be sick." "I got a good workout yesterday, I can skip today." "Oh, I've got this event today, I'll just skip and make it up" (and then I don't).
When I started Taekwondo, I could not stay away. Now, I still don't work out much outside of TKD. But that's where I get my exercise. I train hard at what I need to learn, but I'm not trying to go to championships. For some people, the martial arts training is their exercise, and if they're not intending on competing at a top level, I don't think it's a bad thing if they're not also strength training.
Just had my first match last night and the kid was 5 times stronger than my strongest training partner and he north south choked me in 44 seconds
While training to get the technique right you inevitably become stronger
Yup!
Just shared this video with my students. I appreciate your honesty and your insight! Sending them all to subscribe!
I am 6'3 225lbs after doing judo and doing BJJ men and women half my size take me out with great technique
If your skill is fairly equal, it's more than likely going to come down to who is stronger.
I dont have a lot of technique yet so there have definitely been times where I had to muscle my way out of a bad situation when rolling with more skilled partners. The whole "strength doesn't matter" is a cope for little guys (like my former self) who, let's face it, are too lazy, intimidated, or unmotivated to schedule a few lifting sessions into their week.
I'm two years late but agree 100%. I'm the least experienced by quite a large margin at the gym I started a few weeks ago. I deliberately don't go 100% when rolling however there are times where I believe I could end this simply by picking my partner up and dumping them hard on the floor, or simply push them away hard or pulling my arms away hard which has resulted on having a strength based regime for the last good few years. Thats not what its about though and its about being humble, focusing on the techniques and accepting you're in their world and will be submitted especially at the beginning until you become somewhat competent
Edit: Dont get me wrong though, the not going 100% for me applies to the training only, in competition or in life and death its certainly anything goes
This is so true. I had a powerlifting background and even when I was an white belt with some experience, I was giving blue and purple belts a hard time. People don't want to believe it but it's true.
Nope you are correct, we had a guy like you come into our gym (gracie barra) and yeah. The guy only knew what he saw in UFC but was able to pull off the kamura. The guy was just so strong he was able to break the technique of all the lower belts. He was a really cool guy but in a roll he would be considered "rough" but he was only testing out the gym and thought he was proving himself to us as someone who is hear to roll and not waste people time. Me and him started in the standing and he shot in (wrestler style for single) and I locked in a guillotine, we hit the ground, I try to sinch in, he is able to muscle his way out and puts me in one, I tap. Some people hate that even thought they train, some guy just testing the gym one day can murder them. I don't see it that way, I alwasy feels it's awake up call to get better because I have to compensate for that. In a real world fight if the guy is a muscle mountain I have to accept i and be ready.
If this is true then these guys aren’t worthy of their belts. Despite he strength and size advantage they really shouldn’t have a problem with you unless you have a wrestling or judo background.
@@damiondouglas4145 You can disagree all you want, the fact remains. When I knew absolutely nothing, they were able to tap me at will, but after a year of training, I had them struggling for their lives. Now that I'm the experienced one, I see how much easier it is to take people down, control them, and submit them, when I am much stronger than my partner as opposed to when we are closer in strength.
Fantastic vid. Definitely a PSA that matters because it’s a misconception I’ve bin under myself. Also I haven’t trained yet
Workout, eat right.
It's really not optional
For the record.
My diet today has been four peanut butter and butter sandwiches.
@@oldcrow6752 how is peanut butter and butter?
Old Crow
I just eat mayonnaise sandwiches, I feel much stronger afterwards.
@@IrishCaesar pretty good honestly. Try it. Use crunchy peanut butter.
Ive been training for almost two years and have been following you since i started. This was one of your very best videos. Bravo amigo.
I am 6ft and 220 and a white belt. Day 1 one of the black belts I am now friends with told me prior to my first roll to relax and go at about 40% of my maximum strength. It wasn't what I now realize going light for the sake of going light it was to relax and not spazz out. This made open mat more fun since people knew I wasn't going to flail around or just use brute strength. Everyone at the gym are really nice and and the upper belts are very patient with me, which makes it enjoyable. I get tapped a lot but no one is trying to injure me intentionally, so it is more fun.
Tank Abbott has said that although he didnt train ju jitsu, when he was younger him and some of his high division wrestling friends went to a ju jitsu school where the instructor said he was willing to roll/fight with them all. Tank said that the instructor quickly tapped out his two wrestling friends, but when he (Tank) went up against the instructor, he said the guy arm barred him, then Tank said he lifted the guy up, slammed him down, and then stuck his fist over the instructor's face and asked him if he wanted to get hit, and the instructor declined and the roll was over. Tank said he was weighing approx. 270 and benching 600 at the time.
Sounds like he let him off the arm bar instead of snapping it
I remember my first class as white belt. I am 6.3 feet tall and 225 pounds weigh and I was stronger than most of the people I was sparring with in the mat. But this did not help me at all because even the ones with few months of experience were using the technique to use my strenght against me.
I think the technique is more important than strenght... but obviosly when the level of technique is similar to your oponent strenght level is very important.
Obviously strengh matters and can make the difference between you and your oponent.
Something I've realized is that rolling with a stronger guy will really wear you out, even if you have great endurance.
I think another point is that strength unlocks a range of techniques that are effective and not technically demanding. Eg you occasionally see pro wrestling moves in MMA and they can be devastating - you just need to be incredibly strong to pull them off.
Just came here to say thanks I’m 16 and joined a bjj gym today because of your videos and it’s awesome
Hell yea! Congrats for joining up and training.
Didn't seem like ramblin' to me; instead, you addressed a very salient point re: the relevance of strength to the sport.
Not heard Daniel Strauss's name in a while - that guy used to absolutely tear up the competition scene here in the UK when he was a lower belt (I'm sure he's continued to do the same since!). Interesting vid as always, thank you.
I have a little over a month of BJJ training so far and my natural athleticism and strength are playing huge factors in my early relative success against my more experienced white belts. I spend my off time studying videos and improving my technical skills and ensuring I am relying more and more on my technical skills when I train. Skills is king but strength makes a difference, in my limited and humble opinion.
It's just like any sport, technique and athleticism are both vital if you want to be at your best. You could be the best in the world at catching a football, but you aren't gonna be in the NFL if you are fat and slow. Conversely, Usain Bolt can't just be an NFL receiver because he has little football skill
Skill can overcome size and strength in jiu jitsu, but only to a point. I experience this firsthand as a very physically strong white belt. I've been training for 7 months, and I'm at a point now where I can get the better of a lot of the smaller blue belts because their technique, while slightly better than mine, is overcome by the size difference. However, once you raise the skill bar a little higher, I start to get outclassed. The higher level blue belts and purple belts, even the ones that are 70-80 pounds lighter than I am, can still work me over pretty easily
Thanks chewy!! Always hitting the nail on the head!!
A general rule, I like is thinking of BJJ as leverage/magnifier of strength. For example, 40% advantage doesn't let you overcome someone who is 100% stronger. The exception is that getting to a finish first and landing it by surprise (no direct opposition).
This is a very realistic and reasonable BJJ practitioner. Very well put.
Moment is force times lever, M = F * I. Technique allows you to get maximum leverage you can get, but your strength is the force you can apply.
I was a wrestler through high school, and I had a lot of people who would make passive aggressive comments about my strength. They would get frustrated when things they would try wouldn't work. I was stronger than most people I was up against, but it had more to do with positioning abd weight distribution I learned from wrestling. Really these people just needed to quit complaining and train more. The higher belts could tap me. They never complained about my strength. I never complained about them having better technique. But unlike these people I'm gonna keep working.
Agreed 100%. And Chewy and Joe's Grappling Power Program is great.
Chewies hilarious. You think he's away off on a mad rant but hes always on point
I swear as a big guy(235 lbs) I hate the “hey use technique not strength” it’s a difference in hulk smashing vs normal movements by a big strong guy but most can’t tell the difference
I liken the skill vs athleticism argument to racing cars. Skill is the most important aspect, but if you are a master driver in the shittiest car, racing an average driver in the best car, you are probably going to lose.
The strongest men will always be calm and collected and then when required will exert strength like you wouldn't believe because it isnt wasted on little things
I’m a 5’4 125lbs green belt (I’m only 15 so I can’t get my blue belt until I turn 16 next year) I do pretty well with the adult blue belts and okay with purple belts but when the adults want to use strength they can outmuscle me and for the most part, I can still play my game and either submit or survive, but they do catch me and submit me and others tell me that their strength doesn’t have anything to do with it because technique wins, which I agree with but I believe that strength does play a big role as well
Perfect example of this is when Rampage Jackson was in a triangle choke or whatever it was and just stood up and slammed that dude on the mat knocking him out. Just pure power.
Fairly new at the game. Bigger than anyone in my dojo. I give the blue belts hell but they always end up smashing me. Because I can roll around and fight, but in the end i get tired, in the end I don't know how to finish anyone, in the end all I can do is delay the inevitable or maybe get up and away. Biggest problem with being bigger than everyone and not having a good knowledge is that I can injure white belts just through accident and them not having a complete tool kit to handle it. Something to think about.
Thank you Chewy for another great video!
You're welcome and thank you!
Well once again on point, would you please stop that (lol just kidding).
I strength train 3days a week even before BJJ, and now I know I made the choice to continue my strength training once I start BJJ 9 months ago.
So train your attributes, strength, cardio,flexibility, mobility, etc.
Roll and have fun.
Thank you very much for your honesty professor.
Strength matters, size even more and combined it's tough.
I'm 185lbs, can bench 335, squat 515 and deadlift 535 and if I choose to do a powerlifting meet I usually win or place highly. But I don't think my strength makes me win very often. But if I was say 240lbs I'd win more often.
Another great video! You're the man Chewy!!
I needed to see these comments from other "big and strong guys". Literally the first week that I was training, I was told that eventually no one will want to roll against me, because I'm big and strong. A month and a half in, I started submitting and beating blue belts, along with all the white belts. Now I beat blue belts regularly., submitted two earlier today. I also am the only person who will traib often with the best person there, who is also big and strong, he's a purple belt. I try to push myseld to use at modt 50-75% of my strength, and normally much less. But, I still always have people telling me that I'm strong, especially my professor, who is a wimpy and nerdy guy, who is obsessed with strength not being used in jiujitsu, I think that he'll hold me back because of it.
I actually attend classes and roll more often than 90% of the people there, and I work hard to use as little strength as posisbke, and use different techniques, and follow the details.
For me, I actually utilize my body weight, over strength, so that I don't get tired, also I have very good balance, because I skateboarded and snow boarded for over ten years. At this point, I'm trying to not be offended, when I beat someone, and they comment that I'm strong, or biggee than them.
I'm literally just a 1/4" under 6 feet tall, and weigh 186lbs currently. I am not that big. I also had been sitting on my butt a lot for the past seven years, and never could workout or do any activities, because I had chronic back pain, yet in just three months, I'm submitting and dominatinf bkue belts, but am just now about to get my first stripe.
Another great video from the best BJJ youtube channel
Strength matters, but if they don't know how to use it then it doesn't. I weigh 160lb and don't lift. Tapped a dude last session who was 250lb easy, covered in tattoo's and asked me "how much do you bench" after the session.
All I said was... "ya bjj is weird like that."
I’ve always thought of it as everyone has physical stats and technique is just a way of multiplying those stats.
This was fun to hear while training at the plant fitness.
Technique is the skillful application of strength (power, flexibility, etc).
I personally think of it like this:
If you put me in a car race against a professional driver in equal cars I will lose
If their car is sightly less than mine I'll still lose
If their car is garbage I'll win
If their car is good enough then no matter how fast my car is I will lose.
One thing that I do notice is the 'bigger' guys seem to gas out quicker. If I can rope-a-dope them for a while and weather the blitz I can turn the tides on them eventually. I'm about 180lbs, but I'm the lighter of the heavies in my gym. Most of the really stacked guys are 215+. I just need to weather that first 2 minute blitz and then I can start working on a submission.
I honestly hate strength training but I force myself to do it anyway becuz I feel it’s very important and it definately helps big time
Strength always helps, but it's even more important in submission grappling/ jujitsu (especially no gi). Imo it's even more important in jujitsu than all of traditional wrestling, because it's more anerobic than arobic.
@@iramswrestlinghighlights1164 I think your misunderstanding me . Yes wrestlers are in better shape, which then carries over into strength yes- ex just like the average power lifter is in better overall shape than someone who never works out, same kinda thing. I've always thought wrestlers were stronger because of this "carryover" but the sport of jujitsu itself, strength is more valuable than overall fitness. Basically the sport allows more shorter explosive movements, followed by rest vs a 200-400 meter all out Sprint like wrestling. Nope not gonna bad mouth wrestling lol ! Maybe I should have made it more clear. Ex I'm better at no gi jujitsu than I ever was at wrestling, for this reason. It's perfect for short explosive movements vs the latter, but to say wrestling has helped me with the other would be a understatement.
I should have been more clear, I wouldn't want anyone to think I was dissing wrestling at all seriously; it's a big part of my identity even if I wasn't that great, I would get smashed in jujitsu if I never wrestled. A matter of fact I actually like to consider myself a catch wrestler with my style when grappling, but that makes things awkward when you go into jujitsu class and beat people at a completely different martial art than the one there training in, so im so used to calling myself a jujitsu artist, when in reality I'm not, I roll/spar like a catch wrestler, so I basically don't ever acknowledge my style just to blend in better. It's funny now that I think about it .
I had a rough childhood, getting beaten on, and although i was never trained at all i can dare say my strength and speed definitely saved me in some encounters where i had to defend myself, some of my attackers were even trained in MMA too. Did i win all the time? No. But if i wasnt stronger than my stature implied i wouldn't even have lived past my teenage years, i can guarantee you that
I'm a big guy myself, around 240lb. I have been in the gym hitting weighs for years with some pretty impressive numbers on the compounds. Just started jiu jitsu recently and yeah I've had guys half my size destroying me.
And I finally realized it's because that with a higher level of strength, it takes less output to perform the same move like an arm bar. So when you get stronger, you can do an arm bar with less effort. Kinda like how getting stronger makes a light weight even lighter.
Thank you for your input , I feel like you tell it like it is.
In my gym, everyone glorifies smaller and technical guys. I am 80 kilos and I am strong, very often when I won in sparing they would tell me - you are strong that is why you won. well, let me ask a different question - why I never said that you are 10 years younger than me, you have better cardio, lighter - therefore faster and more dynamic than me, why it always goes in one direction? bit unfair. anyway, you can't underestimate the strength and size, even if you are a purple belt - an untrained, stronger and bigger guy can fuck you up. of course, his chances decline with the time the fight goes on, he doesn't know the technique, he will gas out faster than you, so if you manage not to get knocked out in the first few minutes, your chances of choking the shit out of him increase. only my two satoshis. oss
Love your videos. Literally answer all my questions. No need to ask :)
Strength does not matter when a guy is absent skilled and can't even balance his ass on the mat. But when this guy gets the moves and skills - he is a legit killer. I felt that my learning improved since I joined the gym and started weightlifting and doing kettlebells. My grips became stronger, my defense improved, and I can now roll longer and be more effective. AND LEARN MORE! Strength and power (as a flexibility) can buy you some time and neglect your opponent technique. And don't "powershame" people, it really takes effort to build it.