How To Stop Bigger, Stronger Opponents From Beating You Every Time

17 Jun, 2017

It is a timeless situation in Jiu-Jitsu, “I am getting smashed by bigger people, and it is not fun.”

It seems like no matter how big you are you always have people larger than you at your BJJ academy. If this is not an issue for you, I recommend reading anyway so that you can walk a mile in someone else’s shoes (or grapple a few rounds in someone else’s wrestling shoes).

What people want to know is, is there a particular technique that I can use to beat a bigger person every time? Yes, and no.

Jiu-Jitsu was developed to give a smaller, weaker person a chance to defend against and even subdue a large aggressive attacker. Good Jiu-Jitsu techniques achieve this through positioning and leverage, and they should work on a bigger, stronger opponent. That means you have the entire breadth of Jiu-Jitsu to look to for answers.

There isn’t a single move, or even a specific series of moves, that will let you easily defeat every single Bigger/Stronger opponent. There are however plenty of resources and tips that will 100% increase your chances of success!

Because of Google and YouTube (and other sources of course) you can simply query how to use BJJ against a bigger opponent and a wealth of videos and concepts will emerge. This is certainly a great place to begin. Some of my favorites are below:

So learning new techniques is helpful, especially early on in your training, but what do you do when you have some skills and are still getting smashed by bigger or stronger people?

Being big and strong is its own advantage and beginners struggle with this problem the most. When you are starting out you want solutions right away, and not getting them can lead to frustration, and possibly quitting. Always remember that BJJ as we know it was mostly designed by a very small, frail Helio Gracie who stuck with the techniques long enough to be able to boast he could beat any man or he’d give him $10,000.00.

The three basic tenets that will help you overcome this common hurdle are to:

– Go to class regularly
– Pay attention to your instructor
– Spar a lot (especially with big guys, if they are the problem)

Stick with BJJ for at least 6-12 months, even if you don’t feel like you’re getting better. It may even take longer. But one day, you’ll know enough techniques and do them well enough that you won’t be worrying about this any more.

You probably wanted something quicker and easier, but outside of footlocking them every time, believe me all you really have to do is keep showing up!!