Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is often sold as a self-defense strategy, however as with all forms of combat, there are limitations. For instance, factors such as age, athleticism, strength and size are all relevant. Similarly, BJJ should not be seen as some kind of magic silver bullet either. With this in mind, a common question asked is whether BJJ is effective against larger opponents?
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Marcelo Garcia in BJJ
One example of BJJ being effective against larger opponents can be seen with the success of Marcelo Garcia. When competing he would often go up against larger, bigger opponents and win. This was at the highest level in BJJ at the most prestigious competitions in the world such as ADCC and worlds. Because of his success, Garcia proved his style was effective against all sizes. Similarly, the legendary Mendes brothers also had massive success against larger opponents. In recent times, Michael Musumeci has also continued the trend of beating people in higher weight categories.
Kazushi Sakuraba in MMA
Obviously, sport BJJ is different from MMA. In MMA strikes are involved which changes the dynamic of grappling. For instance, whilst something like Worm guard may work in BJJ, it’s probably not as realistic when you can get punched in the face. Having said this, the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba also successfully went up and beat a number of larger MMA opponents.
Sakuraba often favored takedowns and the Kimura grip to control his foes whilst fighting. Most of the time his grappling technique was superior to that of his opponents which helped whilst fighting. Otherwise, he may not have been as successful in MMA. However, his legacy remains that BJJ moves can also be applied successfully in MMA against stronger opponents.
Choosing the right positions
There are some things which should be taken into consideration. For example, some moves require more strength than others. One instance of this is trying to apply the Americana lock on a bigger opponent. Realistically this something that wouldn’t work against a stronger opponent, at least with some technique behind them.
However, following Marcelo Garcia’s strategy is probably a wise play here. Marcelo Garcia often favored Guillotine chokes and Rear Naked chokes to submit his opponents. These moves don’t require strength and show how technique can over power strength.
This idea doesn’t just apply to submissions, it also applies to guard and positions. For example, a common method to beat bigger guys is by using butterfly guard. This is because butterfly guard can remove the weight of your opponent and nullify their weight advantage.
With this in mind, you can use this to your advantage and sweep opponents from here. Whilst it might not be as easy as sweeping a smaller opponent, it’s still possible. A guard that may not be as suitable against a bigger opponent is closed guard. Whilst closed guard is a fundamentally sound guard, if the opponent is huge, they may be able to quickly escape or use the position to crush you.
Because of this, it’s important to choose the right guard against a bigger opponent to redistribute their weight. By avoiding getting crushed it makes life easier to sweep and submit the stronger opponent. In terms of top positions, they are not as important against stronger opponents compared to when playing guard.
Leg Locks
In recent times leg locks have grown in popularity in BJJ as well as MMA. With the success of the Danaher Death Squad and others, they have become a key feature at the highest levels, especially in Nogi. Further, the expansion of leg locks can also be identified with UFC fighter Ryan Hall and his heel hook entries.
Leg locks are similar to chokes in terms of strength being nullified. In short, your opponent may have bigger muscles but these don’t exist with leg ligaments. In other words, if you attack your opponent’s achilles or knee joints then strength is removed from the equation.
An example of this can be seen with Lachlan Giles who got bronze in the 2019 ADCC absolute division. He did this by heel hooking three opponents who were all much bigger than him. Because of this leg locks can also be a key strategy in defeating bigger opponents.
Summary
In general, BJJ is definitely effective against stronger opponents. This has been seen both in BJJ competition and in MMA. With the right positions and submissions used, the opponent’s strength advantage can be negated successfully which has been proven throughout history.
Having said this, BJJ is not a silver bullet against bigger opponents. As coach John Danaher has once said, “There’s a reason for weight categories” and this is because strength and weight are a clear advantage when fighting. At the same time, BJJ is probably the most effective martial art when fighting stronger opponents. For instance, in striking martial arts such as Boxing and Muay Thai, weight probably plays a bigger factor.
To conclude, BJJ is effective against stronger opponents. The student should be mindful that it may not always work and is not effective all of the time. However, BJJ has a solid track record of being used to defeat bigger opponents in both BJJ and MMA.
