When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the beauty is that all body shapes and sizes can find a game for them. From tall and lanky to short and stocky, BJJ offers something for everyone. Here, we shall be looking at the best BJJ fighting style for short, stocky grapplers and tips for short guys. From the likes of Jeff Monson, to Orlando Sanchez and Andre Galvao – there’s a number of short BJJ fighters who make it work for them.
Even Marcelo Garcia is far stronger than people let on…you could even make an argument that this build is actually the best for BJJ as unlike striking, reach isn’t as much as an issue. Here’s how to get the best out of having a stocky build in BJJ.
Table of Contents
What is the best guard for a stocky BJJ player?
This answer is debatable and everyone has their own style. However, generally if you’re bulky – the idea is to keep a close distance at all times. That goes for being on top and bottom. As seen with Marcelo Garcia, he made butterfly guard work for him with great effect. This is because his build allowed him to get a tight upper body clinch, whilst his legs would act as sweeping hooks.
This is one of the most important things to understand about the butterfly guard. The length of your legs won’t make it any more easy or difficult. Instead, it’s about the power of your legs and how strong your muscles can kick and sweep. Looking at the thighs of Garcia, it’s no wonder that his butterfly guard is so successful.
Another example of an effective guard for a stocky grappler is the half guard. Again, Jeff Monson used this to win two ADCC gold medals, and even pulled half guard in MMA fights. The reason why this works for stocky BJJ players is that it allows you to come up and wrestle from the bottom. It’s no secret that stocky builds are well suited to wrestling.
Here, if you can grab an underhook and come up, you’re going to do well. Similarly, Monson also used variations of deep half guard. Again, like butterfly this relied on having close contact with the opponent and keeping a close distance.
The beauty of these two guards is that they can be played in both the gi and nogi and are highly versatile. Australian legend Lachlan Giles is around 5’7 – and he too primarily uses half guard and butterfly.
What guards to avoid as a stocky BJJ player
So far, we’ve looked at the optimal guards as a short, stocky BJJ fighter, now we shall look at what guards to avoid. These guards include distance-based guards which rely on pushing and pulling with your legs. In general, you should avoid extending your limbs if they’re smaller as this isn’t very efficient.
For instance, whilst someone like Nicholas Meregali is over 6 foot, he can play a range-based game using De la riva. Here, he long legs can twist around the limbs of his opponent. Physically, this just isn’t very easy to do as a smaller player. A similar example can be found with Keenan Cornelius and his lapel game. These games are great to use with long limbs which can wrap and extend opponents, but it’s not as easy for a smaller person.
Lastly, the closed guard can be very tough too. Whilst 6’3 Braulio Estima had the legs to play this guard all day, if you’re closer to 5’6, then logically your legs will use more energy fitting around someones waist. This creates problems in longer matches and isn’t easy to play.
In short, the above mentioned guards can be tricky to play if stocky. You can also add stuff like lasso and spider guard into the mix as they are also based on distance.
What is the best passing style for a stocky BJJ player?
Arguably, when passing as a bulky BJJ fighter, you have more options than when you’re on the floor. Again, generally speaking – it’s best to play to your strengths and use distance management to your advantage. This means pressure passing and using your smaller limbs to your advantage.
When passing, Andre Galvao favored stack passing, which is easier as a small grappler. Here, you can get your arms under the opponent’s legs and drive. Having a low center of gravity and base that’s close to the floor will only help you in securing the pass.
It also helps to have smaller legs whilst in half guard, as your opponent can’t stretch their legs out to catch your foot. This makes things like knee slicing much easier, as there’s literally less of your body to get caught on.
Again, using the above grapplers as an example, most of them have a similar passing style that involves tight bodylocks and pressure passing. This means grabbing around the waist of your opponent and not letting go until you’ve passed.
What guards to avoid as a stocky BJJ player
Perhaps the worst guard to get stuck in as a stocky player is the Closed guard. If you’re physically small in height, you can even stand in Closed guard and still be in trouble due to height. Of course, the Closed guard isn’t good for anyone…however this issue is amplified when smaller. Another issue is the Spider guard. Against a lanky opponent, they can really stretch your body out and make life difficult by manipulating your body. If possible, try to avoid getting caught in these two positions.
Typically as a smaller grappler, one of the things you give up is speed. Whilst Orlando Sanchez also possesses god-given speed, this is also very rare. This means things like Cartwheel passes and Torreando passes are typically difficult. Basically, if you have very long arms, then you can grib the legs from a distance, which can set up the Torreando. However, if you’re small then to do this you’d need to physically move closer to your opponent. This will put you in trouble and may allow the opponent to counter.
As a general rule, if you’re small and stocky – you may want to opt for slower, pressure passing which focuses on weight rather than quicker, speed passing. This comes back to the point of playing to your advantages.
What are the best submissions for a stocky BJJ player?
Once more, this depends on personal taste…but again we shall focus on generalizations. Most of the above mentioned like Guillotine chokes. This is because short arms will work to your advantage here. By having smaller arms, it’s easier to finish the Guillotine as the opponent has less limb to peel off. This means your elbows and forearms will be tighter, allowing for a quicker, more controlled finish.
Another benefit of being stock is back control. If ever you’ve sparred a smaller practitioner, you will feel how difficult it is to escape from their back mount. Once again, this is where smaller limbs can help. Whilst back triangles may be unavailable, elsewhere you can grip like a backpack on the opponent. Like the Guillotine example, the opponent will naturally find it more difficult to find space in between arms to escape, meaning their upper body is in danger. Moves like the Rear naked choke are made a little easier because of this.
What are the worst submissions for a stocky BJJ player?
Generally, submissions like the Darce may be naturally more difficult. Although this too is a front headlock submission like the Guillotine, it’s also reliant on having longer arms. Marcelo Garcia advises against people his size using this as a submission due to these issues.
Perhaps the most infamously tough submission to finish as a bulky BJJ practitioner is the Triangle choke. For obvious reasons, a lot of guys with smaller legs will avoid this move. The reason for this is that the smaller your legs are, the harder it is to wrap them around someones neck and shoulders. However, if you’re very lanky, then it will be made easier. This is simple physics, and against a very wide frame, it may be literally impossible to finish Triangles if your legs are very small. As a result, they are often avoided.
Why being stocky can be great for BJJ and grappling
As mentioned, stockiness is not always a bad thing. Whilst it can be countered in MMA by having a long reach with punches and kicks, in grappling it is arguably the best build. The reason for this is two fold. Firstly, with takedowns you will have a natural advantage. The reason for this is that you will have a low center of gravity, which means your base will be tougher to dismantle. Imagine a giraffe vs a gorilla in takedowns, there would only be one winner.
Because of this, wrestling is recommended, both in the gi and in no gi. Whilst there are some Judo moves that help stocky grapplers, generally wrestling is kinder as it generally uses the length of your legs less.
The second reason why being stocky is great is that there are certain submissions that you can avoid. For example, usually it’s hard to Triangle a guy with broad shoulders. Yes, you may not be able to do them yourselves, but generally it will save you from bad situations too.
The same goes for Armbars, if your arms are small, there’s less to grab onto from your opponent’s perspective. This means, you’re more immune to certain submissions. Unlike the Triangle, as a smaller grappler, Armbars are just as easy to do as they are with other body shapes.
Elsewhere, there’s numerous other submissions, guards and passes that are neutral and can be played by all.
Lastly, the biggest advantage of a stocky grappler is arguably when competing. The reason for this is that you can effectively be stronger in terms of pound-for-pound weight. For instance, if you’re competing at 80KG but you’re 5’5 against a 6’3 opponent, you should be far stronger. As everyone knows who has trained, strength matters and is a big advantage.
What is the best gi for stocky guys?
This is a question that is often asked by stocky grapplers. In short, it can be a nightmare when looking to buy gi’s that are not made for your particular build. Too often, stocky guys will suffer from gi’s that fit them reasonably well, whilst still having fairly long pants and sleeves. In terms of competition, this can be a disadvantage where grips are concerned.
However, there is a solution. The Fuji Superaito is lightweight and has a handy size chart to make sure you don’t get caught out. Generally, the A2 is recommended and it also shows the height of the gi as well.
Conclusion
When it comes to grappling and BJJ, there’s not really a universal answer and everyone has preferences. However, if we’re to look at some of the best ever stocky BJJ fighters, then usually they have a few things in common. By doing this, we can learn the do’s and dont’s of grappling when stocky.
The best mentality to have is not to moan or let your size hinder you. Instead, remember that BJJ is a puzzle and you will need to develop your own winning strategy. This may take a few years when beginning, but eventually it will click.
