by Mark Johnson -- West Side Jiu-Jitsu
Training with someone that is much larger than yourself can be a daunting task, it can be an intimidating situation, but one that must be faced if you want to improve your game. Being over three-hundred pounds myself there aren't too many people bigger than me (there are a few). The majority of people I train with are much smaller, but there are some that despite the size disadvantage they are still able to give me problems. I've noticed a few commonalities that these people share, that I, as a big person, have difficulty with.
Most big guys learn how to use their weight, how to control a smaller opponent. When I get someone in cross-body, I relax and sink into their body like gravy on mashed potatoes (big guys always use food analogies, sorry). A difficult opponent, however, is always moving, they're slippery, you can't hold them. They are always blocking or moving so I can't establish a good cross-body position. If you're used to controlling your opponent, and suddenly he's like Jell-O, it's hard to recover. You find yourself chasing and never catching your opponent. This does two things; one, it takes away the bigger man's ability to control his opponent, and two, it makes the bigger man work harder to get position, and this will tire him. I find myself exhausted after I go with a guy that is hard to control, and even if I do end up tapping him, I'm usually too tired to go again.
Another problem I have is when I go against someone who is always attempting a submission. It doesn't matter if they are successful, the attempts are a distraction. The better the attempt, the more distracting it is to me. It's hard to deploy a good offense when you're always defending. I never feel comfortable when I know my opponent can slap on a submission from any position, and this makes me hesitant to move, let alone try a submission of my own. An opponent who both has good, constant movement and also attacks frequently is very difficult to defeat. In the film Searching for Bobby Fisher, one of the characters advises a young chess player to "...Attack...even when you're retreating... always attack!"
If you're having a difficult time with a big guy, keep moving. Don't let him get position. The second thing you must do is always, keep him on his toes, keep him thinking, worried, and distracted. The combination of movement and attack will definitely help you conquer a bigger opponent.
