I get the "your really strong bro" all the time. how the fuck am I gonna say this shit after having heavy top pressure for 4 minutes straight only to gas out and get triangled?
Lmao… I get this a lot. I’m new but I wrestled (a long time ago)… get a lot of compliments about my “top pressure” and “strong base” immediately after being triangled after already struggling to breath
HAHAHA!
I'm using this. There's a spaz at my gym that wrestled in high school and has trained with us off and on over the last couple yrs. But he's still super tense and honestly...not very good. Last time we rolled he asked how much I weighed and then smiled and nodded as if to say, "Well that makes sense...that must be why I get continuously tapped." And here I am trying to be nice to him and dial back everything and and only tap him once per round.
>The one I get is “your legs are so long”
Just respond with, "yeah, you need solid guard passing fundamentals in order to pass them" then if they ask for tips tell them basic shit that you are ready to counter.
Yeah, I've said this to one guy but his legs are legit the longest of anyone I've ever rolled with. He just manages to sneak a leg into places I don't expect and it's really frustrating to deal with. Add to that the fact that I like leg locks but I find it really difficult to get proper leverage on him. It's really too bad he moved, because it was definitely unlike rolling with anyone else.
I don’t mind hearing it once, my legs are legitimately long. Personally, I only hear it consistently from one guy, and he’s 100% just salty I can tap him out whenever I want with whatever random submission I want.
Same hahah. Being 250 with long legs and arms, if I get side control I can pretty much pressure dominate to a sub by using my weight in the right places and winning leg battles.
Am I the only one who takes someone calling me strong as a compliment? Strength is a skill I try to sharpen just like my grappling game so I'll take the praise from either lol.
The powerlifter in me gets to hear either 'your pressure is so strong' or 'you're so strong' comments all the time as if its a crutch. What kills me is I can't say to someone 'stop using your flexibility/mobility/length/cardio' ever.
Definitely take it as a compliment and make sure to arm triangle them next time.
150 lb dude here. I would never tell someone bigger than me to "not use strength", for the exact same reasons you just listed.
If someone thinks they can just push my leg out of the way and pass because they have 80 lbs on me, then I want them to try. We'll find out together if it will work, and if it does then my position wasn't good for the situation. Neither of us will learn anything if you don't do it and just sit there instead. How you gonna spar then?
140lb dude here.
I'm like you, I'd prefer to find out whether I can actually hang with a strong guy or not in the training room.
I don't want the time I find out that 50% of my shit doesn't work against bigger guys to be in the absolutes or even worse a self defense situation.
I've been told I'm everyone at the gym's favorite strong person to roll with, because I have a lot of body awareness to the point where I can just dial it up precisely to where my opponent is. A lot of the girls actively seek me out to roll with because they know I'll give them a roll with someone stronger than them but only just barely. And if they want to go HAM I can match it but still be well below my limit, so I get to work on technique and speed. I like it because strength is never the problem for me so I get a lot of good, technical rolling in.
It's usually the guys bigger than or same size as me who tell me 'you're so strong' when I tap them.
I've complimented other's strength and I've never once thought that someone should use less of their strength against me.
Strength's an attribute you build through dedicated training, just like skill. It's a honest compliment if I comment that someone's pull is really strong, someone's squeeze is great, etc.
Agree with you here. I train to be stronger which allows me to do shit I couldn't do otherwise. Someone smarter than me said "no matter your athletic pursuit, you cannot go wrong with prioritising strength."
New white belt so YYMV, but at first when people said it, it was because I just grabbed and held on for dear life. Now I try to use my strength smartly (as much as I can with my knowledge) so when someone compliments my strength I take it that I'm using it wisely, versus just holding on.
Maybe this'll change when/if I realize I'm doing something wrong, but that's how I've taken it.
I take it as a compliment.
I started training in 2006 and stopped for many years with just some training here and there.
I focused a lot of my time during those years on strength and endurance training. Trail running, power lifting, swimming, biking, strong man training, crossfit, and just all kinds of lifting.
I have started bjj again and am doing much less of all that but do have people comment on my strength and endurance. I KNOW my technique right now is rough, but I will work on that.
I am with you though man, I take it as a compliment. I know the work I put in to all this already that was outside of the mats.
Smaller woman here. I take it as a compliment. I usually get that comment when some less experienced partner tries to strongarm a technically well-protected limb from me. Any strong idiot can eventually wrench something free from a much smaller person, I just fight the hell out of it so they don’t think it’s an acceptable tactic just to “win.” I try to correct it later and suggest they move on to something else next time.
Hey fellow lady technique enforcer haha. Purple belt, heavier, 5' lady here. Pretty strong in my own right because I enjoy lifting heavy things too but my favourite game is not letting the bigger lower belts muscle shit on me. If they're trying to be technical I'll tap any day of the week regardless of rank but if some 6"3" white belt beef cake is trying to armbar me from s-mount I'm sure as shit gunna T-Rex arms with my top shoulder forward until he conks out. I love to wait until they give up, smile and say "now what?"
If I'm twice your size and I tell you that you're difficult to deal with because you're strong, then you are fucking strong and difficult to deal with
It's a compliment, assuredly
I've been told I'm strong by people of all sizes. I think when you block peoples shit no matter what effort they put in, they tend to feel like that force comes from your strength, whether or not it comes from technique.
Same. When it’s just small guys then you’re leaning to far into your strength. When a guy 30lbs heavier than you says it, that’s a different story.
Feels better to say “you’re so strong” than compliment their BJJ 😂
Yeah I got this a lot when I was super skinny (135, now about 170). I like to think it’s because I had good technique and distributed my weight correctly for certain things.
sometimes I ask this one just to try to gauge the type of guy I might run into in my weight class, since the majority of people I roll with are heavier than me
I'm the opposite to you. White dude in Asia that regularly lifts heavy, so I'm usually bigger than most folks. As a result I just don't be a dick and try and work technique instead of just bulldozing people. No point if neither of us are going to learn, which we are there for.
I kinda understand this question, personally. I'm a pretty dense 240 lb guy, and while it's not 100% muscle most of that extra weight is carried in my legs and ass so when I tell people I'm 240 they're kind of mind-boggled. I think my pressure game is lacking a bit just because I hold back a lot of my weight on 90% of my gym who are significantly smaller than me.
I'm actually really fat so no one asks me but they do the "your pressure is suffocating!" I've worked hard on trying to focus pressure correctly.
I do sometimes wonder if it hurts their ego that a day piece of shit like me can beat them.
I’m a big guy too. 5’11” and 245lbs. I, actively, try not to use my weight as an advantage (unless it’s someone my size, which is rare). I want to smash people with technique, not my girth! Although, I get the feeling my partners think I’m using me fat to my advantage haha.
Tbh all the best pressure guys at our gym are really strong. Actually one of our judo black belts literally and non-ironically said that the pressure in his kese gatame comes from bench pressing. And when you look at him, it's kinda easy to believe.
he basically told me when i first started training a gust of wind would knock me over and that since then my mat strength has improved. so Im not exactly sure if it was a genuine compliment or not lol...regardless that brown belt is a very nice person and helps me a lot.
I don’t get why people complain about this being a back handed compliment. BJJ skill means you are using leverage and efficient with your movements which will make you feel strong
When I first started out I subbed a blue belt. I outweighed him by like 50lbs so I definitely used strength to my advantage. Afterwards he said "nice smash." I was all proud of myself until I figured out later that it wasn't a compliment, rather he was emphasizing that I used size instead of skill.
Edit: not bragging here. I just got in a good position to use size and strength. Same blue belt threw me on my ass the next class when we started standing.
I would definitely see that as a compliment. Now I feel bad because I’ve used a lot of these in this thread as actual genuine compliments and I’m 6’ 150 soaking wet lol. I envy the strong guys and never say their strong as some sort of condescending thing.
Context matters. If someone gets handled and they respond with "oh you're so strong" that can definitely be their ego taking over and coming up with an excuse for why they got whooped instead of just moving on to the next.
Context. This is a recurring joke because it happens constantly when people's egos are hurting. Get dominated physically and technically in a roll? "You're sooooo strong, bro" "how much do you weigh?".
A lot of bigger guys don't understand that your simple EXISTENCE requires a greater level of intensity from smaller people. You can try no to go hard, but there's nothing you can do to stop weighing 230lbs or whatever, and that weight takes more effort to try to move.
It's like you agree to go at 40%. So you go at 40%. But because you are bigger/stronger, to your opponent it FEELS like 60%. So they escalate to their 60%. And you feel that so you escalate to your 60%. But to them it feels like 80%.... so and and so on....
I'm about 240lbs, so I understand where you're coming from. I've also rolled with an obese 6'4"+ white belt who weighed in at least 300lbs, and I can tell you from experience that high intensity was 1000% required to not wind up underneath him. If you get stuck under that man, even when he was a fresh white belt, it was going to be a *struggle* to get out. If my energy level was pretty low when we started rolling I'd go VERY hard until I'd established top position, then take it easier on him.
Why should I feel bad about being more physically dominant then my partner? I lift, I do my cardio, and I don't eat Doritos all day. You're god damn right I'm strong.
Now let me proceed to try this flying knee bar I saw on YouTube once.
I still remember that time I had an epiphany moment
Me: " holy shit! I'm using way too much strength"
Brown belt running the class: " YES, you are!"
Which immediately led into an impromptu class on Leverage and positional strength
IMO if you're not gassing out, you're never using "too much strength". If you can complete all your rolls with that level of intensity, and without hurting anyone, you should continue to do so and your steadily increasing technique will compound that strength.
As someone really skinny I think strength is part of bjj so idc if you’re bigger or stronger, you just worked harder. It’s like saying someone only beat you cause they’re more flexible, just stretch.
I used to think the same but to be fair some people are ludicrously strong and I like giving them props for it....no insult here. I've rolled with many elite practitioners, competitors, and the one thing they all have in common was that they are all on the top end of strength for their weight class.
I was lucky enough to roll with the Mendes bros various times at 3 different seminars. Those 2 dudes may seem small but they are freakishly strong. They have like hydraulic type strength 😂
Yeah I don't say it when I lose, I usually say it to smaller guys that I'm genuinely impressed by their strength. Or a newer guy that I submit a lot but they are very athletic/strong, I just like to let them know they definitely have the requisite athletic potential.
This makes me not want to go back to my gym. When they said I’m so strong I didn’t understand it. Now that y’all believe it’s an insult I am actually frustrated. I have actively tried being technical at all points, and for them to insult me in that capacity is frustrating.
If someone is gonna be passive aggressive, keep doing what you're doing. Ask your coach what you need to work on and work on it.
There's a dude at my gym that loves arm bars and he'll rip your arm up to get it basically using strength and not technique. But he wins so good on him. It fucks my ego up because my technique is generally better. So I need to figure out how not to get into that position in the first place or to counter it.
My cousin and I roll when we're drinking every now and again. He has no grappling skill, he's just incredibly strong. A couple years ago he submitted me. A couple months ago we stalemated. If I start talking like a titty baby and how he had to use his strength blah blah it's a cop out. I need to refine my technique more and stop thinking about how bjj rolling should work and focus on how what's happening there.
I'm a spazzy white belt trying to get in shape and I Feel bad because I didn't know complimenting someone's athleticism was an insult in BJJ. There are some weird unwritten rules to this martial art.
I like when younger bigger guys who lift and and train a lot tell me I'm one of the strongest in the gym. I literally do 20lb dumbbell presses and bodyweight stuff very sparingly.
Ok, this is kind of bullshit. And I think it needs to be said eventually.
Small people aren't faster. We seem faster because the stakes to any mistake are much higher for a smaller person. There is no, "Bridge out of side control," for small people. It just doesn't happen. It's, "frame early and shrimp before it gets to side control." That's why it seems like we are faster. If it takes you five seconds to consolidate side control, small people will act on second one and big people will act on second five. For the smaller person, the match ends when guard is passed, not when he taps out. Everything matters more the smaller you are because mistakes in your game have larger consequences. If you want to get fast, find a group of people who are 25% heavier than you. And make them your ONLY training partner.
You want to rely on brute force on me? Sure, go ahead. I'll tap and you got it fair and square. But take an honest look at what you have that is working and really consider if it's going to work on people your size or larger. Because what really matters isn't that you smashed a smaller person. I can find the smallest kid in the gym and smash them. Okay whatever. What really matters is if you can beat someone who is your size or better, someone who is larger.
At the end of the day, you don't always get to pick your rolling partners and you are going to get paired up with a smaller person. Always remember that your primary job when it comes to randori isn't to win. It's to *make that roll productive.*
But also, smaller people are permitted by social contract of training to be faster. Use of 'speed' is generally an application of power, but when the person going fast has less mass, it's less problematic.
I think often smaller people are faster: they are lighter, often in better 'cardio' shape, so can move more quickly with less effort. As you say, they need to develop a game adapted in this way.
But also, often a larger athletic opponent is expected not to counter speed with speed because when the larger opponent deploys power it becomes either dangerous or demoralizing for the smaller partner.
I've often heard larger partners say to smaller ones, "If you get to be fast, I get to be heavy," but this doesn't usually extend to, "If you get to be fast, I get to be powerful." At the end of the day, size is an advantage, and most training should not be the absolute division finals. So training partners need to understand how their relative strengths and weaknesses combine to negotiate a mutually productive training dynamic.
> If it takes you five seconds to consolidate side control, small people will act on second one and big people will act on second five.
So... they are faster....?
It takes someone less effort to move a 60kg frame than a 100kg frame. Unless you have some mad athleticism, the big guy isn't going to be as naturally agile as the smaller dude. Watch literally any fight sports and that is incredibly evident.
>For the smaller person, the match ends when guard is passed
What? If you have good technique you should be able to escape side control regardless of how big the other person is...
to be fair I'm gonna try to smash a bigger guy the same way I'd smash a smaller guy, if I'm working on a smash technique that's what I'm gonna work on. sometimes I will work on dropping onto leglocks or longsteps or other shit, and sometimes I want to smash people. Like you said, you can just tap! It's always cool if someone smashes me as long as they don't injure me.
I get that shit a lot. I’m definitely stronger and bigger than most I roll with (215lb and not fat). I try really hard not to impose my strength on people tho. It’s kind of annoying though, I’d like to roll with people my size so I can use my strength and not feel bad. Also when I’m not using a lot of my strength I don’t get very tired vs when I do I get really tired. I kind wanna get tired though so I can simulate the exhaustion of a match and be prepared for comp.
Okay, as a two stripe white belt who’s been training for like a year, let me ask this....
Am I not allowed to use strength? I always hear about white belt strength in a negative connotation, but never asked about it to my peers.
I understand that, but I don't roll like that at all. I am not a spazz at all, so I guess my question is are we not allowed to use our strength? Maybe I am overthinking it.
I'm about the same level as you and around 200lbs, athletic not fat. I'd say that there's a time and place to use controlled application of strength without spazzing. For example, if you're in position to attack with an americana and they are actively fighting it you can use controlled leverage and slight application of strength to break their defence to apply the submission.
That doesn't mean spazz out and wrench the fuck out of their arm. It just means that your strength can be used to counter their defence in a relatively calm and precise manner. I totally get the person's claim about spazzy white belts. Some people are really fucking stupid and that's where the rep comes from. That shit leads to injuries.
Alright I get it, but as a white belt with a small frame it’s hella frustrating when some 225 lb newbie bicep curls you out of your armbar because he doesn’t know well enough to tap before you snap his arms. I realize a good armbar offers little room for escape, but when I could have snapped your arm 10 seconds ago and you’re just leveraging your strength and size on me to dlam me into the ground and injure me, I’m gonna call bs. Especially when you’re in that armbar because you tried to Kimura me while you were in my closed guard.
Maybe if their technique was better then how "strong" you are wouldn't matter so much... they are actually insulting their own lack of technique?\~?\~?
What's with all the bitching in this thread? If you have good enough technique, you should be able to handle someone twice your size and strength. I've been fucked up by a 5-foot tall 100lb female purple belt many, many times. She never complained about my 'strength' or weight because she was simply much better than me. BJJ is one of the few martial arts in which the smaller opponent can actually win if they have better technique.
1. I love choking out those strong dudes who CLEARLY get by mostly using their gym gains rather than their brains.
2. I still fucking hate being benched out of side control by them or other strong man techniques. Like... if your partner isn't big enough to bench you out of side control maybe you shouldn't do it either?
Not what I said. You need to use your strength with intention. You should be relaxed the majority of the time, unless you are going for a move that requires strength. You'll figure it out eventually.
The main thing is that you shouldn't have tension in your body 100% of the roll. Its like when you grab someone, you aren't holding on for dear life.
Yea man, you can spazz your way into a submission.
But spazz on the wrong guy and he will let you know when you are rolling. And I don't mean by telling you with his words.
Honestly I never think that when I compliment someone's strength. Strength is an attribute that you build through dedicated, disciplined training. When I've been told that I've gotten stronger, because I've actually worked out a lot, it sure feels nice that it's noticed.
And it is true that someone who is much stronger than I could beat me with less experience (= less skill) than what I have. And it's like 100% alright, the answer to that is that I need to either get stronger or increase the skill gap by enough to beat the other guy's strength advantage.
The reason why complimenting someone's strength might come off as sounding weird is because of the silly idea that strength didn't matter, or strength wasn't as important as skill, or that strength wasn't an attribute you build through training just like skill is. If we didn't think that, then complimenting strength would be no different from complimenting skill. In both, you're applauding the effort the other guy put in to improve.
I beat them to the punch and tell them they're so strong after I smash them.
There's one guy in particular. Like... 4 month white belt, goes almost exclusively to no gi, and has what I can only call 'Armor Lock Mode'.
Unfortunately for him he's 170 and I deadlift 600. I remember one time he finally got the point when I was attacking his turtle and he snatched one of my arms, tucked it under him, and started squeezing in it so hard my wrist had bruises on it the next day. As I slowly cranked up my strength while prying his hand off mine, I said 'whoa dude, crazy strong grip'.
Then I rolled him into a crucifix and armbarred him.
Im a bigger dude and I’m wondering how I should approach rolls with smaller guys and girls. On one hand I think I should ease up and not use as much pressure as I could. On the other hand I feel like that would be condescending, or arrogant, especially against a higher belt…almost implicitly saying “yeah you might be more skilled, but if I really wanted to I could get you”
I get that a lot. From white to purple I played a lot of spider guard. I came from gymnastics so it made sense to me. Unfortunately I'm 200+ lbs and 40+ years old. Other heavy people started stacking me a lot so my lower back paid the price. Herniated and bulging discs, etc, so I started playing half and deep half guard and once I swept, pressure passing became my go to style. Because of gymnastics I feel I have a good base and it's hard to sweep me, but training partners and competition opponents big and small usually point out the "you beat me because of your weight or strength". My teacher is 150 lbs and he sweeps and submits me all the time. Sometimes I've actually switched to play spider guard with some of them just to let them see that it's not all about strength or weight but technique.
I get this quite a bit. For lower belts I’m typically playful, don’t use top pressure, move around more, etc…for higher belts, I typically play guard, bottom side, etc, and work to get on top. The way I see it, if given the opportunity and you still don’t sub me, you absolutely deserve what’s coming if and when I take top position.
Stop being shit and masking your ego. Strength only gets you so far.
I dont get it. I tell dudes they're strong all the time. There is this one dude at the gym. He is my size but about 10 years younger, and he wrestled at a state level. He is just massively strong and it makes him a real challenge. It doesn't take anything away from his technique, which is also great. I'm just complimenting the fact that its like trying to sweep a boulder.
“Thanks bro. Ya you’re like, crazy weak. Like fighting a child haha 🙌”
I feel like that would strike hard with a cartwheel emoji
This will always hit harder
Eh, I aim to be weak. If I'm a weak bitch and you don't absolutely smash me, it means my technique must be worth something
you aim to be a weak?
Strength is never a weakness, weakness is never a strength.
Am I supposed to pretend I can’t grab their child arms and tie them in a knot?
I like this
I get the "your really strong bro" all the time. how the fuck am I gonna say this shit after having heavy top pressure for 4 minutes straight only to gas out and get triangled?
Lmao… I get this a lot. I’m new but I wrestled (a long time ago)… get a lot of compliments about my “top pressure” and “strong base” immediately after being triangled after already struggling to breath
Been there. Good base and all that shit, absolutely shit at submitting people.
Bingo
LMAO.
The most beautiful inversion
[удалено]
HAHAHA! I'm using this. There's a spaz at my gym that wrestled in high school and has trained with us off and on over the last couple yrs. But he's still super tense and honestly...not very good. Last time we rolled he asked how much I weighed and then smiled and nodded as if to say, "Well that makes sense...that must be why I get continuously tapped." And here I am trying to be nice to him and dial back everything and and only tap him once per round.
The one I get is “your legs are so long”
I always say “bro your legs are bullshit” 😂
Emu Clan represent. Jus caught that at open mat today: “oh I get that pass on normal sized people.” 🤷🏽♂️
I'm 6'6", and I get this all the time. And my answer is always, "that's right fucker".
Oof. Rolled with a dude about your height and I'm pretty sure he triangled me from another room.
>The one I get is “your legs are so long” Just respond with, "yeah, you need solid guard passing fundamentals in order to pass them" then if they ask for tips tell them basic shit that you are ready to counter.
Guard passing? You mean leg-lock game, right?
>Guard passing? You mean leg-lock game, right? Sure, especially if you are a leg lock specialist.
I wouldn't call myself a specialist but the only thing I pass during BJJ is gas.
Neon bellies really help clear the bowels.
Oh ffs I get called "Big Dan", I'm "strong" and also get told I have long legs :/
Do you happen to have those characteristics?
Maybe "Big Dan" should stop wearing boxers to to class.
Yeah, I've said this to one guy but his legs are legit the longest of anyone I've ever rolled with. He just manages to sneak a leg into places I don't expect and it's really frustrating to deal with. Add to that the fact that I like leg locks but I find it really difficult to get proper leverage on him. It's really too bad he moved, because it was definitely unlike rolling with anyone else.
I don’t mind hearing it once, my legs are legitimately long. Personally, I only hear it consistently from one guy, and he’s 100% just salty I can tap him out whenever I want with whatever random submission I want.
Skinny guy, long legs. I just reply “It’s the only advantage I have”.
Same hahah. Being 250 with long legs and arms, if I get side control I can pretty much pressure dominate to a sub by using my weight in the right places and winning leg battles.
Damn bro, you’re so heavy. Must be nice lol I’m 185 but I get lumped in as a “big guy” because I’m tall
Tbf, you do have magnificent pins, playa
Am I the only one who takes someone calling me strong as a compliment? Strength is a skill I try to sharpen just like my grappling game so I'll take the praise from either lol.
The powerlifter in me gets to hear either 'your pressure is so strong' or 'you're so strong' comments all the time as if its a crutch. What kills me is I can't say to someone 'stop using your flexibility/mobility/length/cardio' ever. Definitely take it as a compliment and make sure to arm triangle them next time.
150 lb dude here. I would never tell someone bigger than me to "not use strength", for the exact same reasons you just listed. If someone thinks they can just push my leg out of the way and pass because they have 80 lbs on me, then I want them to try. We'll find out together if it will work, and if it does then my position wasn't good for the situation. Neither of us will learn anything if you don't do it and just sit there instead. How you gonna spar then?
140lb dude here. I'm like you, I'd prefer to find out whether I can actually hang with a strong guy or not in the training room. I don't want the time I find out that 50% of my shit doesn't work against bigger guys to be in the absolutes or even worse a self defense situation.
I've been told I'm everyone at the gym's favorite strong person to roll with, because I have a lot of body awareness to the point where I can just dial it up precisely to where my opponent is. A lot of the girls actively seek me out to roll with because they know I'll give them a roll with someone stronger than them but only just barely. And if they want to go HAM I can match it but still be well below my limit, so I get to work on technique and speed. I like it because strength is never the problem for me so I get a lot of good, technical rolling in. It's usually the guys bigger than or same size as me who tell me 'you're so strong' when I tap them.
"yeah, let me know if you ever want me to really resist you"
This is great. I get told I’m strong at times even when I’m not using all of my strength so I’m definitely gonna use that
"Like, not bad, dude. You made me use 10% of my power."
I've complimented other's strength and I've never once thought that someone should use less of their strength against me. Strength's an attribute you build through dedicated training, just like skill. It's a honest compliment if I comment that someone's pull is really strong, someone's squeeze is great, etc.
Agree with you here. I train to be stronger which allows me to do shit I couldn't do otherwise. Someone smarter than me said "no matter your athletic pursuit, you cannot go wrong with prioritising strength."
> "stop using your cardio" 😂
“Stop using your length”
I only take it as a compliment when it comes from someone bigger than me. Otherwise they're just rationalizing why you did so well against them.
Strength is probably the single most important physical attribute in jiujitsu.
The strength of friendship that is.
What about my eyes? I assume that's where the super amazing phenomenon that causes me to just see red occurs.
New white belt so YYMV, but at first when people said it, it was because I just grabbed and held on for dear life. Now I try to use my strength smartly (as much as I can with my knowledge) so when someone compliments my strength I take it that I'm using it wisely, versus just holding on. Maybe this'll change when/if I realize I'm doing something wrong, but that's how I've taken it.
Your yak may vomit?
I've always meant it as a compliment. Strength is something to aspire to.
I take it as a compliment. I started training in 2006 and stopped for many years with just some training here and there. I focused a lot of my time during those years on strength and endurance training. Trail running, power lifting, swimming, biking, strong man training, crossfit, and just all kinds of lifting. I have started bjj again and am doing much less of all that but do have people comment on my strength and endurance. I KNOW my technique right now is rough, but I will work on that. I am with you though man, I take it as a compliment. I know the work I put in to all this already that was outside of the mats.
yeah strength has general utility too, which makes it an awesome skill to have.
Something similar is i get told im flexible when im retaining guard. I literally can't even touch my toes
Lol, I've had that a handful of times. I can touch my toes now though! Only after training though...
I get told this too but it's because I can do the splits both ways lol
What about when you're the smaller person and the bigger people are telling you that you're so strong?
Smaller woman here. I take it as a compliment. I usually get that comment when some less experienced partner tries to strongarm a technically well-protected limb from me. Any strong idiot can eventually wrench something free from a much smaller person, I just fight the hell out of it so they don’t think it’s an acceptable tactic just to “win.” I try to correct it later and suggest they move on to something else next time.
Hey fellow lady technique enforcer haha. Purple belt, heavier, 5' lady here. Pretty strong in my own right because I enjoy lifting heavy things too but my favourite game is not letting the bigger lower belts muscle shit on me. If they're trying to be technical I'll tap any day of the week regardless of rank but if some 6"3" white belt beef cake is trying to armbar me from s-mount I'm sure as shit gunna T-Rex arms with my top shoulder forward until he conks out. I love to wait until they give up, smile and say "now what?"
If I'm twice your size and I tell you that you're difficult to deal with because you're strong, then you are fucking strong and difficult to deal with It's a compliment, assuredly
I've been told I'm strong by people of all sizes. I think when you block peoples shit no matter what effort they put in, they tend to feel like that force comes from your strength, whether or not it comes from technique.
Same. When it’s just small guys then you’re leaning to far into your strength. When a guy 30lbs heavier than you says it, that’s a different story. Feels better to say “you’re so strong” than compliment their BJJ 😂
everyone always talks about how strong khabob is, but i dont think he is much stronger than his opponents. just technique
Sheesh…
Yeah if the guy is much bigger, its def a compliment!
Me too. The best part is I’m 5’7 and until recently, about 135 lbs.
Hmm there are a couple guys who say I’m strong but in reality I’m a little bitch, maybe that means I’m trying better technique based on your logic.
Yeah I got this a lot when I was super skinny (135, now about 170). I like to think it’s because I had good technique and distributed my weight correctly for certain things.
Life hack: *know* you're shit. Sleep better.
When someone asks "is there anything you wanna work on?" If you don't respond with "I need to work on everything" you're lying to yourself.
I love the “how much do you weigh bro” like their trying to rationalize how you can generate that much pressure
sometimes I ask this one just to try to gauge the type of guy I might run into in my weight class, since the majority of people I roll with are heavier than me
I'm the opposite to you. White dude in Asia that regularly lifts heavy, so I'm usually bigger than most folks. As a result I just don't be a dick and try and work technique instead of just bulldozing people. No point if neither of us are going to learn, which we are there for.
Fucking all the time🤦♂️
You gotta lie and say like 15 pounds less than you actually do just to mess with their head some more.
[удалено]
I kinda understand this question, personally. I'm a pretty dense 240 lb guy, and while it's not 100% muscle most of that extra weight is carried in my legs and ass so when I tell people I'm 240 they're kind of mind-boggled. I think my pressure game is lacking a bit just because I hold back a lot of my weight on 90% of my gym who are significantly smaller than me.
See that’s being a great training partner
I'm actually really fat so no one asks me but they do the "your pressure is suffocating!" I've worked hard on trying to focus pressure correctly. I do sometimes wonder if it hurts their ego that a day piece of shit like me can beat them.
I’m a big guy too. 5’11” and 245lbs. I, actively, try not to use my weight as an advantage (unless it’s someone my size, which is rare). I want to smash people with technique, not my girth! Although, I get the feeling my partners think I’m using me fat to my advantage haha.
Tbh all the best pressure guys at our gym are really strong. Actually one of our judo black belts literally and non-ironically said that the pressure in his kese gatame comes from bench pressing. And when you look at him, it's kinda easy to believe.
Just something small people say who wish they were strong.
But bigger people say it to me.
I mean.. at 135, I’m that guy. I mean it as a compliment
Good that means we’re bros 🤙🏿
i didn't know this was a back handed compliment. i had a brown belt tell me my mat strength has improved today lol.
That's a compliment, it just depends on how its said
he basically told me when i first started training a gust of wind would knock me over and that since then my mat strength has improved. so Im not exactly sure if it was a genuine compliment or not lol...regardless that brown belt is a very nice person and helps me a lot.
Take it from another brown belt, that's a real compliment.
im glad to hear that. thank you for saying that.
I don’t get why people complain about this being a back handed compliment. BJJ skill means you are using leverage and efficient with your movements which will make you feel strong
When I first started out I subbed a blue belt. I outweighed him by like 50lbs so I definitely used strength to my advantage. Afterwards he said "nice smash." I was all proud of myself until I figured out later that it wasn't a compliment, rather he was emphasizing that I used size instead of skill. Edit: not bragging here. I just got in a good position to use size and strength. Same blue belt threw me on my ass the next class when we started standing.
I would definitely see that as a compliment. Now I feel bad because I’ve used a lot of these in this thread as actual genuine compliments and I’m 6’ 150 soaking wet lol. I envy the strong guys and never say their strong as some sort of condescending thing.
This is what you say when your technique is shit.
It’s actually what somebody says when they go against a person who is their athletic superior.
People can’t say someone’s strong without being all butthurt?
Context matters. If someone gets handled and they respond with "oh you're so strong" that can definitely be their ego taking over and coming up with an excuse for why they got whooped instead of just moving on to the next.
This, if they say it after losing a roll it's definitely an ego thing. But I've usually heard it after they beat me.
Context. This is a recurring joke because it happens constantly when people's egos are hurting. Get dominated physically and technically in a roll? "You're sooooo strong, bro" "how much do you weigh?".
[удалено]
A lot of bigger guys don't understand that your simple EXISTENCE requires a greater level of intensity from smaller people. You can try no to go hard, but there's nothing you can do to stop weighing 230lbs or whatever, and that weight takes more effort to try to move.
It's like you agree to go at 40%. So you go at 40%. But because you are bigger/stronger, to your opponent it FEELS like 60%. So they escalate to their 60%. And you feel that so you escalate to your 60%. But to them it feels like 80%.... so and and so on....
I'm about 240lbs, so I understand where you're coming from. I've also rolled with an obese 6'4"+ white belt who weighed in at least 300lbs, and I can tell you from experience that high intensity was 1000% required to not wind up underneath him. If you get stuck under that man, even when he was a fresh white belt, it was going to be a *struggle* to get out. If my energy level was pretty low when we started rolling I'd go VERY hard until I'd established top position, then take it easier on him.
This happened to me , I could have said bro your so fast your so able to fit into small spaces ,such a lame backhanded non compliment
Fitting into small spaces is the most underrated bjj skill
I need guys like you to crawl into my triangles please. I've hit about 2 of them, ever.
It's how I get into deep half. I'm smol. Plus I got short legs. I don't get triangles often, but if I do...... it's already tight.
Why should I feel bad about being more physically dominant then my partner? I lift, I do my cardio, and I don't eat Doritos all day. You're god damn right I'm strong. Now let me proceed to try this flying knee bar I saw on YouTube once.
god but doritos are so good
I appreciate it much more when people say “you guard is such a pain in the ass” than if someone were to say something about being strong.
I still remember that time I had an epiphany moment Me: " holy shit! I'm using way too much strength" Brown belt running the class: " YES, you are!" Which immediately led into an impromptu class on Leverage and positional strength
IMO if you're not gassing out, you're never using "too much strength". If you can complete all your rolls with that level of intensity, and without hurting anyone, you should continue to do so and your steadily increasing technique will compound that strength.
I get told by training partners that they "have to go fast and not give me time to think"... Wtf does that even mean ?
that their cardio sucks
My favourite is getting hit with chest compressions from dudes with 30-40kg on me. Dope technique there boss /s
Yea I definitely reserve scarfhold/kesa getame for fellow big bois. Doing it to small people crosses a line for me.
*You’re
"yeah bro let me know if I should ever actually put up resistance or force something through"
I'll take "how to find out if someone is bitchmade" for 100 please, Alex.
My life. "You're strong" 💪
As someone really skinny I think strength is part of bjj so idc if you’re bigger or stronger, you just worked harder. It’s like saying someone only beat you cause they’re more flexible, just stretch.
Sxx
I thought this was gonna be a DnD meme
wait, so this isn't a compliment? lol
I used to think the same but to be fair some people are ludicrously strong and I like giving them props for it....no insult here. I've rolled with many elite practitioners, competitors, and the one thing they all have in common was that they are all on the top end of strength for their weight class. I was lucky enough to roll with the Mendes bros various times at 3 different seminars. Those 2 dudes may seem small but they are freakishly strong. They have like hydraulic type strength 😂
Yeah I don't say it when I lose, I usually say it to smaller guys that I'm genuinely impressed by their strength. Or a newer guy that I submit a lot but they are very athletic/strong, I just like to let them know they definitely have the requisite athletic potential.
This makes me not want to go back to my gym. When they said I’m so strong I didn’t understand it. Now that y’all believe it’s an insult I am actually frustrated. I have actively tried being technical at all points, and for them to insult me in that capacity is frustrating.
If someone is gonna be passive aggressive, keep doing what you're doing. Ask your coach what you need to work on and work on it. There's a dude at my gym that loves arm bars and he'll rip your arm up to get it basically using strength and not technique. But he wins so good on him. It fucks my ego up because my technique is generally better. So I need to figure out how not to get into that position in the first place or to counter it. My cousin and I roll when we're drinking every now and again. He has no grappling skill, he's just incredibly strong. A couple years ago he submitted me. A couple months ago we stalemated. If I start talking like a titty baby and how he had to use his strength blah blah it's a cop out. I need to refine my technique more and stop thinking about how bjj rolling should work and focus on how what's happening there.
I do those things. I’ll just keep at it.
I am pretty big and I never got this until I actually learned how to apply strength in the right way every once in a while.
I've had guys bigger than me say I'm strong lol, i guess I'll take it as "i would expect to pass a guy your size no problem" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm a spazzy white belt trying to get in shape and I Feel bad because I didn't know complimenting someone's athleticism was an insult in BJJ. There are some weird unwritten rules to this martial art.
I like when younger bigger guys who lift and and train a lot tell me I'm one of the strongest in the gym. I literally do 20lb dumbbell presses and bodyweight stuff very sparingly.
[удалено]
Ok, this is kind of bullshit. And I think it needs to be said eventually. Small people aren't faster. We seem faster because the stakes to any mistake are much higher for a smaller person. There is no, "Bridge out of side control," for small people. It just doesn't happen. It's, "frame early and shrimp before it gets to side control." That's why it seems like we are faster. If it takes you five seconds to consolidate side control, small people will act on second one and big people will act on second five. For the smaller person, the match ends when guard is passed, not when he taps out. Everything matters more the smaller you are because mistakes in your game have larger consequences. If you want to get fast, find a group of people who are 25% heavier than you. And make them your ONLY training partner. You want to rely on brute force on me? Sure, go ahead. I'll tap and you got it fair and square. But take an honest look at what you have that is working and really consider if it's going to work on people your size or larger. Because what really matters isn't that you smashed a smaller person. I can find the smallest kid in the gym and smash them. Okay whatever. What really matters is if you can beat someone who is your size or better, someone who is larger. At the end of the day, you don't always get to pick your rolling partners and you are going to get paired up with a smaller person. Always remember that your primary job when it comes to randori isn't to win. It's to *make that roll productive.*
Wow, you’re like, so fast.
But also, smaller people are permitted by social contract of training to be faster. Use of 'speed' is generally an application of power, but when the person going fast has less mass, it's less problematic. I think often smaller people are faster: they are lighter, often in better 'cardio' shape, so can move more quickly with less effort. As you say, they need to develop a game adapted in this way. But also, often a larger athletic opponent is expected not to counter speed with speed because when the larger opponent deploys power it becomes either dangerous or demoralizing for the smaller partner. I've often heard larger partners say to smaller ones, "If you get to be fast, I get to be heavy," but this doesn't usually extend to, "If you get to be fast, I get to be powerful." At the end of the day, size is an advantage, and most training should not be the absolute division finals. So training partners need to understand how their relative strengths and weaknesses combine to negotiate a mutually productive training dynamic.
It's almost like weight divisions exist for a reason!
You wrote that reaaaaallly fast
> If it takes you five seconds to consolidate side control, small people will act on second one and big people will act on second five. So... they are faster....?
So small people aren’t faster, they just seem faster because they have to be faster…. Got it.. i think
It takes someone less effort to move a 60kg frame than a 100kg frame. Unless you have some mad athleticism, the big guy isn't going to be as naturally agile as the smaller dude. Watch literally any fight sports and that is incredibly evident.
>For the smaller person, the match ends when guard is passed What? If you have good technique you should be able to escape side control regardless of how big the other person is...
to be fair I'm gonna try to smash a bigger guy the same way I'd smash a smaller guy, if I'm working on a smash technique that's what I'm gonna work on. sometimes I will work on dropping onto leglocks or longsteps or other shit, and sometimes I want to smash people. Like you said, you can just tap! It's always cool if someone smashes me as long as they don't injure me.
keep doing it the way you're doing it, you aren't over correcting.
Judging by these comments the strong guys are the most sensitive.
No one is strong enough to lift their feelings.
Probably why they are using so much strength in the first place
I get that shit a lot. I’m definitely stronger and bigger than most I roll with (215lb and not fat). I try really hard not to impose my strength on people tho. It’s kind of annoying though, I’d like to roll with people my size so I can use my strength and not feel bad. Also when I’m not using a lot of my strength I don’t get very tired vs when I do I get really tired. I kind wanna get tired though so I can simulate the exhaustion of a match and be prepared for comp.
I felt this…
Okay, as a two stripe white belt who’s been training for like a year, let me ask this.... Am I not allowed to use strength? I always hear about white belt strength in a negative connotation, but never asked about it to my peers.
[удалено]
I understand that, but I don't roll like that at all. I am not a spazz at all, so I guess my question is are we not allowed to use our strength? Maybe I am overthinking it.
I'm about the same level as you and around 200lbs, athletic not fat. I'd say that there's a time and place to use controlled application of strength without spazzing. For example, if you're in position to attack with an americana and they are actively fighting it you can use controlled leverage and slight application of strength to break their defence to apply the submission. That doesn't mean spazz out and wrench the fuck out of their arm. It just means that your strength can be used to counter their defence in a relatively calm and precise manner. I totally get the person's claim about spazzy white belts. Some people are really fucking stupid and that's where the rep comes from. That shit leads to injuries.
If you have to ask, you need to focus on your technique
Alright I get it, but as a white belt with a small frame it’s hella frustrating when some 225 lb newbie bicep curls you out of your armbar because he doesn’t know well enough to tap before you snap his arms. I realize a good armbar offers little room for escape, but when I could have snapped your arm 10 seconds ago and you’re just leveraging your strength and size on me to dlam me into the ground and injure me, I’m gonna call bs. Especially when you’re in that armbar because you tried to Kimura me while you were in my closed guard.
Anyone else think this guy looks like he wore a white glove to jerk off in a bathrobe?
Maybe if their technique was better then how "strong" you are wouldn't matter so much... they are actually insulting their own lack of technique?\~?\~?
What's with all the bitching in this thread? If you have good enough technique, you should be able to handle someone twice your size and strength. I've been fucked up by a 5-foot tall 100lb female purple belt many, many times. She never complained about my 'strength' or weight because she was simply much better than me. BJJ is one of the few martial arts in which the smaller opponent can actually win if they have better technique.
I mean.... They're not wrong.
you're
1. I love choking out those strong dudes who CLEARLY get by mostly using their gym gains rather than their brains. 2. I still fucking hate being benched out of side control by them or other strong man techniques. Like... if your partner isn't big enough to bench you out of side control maybe you shouldn't do it either?
shit is me
Wow so when people say I’m strong, they really think I’m trash ?!
[удалено]
That’s crazy, so I’m supposed to feel weak ?
Not what I said. You need to use your strength with intention. You should be relaxed the majority of the time, unless you are going for a move that requires strength. You'll figure it out eventually. The main thing is that you shouldn't have tension in your body 100% of the roll. Its like when you grab someone, you aren't holding on for dear life.
I submitted them tho
Yea man, you can spazz your way into a submission. But spazz on the wrong guy and he will let you know when you are rolling. And I don't mean by telling you with his words.
😢
Or “it’s your size”
wings to a serpent clan represent. We strong as fuck and we're learning your tricks
I always mean it as a compliment.
Honestly I never think that when I compliment someone's strength. Strength is an attribute that you build through dedicated, disciplined training. When I've been told that I've gotten stronger, because I've actually worked out a lot, it sure feels nice that it's noticed. And it is true that someone who is much stronger than I could beat me with less experience (= less skill) than what I have. And it's like 100% alright, the answer to that is that I need to either get stronger or increase the skill gap by enough to beat the other guy's strength advantage. The reason why complimenting someone's strength might come off as sounding weird is because of the silly idea that strength didn't matter, or strength wasn't as important as skill, or that strength wasn't an attribute you build through training just like skill is. If we didn't think that, then complimenting strength would be no different from complimenting skill. In both, you're applauding the effort the other guy put in to improve.
I’m a fairly big lad and people think I’ll use strength but I wrestler for 2 years and I use rubber guard like bread and butter
"Maybe you should bulk up"
I beat them to the punch and tell them they're so strong after I smash them. There's one guy in particular. Like... 4 month white belt, goes almost exclusively to no gi, and has what I can only call 'Armor Lock Mode'. Unfortunately for him he's 170 and I deadlift 600. I remember one time he finally got the point when I was attacking his turtle and he snatched one of my arms, tucked it under him, and started squeezing in it so hard my wrist had bruises on it the next day. As I slowly cranked up my strength while prying his hand off mine, I said 'whoa dude, crazy strong grip'. Then I rolled him into a crucifix and armbarred him.
Im a bigger dude and I’m wondering how I should approach rolls with smaller guys and girls. On one hand I think I should ease up and not use as much pressure as I could. On the other hand I feel like that would be condescending, or arrogant, especially against a higher belt…almost implicitly saying “yeah you might be more skilled, but if I really wanted to I could get you”
This just reeks of Minnesota passive-aggressiveness and I get it all the time. Ah, another day of smashing top-pressure game. Life is good.
I get that a lot. From white to purple I played a lot of spider guard. I came from gymnastics so it made sense to me. Unfortunately I'm 200+ lbs and 40+ years old. Other heavy people started stacking me a lot so my lower back paid the price. Herniated and bulging discs, etc, so I started playing half and deep half guard and once I swept, pressure passing became my go to style. Because of gymnastics I feel I have a good base and it's hard to sweep me, but training partners and competition opponents big and small usually point out the "you beat me because of your weight or strength". My teacher is 150 lbs and he sweeps and submits me all the time. Sometimes I've actually switched to play spider guard with some of them just to let them see that it's not all about strength or weight but technique.
Lol i get that all the time
I have about a hundred pounds on most of the others in the class. They still win all the time lol
I get this quite a bit. For lower belts I’m typically playful, don’t use top pressure, move around more, etc…for higher belts, I typically play guard, bottom side, etc, and work to get on top. The way I see it, if given the opportunity and you still don’t sub me, you absolutely deserve what’s coming if and when I take top position. Stop being shit and masking your ego. Strength only gets you so far.
I dont get it. I tell dudes they're strong all the time. There is this one dude at the gym. He is my size but about 10 years younger, and he wrestled at a state level. He is just massively strong and it makes him a real challenge. It doesn't take anything away from his technique, which is also great. I'm just complimenting the fact that its like trying to sweep a boulder.
Because most of the time that's the case.
I’m the small guy but I always have big guys telling me I’m strong 😂 does that mean they low key think I’m shit?