Does size matter in sparing

[TallAdam85]

:idunno: Ok I am a big guy around 6 foot 4 i spar alot today me and another student started talking we spar all the time and everytime we do i kick his butt all over the dojo. But he was saying well no fair cause i am so tall. My Reply Was no Cause if ur small and trained well tall people should be no problem cause the smaller person should have the speed but he did no want to agree what you think.

I just feel yes height is a good thing to have on your side but if i was faster i be unstopable but still small guys there are well trained can still beat me

[MA-Caver]

C'mon... get with the program... don't cha know that size doesn't matter... :lol:
In fighting the old saying applies... it's not the size of the guy in the fight it's the size of the fight in the guy...
In a for-real fight I'm not gonna worry about how big the guy is... only how I can hurt him enough to stop the fight.
Sparring? Well, that's is definitely different since it's a "controlled" fight and being able to "tag" the other person first. You'd probably would come out ahead... if you were fast enough.
There's too many variables to consider.
Training and natural talent and determination will definitely help out the outcome.
Sounds like to me you need to work on your speed against us little guys... I'm 5-10 by the way and while that's not exactly short... it's not exactly tall either... :rolleyes:

[Flatlander]

I totally agree. If the spar has specific rules, which, presumably it does, the person with the reach, assuming both have "equivalent skill" will have the advantage.

If it wasn't a spar, but rather a real altercation, he may be just as likely to break those long arms of yours. Usually that's frowned upon when sparring.:ultracool

[jesse sutton]

size doesnt matter if you are fighting a bigger guy who doesnt know what he is doing. If in a street fight people tend to think that the bigger guy has the advantage automatically but its not always so.

I am myself am 6'3", 220, and although it does well for me, it isnt always what gives me an advantage over someone.

The real deal is that if a person is to be trained well, and is extremely capable as a fighter, then having the extra size and weight DOES matter. No matter what a person tells you about how size doesnt matter, it does because the bigger and stronger you are, the better chance you have in a fight assuming you can use it to your advantage IF you know how to fight properly.

A tall guy executing a perfect roundhouse has a better chance against a short guy executing a perfect roundhouse. Its logistics.

[Mark Weiser]

I would have to agree a trained Fighter despite his or her size can defeat a larger opponent. The Trained Fighter can and will exploit the weaknesses of the opponent.

[jfarnsworth]

No it doesn't matter. I'm a measley 5'7" and generally short for a guy. I do not fear fighting someone taller and regardless of belt rank. If your 3 feet away or 8" away believe me I'm still gonna kick/punch at you.

[8253]

Watch out! Im bigger than I look! :boing2:

[Raewyn]

Size does'nt matter in this instance(sparring). Unfortunately you dont get to pick the size of the people who wanna pick a fight with you on the street. Sparring against a bigger or taller person would be very beneficial!!!

[Corporal Hicks]

What about Bruce Lee? Surely it shows that if you are good enough, then size does not matter! Then again Bruce Lee was unnaturally fast!

[bluenosekenpo]

:idunno: Ok I am a big guy around 6 foot 4 i spar alot today me and another student started talking we spar all the time and everytime we do i kick his butt all over the dojo. But he was saying well no fair cause i am so tall. My Reply Was no Cause if ur small and trained well tall people should be no problem cause the smaller person should have the speed but he did no want to agree what you think.

I just feel yes height is a good thing to have on your side but if i was faster i be unstopable but still small guys there are well trained can still beat me

hi there, wonder how your buddy would do if you were grappling? whenever i spar or grapple with someone my first order of business is to take away their advantage. the vertiacally blessed?(i'm 5'10"), get in close, trap,hit,throw,choke whatever, and if i lose the advantage, get out of range and try again. those long pins you're standing on? stop hit them then attack with mt roundhouse kicks to the thigh. the possibilities are endless.

more importantly, do you find that you are gaining any knowledge by dominating this guy? that is a question you should ask yourself, try letting him inside your range(where you are really uncomfortable!). at some point you will meet someone that lives in that range, and you will find yourself looking up at him (from the mat or sidewalk), and think to yourself, gee i wish i would have trained for the short guy. think about it, good luck, train hard. :asian:

[jfarnsworth]

Watch out! Im bigger than I look! :boing2:

Yeah? cool! :) Do you belong to the same studio I do? :asian:

[MJS]

Alot of it is going to come down to timing. Like its already been said, the sparring will most likely have rules, therefore, the taller person will have the reach advantage. The sad thing is, is that most of the time, they'll be throwing some garbage shot, just to get that point. To clarify what I mean by 'garbage shot'....those leaping backfists to the head with their hands down.

A real fight obviously doesn't have those rules, so you can throw things that will give you more of an edge.

Mike

[jfarnsworth]

To clarify what I mean by 'garbage shot'....those leaping backfists to the head with their hands down.
I hate that, good call!

[markulous]

What about Bruce Lee? Surely it shows that if you are good enough, then size does not matter! Then again Bruce Lee was unnaturally fast!

True. Now imagine though if he was about 8 or 9 inches taller and obviously weighed a little more and was just as fast...I think him being taller would be beneficial.

I am 6'4" and when I spar(we spar UFC-style, full contact) I have most of the advantages. Really the only disadvantge I have is in a lot of throws. I can't get under a guys hip usually and they can get under mine pretty easy. My punches are about as far as some guys kicks. So I wouldn't trade my height for anything.

[loki09789]

:idunno: Ok I am a big guy around 6 foot 4 i spar alot today me and another student started talking we spar all the time and everytime we do i kick his butt all over the dojo. But he was saying well no fair cause i am so tall. My Reply Was no Cause if ur small and trained well tall people should be no problem cause the smaller person should have the speed but he did no want to agree what you think.

I just feel yes height is a good thing to have on your side but if i was faster i be unstopable but still small guys there are well trained can still beat me
Size or more accurately size differences between opponents do matter because it is one of many factors to consider when you are coming up with your tactical plan...is it a 'problem' or a 'disadvantage'...only if you make it one.

Being smaller than the average bear, I have been forced to 'turn my negative into a positive' by adapting my stuff to fit my body type and then experiment in training with various other body types to come up with good choice making processes at speed that neutralize the 'problems' of size difference.

Train to use your tools well and not to compare what you have to someone elses and it still matters but it isn't a 'problem'

[TigerWoman]

Size, of course, matters. A 6'4" guy had leg reach and well as arm reach over the smaller person. I have to spar such a person and usually I'm always in range for him but he is out of range for me. So I have to get in close to fake or jam him and even though I'm 5'7" and very flexible, I still have an very hard time getting to his head plus he has higher arms blocking. Besides his sheer mass has an advantage too, if he did a hard side kick on me, I fly against the wall. (and used to) Also its easy for him to lift just a little and not use as much effort to kick as I am a lower target. For me he is a much higher target, and I have to work harder to get past his defenses. I also have to hit harder to have much impact. The only thing I think that really works well, I can't do. A floor sweep... the bigger they are, the harder they fall... :D TW

[sasquatchnaruto]

you have to remember some things about sparring

speed wins, not strength- smaller guys have smaller distances to travel when fighting, thus they are faster in a sense.

being bigger means theres more to hit- you have alot to cover a smaller opponent does not have as much to cover.

reach matters-heres when being big can help your reach if you can keep it out there will be beneficial.

[CMack11]

I think we had a debate about this somewhere else before and most everybody agreed that size is a factor. It's not the end all of factors, but it is defininitely a factor. If not, why are there different weight classes in all combat sports?

The way we put it is that imagine an old balance scale, where you put weights on different sides of the scale. One weight would go in for size, one for strength, one for speed, one for toughness, one for luck, one for martial skill, and so on. Whoever has more weights wins the fight. Can a smaller fighter beat a larger fighter? Of course. But the size of the person does affect the fight.

[Sin]

Size helps the intimidation factor, but thats about it. i sparred a really big guy at a tournament, and i lost to him by one point, and i went and came in second place. Phh... He's size was scarry though, his leg looked like it weighed 100 lb. Anyways it was intimidating....i hurt though, it was point sparring and i went for damage

[MA-Caver]

Size helps the intimidation factor, but thats about it. i sparred a really big guy at a tournament, and i lost to him by one point, and i went and came in second place. Phh... He's size was scarry though, his leg looked like it weighed 100 lb. Anyways it was intimidating....i hurt though, it was point sparring and I went for damage
That's the whole idea when fighting/sparring with bigger guys.
I've gone up against (not intentionally) bigger guys than me. I knew that I'd either have to be damn lucky or they totally suck, for me to win. I always made damn sure that they were going to walk away hurting or with a limp. They'll remember me next time.
Bullies at my highschool did and were cautious the next time they tangled with me.
Grr grr grr ffft fftt fttt.

[mj-hi-yah]

This reminds me of a thread we have going in the LLR! Yes size definitely matters! :uhyeah: Especially in martial arts - that is with two people of equal ability and experience. Initially, reach is an advantage. However if a smaller opponent learns to use their speed and agility to avoid the long reach of a tall person and learns to move in on them more, and slip and evade more, it is possible for the smaller person to learn to rule the ring! :)

[jdam76]

Royler Gracie is one of the best fighters in the world and weighs 143 lbs. The right techniques were made to offset the size/strength factor.

[Corporal Hicks]

[QUOTE=sasquatchnaruto]you have to remember some things about sparring

speed wins, not strength- smaller guys have smaller distances to travel when fighting, thus they are faster in a sense.


Dont mind me, but I though speed only matters until your at really close fighting stat. I'm quoting somebody else here, but I think that sort of goes against my Wing Chung training I'm not sure, just confused now :idunno:

[Kenpodoc]

Speed vs Strength. Given a choice I'd take both. Which one is most to your benefit will depend on the rules or lack of rules and the conditions. In general strength will beat speed unless the strong person is too slow or the fast person is extremely skilled. Take Bob Sapp for instance, the last time I saw him he was not very skilled but was none the less a formidable opponent. Personally I'm getting older and thus slower and weaker a bad combination. Now I try to learn to be more precise and sneakier. C'est la vie.

Jeff :asian:

[Sin]

you do need a happy medium between strength and speed. we all need to try and be balenced fighters not jsut relying on just speed or just sheer strength. when I was fightingt he big guy i just had difficulty reaching him, he kept pushing away with that big leg.....i needed to step over. and slam him with a round house...did I do it...no, cause the guy played his role as tall thick dude really well...ack I lost by one point...GRRRR....anyways i will get um next time. Anywho keep a clear mind and keep moving witht he big guys...dance around him

[Shotochem]

Size, of course, matters. A 6'4" guy had leg reach and well as arm reach over the smaller person. I have to spar such a person and usually I'm always in range for him but he is out of range for me. So I have to get in close to fake or jam him and even though I'm 5'7" and very flexible, I still have an very hard time getting to his head plus he has higher arms blocking. Besides his sheer mass has an advantage too, if he did a hard side kick on me, I fly against the wall. (and used to) Also its easy for him to lift just a little and not use as much effort to kick as I am a lower target. For me he is a much higher target, and I have to work harder to get past his defenses. I also have to hit harder to have much impact. The only thing I think that really works well, I can't do. A floor sweep... the bigger they are, the harder they fall... :D TW

Im the same size and my frequent partner is 6'5" and weighs 260lbs. The only way I have any chance with my little friend is to evade and counter, or sweep and take down. Those real long legs make an excellent target. :EG: I get him down to where I can pretty much out grapple him most of the time. I used to get right in his kitchen and jam him and fight in close... then he caught on and now I can't get away with it as much as I used to. :rolleyes: The only real effective way for me is the sweep and Tae Sabaki movement.
Don't stay in his prime kicking range. If you take away the legs thats half the battle.

[Marginal]

A lot of it depends on the matchup. I'm 5'11", and I've sparred people ~6'5", and against most they were fairly uh, "beefy". When the taller guy's slow, it's not much of a contest. I can just evade or intercept at will. When I hit a big guy who's got good power and quickness, I have my work cut out for me. All I can really do is get in close and tie up their legs that way while punching 'em a lot. If they're strong enough to just push me around when I'm inside... Obnoxious situation. Usually resort to counterhits. Smaller opponents are somehwat easier to deal with simply because I have a reach advantage and they have to work harder to block my stuff than I do to block theirs. It they're zipping around evading, they better have good conditioning. ;)

[Tony]

Well seeings as my instructor is much much smaller than me and I'm 5'7 I certainly wouldn't want to upset him as I have been on the receiving end of his punches, very fast and powerful!
Whats the point of a small person learning a Martial Art if he or she can't apply it to larger and taller people!

[YouAgain]

Size matters not, judge me by size do you?

[KenpoNoChikara]

Anything that affects how you fight or spar matters. Size included. Not saying that because you are tall or short that you will automatically be better or worse, but size is a factor in how you will need to fight, therefore it matters.