Big Guy Wants 2 Learn 2 Fight

[BlondBomber]

Hello to everyone. I am new to this board, but not Elite Fitness. My question is this, what art is best for a big guy to train to maximize his physical size, height and strength. I have tried both American boxing and kick boxing, but I feel that both under utilize my physical abilities and do not provide me with efficient fighting tactics. This is by no means a rip on either art, I just always felt that not being able to grap opponents put me at a disadavantage. The teachers of both arts that I had a few lessons with liked my strength, and the Muay Thai guy said that being tall with long legs and arms is good, but when I would fight someone, I would get my ass kicked. Now I know that I should be getting my ass kicked being a newbie, but the thing is I could have remedied it very quickly with a body slam or take down in my fights (I wrestled one year in high school).
Should I try BJJ? I am interested in being able to back up the image I put forth as abigger guy, but honestly currently all I could do is land a hard right cross or slam someone through/into something. I am not interested in starting fights by any means (never been in a street fight), but I am also not looking for any spirituality or anything not relating to fighting. This is why I think BBJ would be good, it seems more like a fighting system than an art.
So, basically, what would be good for a tall guy that has a strong back (520-30 deadlift)? I know that I would learn how to strike, but I don't think that is where my strength would lie. Any suggestions?

P.S. Being a newbie, I hope I have not stepped on any toes with my inquiry/objectives.

 

[Dirk Howat]

Hello to everyone. what art is best for a big guy to train to maximize his physical size, height and strength.

Grappling.

I powerlift and bodybuild and when I do BJJ and submission wrestling, my joints hurt like a bitch. When I do not grapple, my tendons are fine.

Grappling involves technique, but if you grappled before, you understand that there is alot of strength involved.

If you are striker, then hitting the heavy bag can increat your strength and therefore physical size. Nothing can increase you height.











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[B18222]

The two arts you mentioned above as well as BJJ are all effective arts which work great for guys of all sizes, but bjj being able to cater to the smaller guy more. Can't go wrong with either, but if you find you are more of a grappler than a striker naturally, yeah give BJJ a shot. Just be prepared to get your ass handed to you until you learn to defend subs... you'll have to get rid of some wrestling habits that leave you vulnerable, but having a base experience in grappling like wrestling will facilitate your learning curve.

 

[tbuz67]

Its good to hear your taking up self-defense. Currently, there are very many schools popping up based on reality fighting that many of them are exactly what you are probably looking for. Until the last ten years, the majority of practitioners focused mostly on striking disciplines. After the UFC became popular, everyone became interested in groundfighting, BJJ in particular thanks to Royce Gracie and his successes in the Octagon. Now the scene is even beyond that, with fighters being able to counter the takedown game of the pure groundfighters. So at this point, the emphasis is on both groundfighting and stand-up striking. The fighters out there are not only learning takedowns, but defenses against takedowns to keep the fight standing. The groundfighter then has to learn standup fighting to deal with this. So everyone is learning everything nowadays! But this is mostly the evolution of MMA fighters; most people on the street won't be so advanced in their tactics. But despite this, there are schools out there that will give you both stand up and groundfighting, including BBJ techniques and strategies, because of this evolution in hand to hand fighting. Its a great time to learn.

 

[Lord_Suston]

Well a few questions are needed to be asked

How long did you box for and did you evr have matches??
I agree with tbuz67, being able to defend oneself is basically learning how to fight your fight against an opponent, with a better standup fighter I woul take it to the ground and vice versa. So if you are proficient in a standup art I suggest either Freestyle grappling or BJJ, although I like shootfighting

 

[BlondBomber]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I think that I will try and get into some BJJ. I live in San Diego, so I know that there are a number of studios here, including Ken Shamrock's in National City, CA.
To answer you Lord_Suston, I boxed for a total of about 5-6 lessons. I never sparred with boxing. With kickboxing I probably had about the same amount of lessons, and sparred about twice getting my ass kicked.
I would imagine that learning a standing up fighting style would be good because since I don't plan to fight competitively, the vast majority of my moves would be executed from a standing positions.
What is shootfighting?

 

[Lord_Suston]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I think that I will try and get into some BJJ. I live in San Diego, so I know that there are a number of studios here, including Ken Shamrock's in National City, CA.
To answer you Lord_Suston, I boxed for a total of about 5-6 lessons. I never sparred with boxing. With kickboxing I probably had about the same amount of lessons, and sparred about twice getting my ass kicked.
I would imagine that learning a standing up fighting style would be good because since I don't plan to fight competitively, the vast majority of my moves would be executed from a standing positions.
What is shootfighting?

Shootfighting is a type of grappling where depending on rules, large joint manipulations and chokeouts are allowed and throwing is as well. Like freestyle but with tapouts and other viscous moves. I would take some type of standup class though, IMO you had too little up top fighting. Find a schools that does both

 

[BlondBomber]

Cool. I think I will look for a school that teaches shootfighting. Throws, joint manipulation and submission holds are what I want to learn because I want to be able to incompasitate people without actually doing any permanent damage (as a big guy hurting someone never works out because I always get the blame, no matter the situation).

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Just make it simple on yourself and take BJJ and muay thai.

Don't get much better rounded than that.

 

[Lord_Suston]

Just make it simple on yourself and take BJJ and muay thai.

Don't get much better rounded than that.

Both are good, but sometimes yuo need a grappling art with throws and agressive takedowns. muay thai is tough as hell. I say find a place that has both or MMA as a prioritized part of their training