does height really matter?

Discussion in 'Karate' started by yuen, Jul 17, 2011.

  1. yuen

    yuen Valued Member

    some people might say that it doesn't matter. but i just want to ask if it really does matter.

    im relatively short for my age and i can manage to take a black belt down (im 1st kyu shotokan)

    so does training and physical fitness win, or does it win depending on how big and tall you are?

    just out of interest.

    yuen.
     
  2. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    i'm five feet tall. just train hard and smart, fight hard and smart, and be badder than the other guy/girl. the rest is all situational. just be sure not to train or fight harder than you do smart (which doesn't quite make sense as a sentence, but i think it's clear enough contextually :p).
     
  3. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    There is an old boxing saying that a good big 'un will beat a good little 'un.

    Probably true, but it is not the be all and end all. We have a member here called Van Zandt. He served in the military, was a world TKD champion, is the fitness coach for the American National Karate Team and is only 5 ft 6 inches tall. He has also worked in close protection and has won street fights using head kicks, so not being big worked as his advantage.

    Don't worry about your size. Skill is what is required first.
     
  4. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    The bigger they are the harder they fall....the smaller they are the further they fly

    Size matters only when everything else is equal - and it does matter whatever anyone else may tell you!
     
  5. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    Height alone isn't necessarily an advantage. Being tall and skinny and gangly (as I can testify) doesn't buy you a lot of advantages.

    One of my instructors is substantially smaller than me, but that just means that I can't get in body shots without leaning or ducking, while I have my larger frame to guard as he can just pick his targets.

    I have noticed that the best karate people are often small and square. Don't know why.

    Look at Kenji Midori

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS3xTV0NCuc"]‪Kyokushin Kenji Midori Highlights by Xihyon‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]
     
  6. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    Here is a case of perhaps "just too big" applying

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdV2tvv1u3I"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdV2tvv1u3I[/ame]
     
  7. Microlamia

    Microlamia Banned Banned

    I'd say it matters, but not that much - it's ONE attribute along with skill, speed, aggression/determination, timing, tactics etc.

    The people I find the hardest to roll with are the short but compact people. They seem to keep their damn centre of gravity some 2 feet under the floor. Taller people are easier to disrupt and unbalance, lol.
     
  8. Blade96

    Blade96 shotokan karateka

    I'm the tiniest little thing in my family - and that includes extended cousins!!

    I'm just 5 foot 2.

    I still do martial arts. There are also black belts girls who are my size in my dojo too. :)
     
  9. Peter Lewis

    Peter Lewis Matira Matibay

    During the late 1970's I watched the classic match between the late Steve Cattle Sensei and Terry O'Neill Sensei in the Finals of the KUGB Nationals. Although the eventual winner was Terry O'Neill Sensei, it was an extremely evenly matched bout and showed clearly that there really wasn't much difference in relation to size.
     
  10. Karatebadger

    Karatebadger Valued Member

    Height doesn't really matter to fighting ability, you end up learning to adapt to your specific frame size whether tall & skinny or short & stout. It can matter to competition as rules come into play that prevent certain options, such as kicking below the belt or punching to the head. If you fall foul of such limitations then you need to get faster or harder in order to even the field up again, it can be mechanically easier for a short guy to get faster than a tall guy as there is less to move.

    On the other hand, a short-square stature can make kata look perfect, snappy short-limbed punches and kicks combined with a low centre of gravity for that "rooted in the earth" look. You have to play to your own strengths and weaknesses. You can't alter your height appreciably so why worry about it.
     
  11. Commander Nitro

    Commander Nitro Valued Member

    Height helps but that's not the only factor that makes you win a fight. It also depends on how your opponent fights and how you fight. If you've got speed then fighting a tall opponent is not that difficult.

    One disadvantage of tall people is that they get out of balance easily compared to the shorter ones.
     
  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    My answer would be "not at all." But then I've always been a stubborn little *******. Rather than look at what you haven't got, look at what you have got and how you can adapt it to give you a winning edge. My parents are dwarves (not literally) so it was a fairly easy guess I'd be short myself (I'm 5'5, but thanks to Simon for thinking I'm taller :D). A decision was made that my long-term training plan would focus on flexibility and being able to kick better than most taller folk. Kicking eventually became my specialty. No plan is fool proof and there are times it doesn't work like if I fight a tall guy with great kicks (as happened at the Worlds this weekend when a leggy Polish fella beat be 7-2 in the full contact open weight category). So adapt your style until your weaknesses become strengths, strengths become, er, stronger strengths, and think about your training in the long rather than short term.
     
  13. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    I thought you were out of the sparring and getting hit lark Dan?
    I mean...all power to you but I do worry about MAP's little soldier. :)
     
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Can't resist the calling mate. Guess I'm an addict.
     
  15. Th0mas

    Th0mas Valued Member

    I think the answer is maybe.. Height is helpful but Size (which includes body mass as well) can be signficant.

    It also depends in what context we are talking. Judo competition... yes definately, in a gunfight I would suspect the opporsite is true. Brawl in a pub.. I would put my money on the big guy... but it would not be a forgone conclusion.

    We can kid ourselves, but in reality when it comes to empty hand fighting being bigger is an advantage.
     
  16. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Problem is a lot of big, strong guys don't have the heart to use that advantage.

    "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
    Mahatma Gandhi
     
  17. Microlamia

    Microlamia Banned Banned

    Yep, just being tall alone isn't an advantage. I'd rather be short and strong than elongated and weak.
     
  18. Yohan

    Yohan In the Spirit of Yohan Supporter

    My advice: if you are short, learn to wrestle. Wrestling short people sucks.
     
  19. Nope, height doesn't matter!

    It's great if you are tall, but because you cannot change your condition, don't worry about it. ;)


    Osu!
     
  20. Peter Lewis

    Peter Lewis Matira Matibay

    The thread is about height as opposed to build. Logically, a tall person will say that size makes all the difference and a shorter person will say that it doesn't matter. I am of average height at 5' 9" and have always had more difficulty fighting shorter people, because they are often (but not always) fast, explosive and want to fight at very close range. Reality is it's impossible to generalise on this topic. It may help to consider that this is a Karate Forum, and often (but not always), the Japanese are shorter in stature. I don't think they have any concerns about their height!

    With respect

    Peter
     

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