It's All About the Strength

Discussion in 'MMA' started by Pretty In Pink, Dec 18, 2011.

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  1. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Or not.

    A story, I suppose, is in order.

    So I am a retail assistant, and we sell MMA gear at my store (both apparel and equipment).

    So this guy (let's for the sake of argument call him "Guy") comes up to the till (after staring at himself for 10 minutes in the changing rooms mind you) and buys a t-shirt, a BAMMA tee. Anyway, I love talking to fellow MAists, so I asked Him "Are you a fan or a fighter?" To which Guy replies:

    "Both!"
    "Awesome!" I said, "So where do you train?"
    He mentions his area at this point

    "Aww cool, I train too! BJJ down the road."
    "Cool, it's all about the power though"

    I should probably point out that Guy is MASSIVE. He is smaller than me but built very barrel-chested and arms bigger than my thigh.

    I was surprised at this, because obviously martial arts has ALWAYS been about helping out the little guy.

    So I helped him purchase his items and he left.

    Long story short, what do you think about strength being a factor in combat sports and martial arts in general? This can of course be interpreted as two different questions requiring two different answers :)
     
  2. Hannibal

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

    Everything else being equal strength can be a deciding factor. Rickson himself said "Where strength is concerned, more is always better" - althouogh again he was saying this was strength as a "compliment to" not a "replacement for" skill

    However, I guarantee this lunk yo describe will equate "strength" with "mass" - and he is therefore probably a poseur
     
  3. illegalusername

    illegalusername Second Angriest Mapper

    [​IMG]
     
  4. YouKnowWho

    YouKnowWho Valued Member

    Strength can defeat 10 best techniques.
     
  5. Kuma

    Kuma Lurking about

    Size and strength are a significant factor in a fight. If anyone doubts that, just look back to when huge Bob Sapp first got into K-1 and was knocking out elite fighters with just a few months of training under his belt.

    [​IMG]

    However, skill is what can narrow the gap. Though Sapp is a monster, he has been beaten by smaller but much more skilled opponents.
     
  6. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    So do you think it is also the other way around? Like, YEARS and YEARS of training are a significant factor and size/strength is good at narrowing the gap?

    Also, Bob Sapp is ridiculously large.
     
  7. Pkhamidar2com

    Pkhamidar2com Panda Member

    I had this big discussion, if you remember (big guy vs small guy?) a while back. Feel free to search that up and read that :). It should help give you more answers as that thread is HUGE!

    Other than that.... i think he means power in terms of bodybuilding.

    However in terms of GCSE physics. Power = work done / time taken

    And therefore power usually equates to the speed of a person. Ofcourse this is true in may arts and sports. If your going to punch someone at snail speed its not going to do much unless your punching in a way that your pushing their skull into a white hot super sharp nail... or something? And you have the strength do that...
     
  8. Microlamia

    Microlamia Banned Banned

    2 fighters equal at everything else = strength wins.

    This doesn't mean strength is an automatic win. I used to regularly get pinned by a smaller and weaker girl simply because she had better motor skills than me and could use the strength she did have better.
     
  9. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    the one who wins is the one who can prevent the other person from doing whatever he or she wants to do, enabling one to do it to them in turn. strength is a massive facilitator in this respect, whereas technique helps you refine this strength to make it go in the right direction. both are important, strength usually develops much more rapidly.
     
  10. lyotomachida

    lyotomachida Banned Banned

    you shoud have asked him to be your friend op
     
  11. ShangChi

    ShangChi KRAV MAGA!

    The Chinese saying - and I'm paraphrasing here - goes something like, as I remember it - though I'm not too sure now you're looking at me all expectantly - but anyway, here goes:

    "Technique with no gong, you can train until old age, and gain nothing."

    Gong is strength, especially conditioned bodily-structural strength.

    The book with all this in it is in the next room, and it's been a hard day. I'm not gong for it.
     
  12. Madao13

    Madao13 Valued Member

    Yeah, but what happens when the guy you are up against has two times the weight and your built and it's 30 cm taller?? If he is even a douchebag and can hold his own, then what?? Even if you are a lot better fighter than him..

    My point is, that sometimes even technique and training can take you only so far..The example Kuma gave, with Bob Sapp is a good one.. Am I wrong?
     
  13. ShangChi

    ShangChi KRAV MAGA!

    I don't think you're wrong. I think you are elucidating the well-known 'always someone bigger/badder/better than you are' theory.
     
  14. Kuma

    Kuma Lurking about

    Of course.
     
  15. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I tapped out a MT fighter of 4 years. He had no ground experience at all.

    Then after a month he made it REALLY difficult, I reckon if he pushed it he would've beat me. Next month is going to be a challenge.
     
  16. Hannibal

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

    If all the guy has is size then yes I will take him down, but I am a fairly sturdy 6'2" and 215 myself

    The arrests that give me the hardest time are the hyper 5,8" 145lbs guys - it is like trying to fight a bar of soap!
     
  17. YouKnowWho

    YouKnowWho Valued Member

    I have always loved to wrestle big and strong guy until oneday my teacher asked me to wrestle a light weight guy, I suddently understood that not only it's easier to develop new skill. it's also easier to develop speed with the light weight guy. When I wrestled a big and heavy guy, sometime I just slowed down myself without even notice.
     
  18. Kuma

    Kuma Lurking about

    Add in drugs and/or mental illness and it's a nightmare. Probably still the worst fight I've ever been in was against a juvenile who was maybe 140 pounds soaking wet but was as nutty as a squirrel turd and blown out of his mind on PCP.
     
  19. Madao13

    Madao13 Valued Member

    haha, That was funny:p
    But that's maybe because you are trying to submit them.. If you were trying to beat the snot out of them, you think they will still be the ones that would give you the hardest time?

    To make my thought more clear, to fight a guy who has that big of advantage on you like the one I described and come on top in the end, I think it requires from your part to be really well trained and skilled!! If he is also trained, even not as well as you, the difficulty is a lot higher..

    I remember watching the video of the fight between Mayweather and Ortiz..
    When Mayweather was living his dressing room and walking the corridor towards the ring, I couldn't help but notice two really huge guys behind him (obviously his security guards). I saw their difference in size and thought : "Here is the best boxer in the planet, a top notch martial artist and never the less I doubt that he could beat his bodyguards."

    This is when I started to think how much difference the size and the weight of the opponent can make.
     
  20. Hannibal

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

    You've never seen me make an arrest have you? :evil:
     
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