There are plenty of myths in circulation in the Martial Arts World, many of them sound plausible, even logical, until you really start to look at them and pick them apart.
One myth, that size doesn't matter, is one of the first things I heard on my first day of training.
I was ten years old, very impressionable, zero critical thinking ability, so I bought it. It also spoke to me on a very deep level because I have always been a very small person, not particularly strong, not particularly fit or athletic.
Yes, I did defeat someone twice my size in a sparring match where I won first place for the first time. This was not due to size not being a factor; it had more to do with the fact that the guy was a kicker and, being a smaller kid, I was able to get inside to throw punches, thus nullifying his ability to kick.
Had the guy changed up his strategy, had the guy been trained to work towards his own size advantage coupled with my own size disadvantage he would have stomped me.
This was also not some full contact, no-holds-barred fight either, it was point sparring, which is not exactly the best measure of ability beyond scoring points in a glorified game of tag.
My Teacher trained me in a way where my size, in this instance, worked to my advantage in the context of point sparring that brought me out on top as the victorious person... It felt good, I am not going to lie, and at the end of the day we were both great sports about it.
I was terrified at the sheer size of this person, but my Teacher kept me grounded and planned out a sound strategy that I followed to a 'T.'
This is great confidence building for kids who need it, I will never take that away from these events. I feel that all children should experience this sort of thing, go through this sort of training, whatever the training may be... Whether it is Martial Arts, Soccer, Basketball, Dance, Gymnastics, it doesn't matter, whatever a child gravitates towards, that should be fostered, cultivated, thus the seeds of success are planted that can be drawn upon later on in life.
Size DOES matter though. Strength matters. Whatever shape one is in, that matters.
Unhealthy people are unhealthy, there is no way around that. Small people are small, there is also no way around that. Would you get into a strength on strength match against someone that is built like Hercules while being a small skinny nerdy kid that can barely do a single push-up?
Would you get into a strength on strength match with someone, also built like Hercules, while being morbidly or even slightly obese and easily winded?
You have to do the work in order to experience the gains and, if you are geared towards Self Defense, or even fighting in a Cage or simply want to be able to defend yourself and your loved ones then you have to take this into account... All aspects must be questioned, if anything is found wanting, why? What is lacking? What are you lacking that you need to work on? Are you going to get that from your current endeavors?
The light sparring I did with a friend of mine recently was interesting. I had not sparred in a long time due to C-19, so there was a disadvantage there on my part.
I love sparring, it is one of the most honest aspects of training there is, it will let you know, unapologetically, where you stand.
We were going through free-form light sparring, he would say 'Okay, why don't you try to step in and take me down.'
I would oblige, it never worked out so well. I did better on the stick and knife portion of our training, I did better when I was not trying to grapple this guy that was twice my size.
That is the key to the whole thing, also, why would I try to grapple someone bigger that me? I am still a very small guy, it makes zero sense for me to do that. That is not to say that Grappling has no place in self defense, it does, and everyone seeking a well rounded understanding and skillset NEEDS to learn it.
This is why my focus has been on Goju Ryu and other systems that are not so direct in their approach. They utilize off-angles, they utilize methods that are not meant to pit strength against strength. It would be stupid for me to actually do that in a real situation, but it was fun here, and it is always good to be reminded of our own disadvantages so that we are able to work around them.
Does that mean that a smaller person can never take a larger person down?
With proper understanding, proper strategy, and proper training, yes, a smaller person CAN take a larger person down.
That has more to do with position, timing, and leverage, more Judo than anything else, but even then, there is a limit and this is why there are weight classes, because it is not always so.
In point of fact, it is rarely so. It would be far better to just unload a barrage of strikes, seek a takedown, and grapple them from the ground Brazilian Jujitsu style than it would to vie for a position from which one can execute a throw... Even then, the simplest of throws and takedowns are going to serve one better than a knowledge of hundreds upon hundreds of different throws and takedowns.
Taking that further, it would serve one better to know the principles behind the throws and takedowns than it would to actually know hundreds upon hundreds of throws and takedowns.
Size, strength, and physical fitness DO matter. The Military knows this, UFC knows this, Boxing Gyms know this, so why is it so hard for the general Community of Martial Artists to accept?
This has gained traction lately as people have started to admit this is a thing, but there are still some out there that like to pretend it doesn't matter in order to maintain the 'mystery' of Asian Martial Arts, which tend not to be so mysterious when compared with their European and Scandinavian counterparts such as Bare Knuckles Boxing and Glima, which, for their simplicity and directness, tend to be more effective as pragmatic Martial Arts... Unless we are talking about Jujitsu, San Da, Muay Thai, etc, then they are on par.
Karate has the potential to be on par, but it seems people cling to things that are not so important as though they are beyond Sacred. I will do another article regarding my thoughts on Karate as an Art, that is beyond the scope here... The main point is that all things must be viewed critically because nothing is ever as it seems.
Buyer beware.
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