Size means nothing in the martial arts. It doesn't matter how small or tall your are: everyone is capable of strength, speed, skill and most importantly, the ability to defend themselves. But some people think that even if a small person was to win a fight, it would take a long, strenuous effort. With these tips, you smaller martial artists can prove larger people are no better:
1. Don't hesitate. Small people are often self conscious about their size and are reluctant to act for fear of failing. Go straight in to strike or execute some other technique with all your effort, strength and speed.
2. Use your mobility and lower center of gravity as an advantage. Get under their kicks and knock them off balance, weave in and out of range. Distance and position, as I mentioned in an another article, is what can make an invincible fighter. Keep moving; judge distance (Note: because a smaller fighter might have less of a reach, close quarters combat should be something he/she strives for skill in. If you can stay close but out of their attacks, do--but be wary of grabs and takedowns)
3. Don't go to the ground. Weight, unless you are proficient in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or other ground fighting arts, is something that will be working against you if a bigger opponent takes you to the ground. If you are mounted and are being beaten, there is no way to win the fight without the proper knowledge. This especially goes for self defense situations.
4. Fight dirty. Go for the eyes, groin, neck, knees--but ONLY in a self defense situation. Someone fighting you who is bigger is already exploiting an unfair advantage, so you must use all of yours in order to defend yourself. That means cheap-shots.
5. Modify techniques to use for your advantage. Don't make them higher, but change them slightly or use a technique differently in order to compensate for lack of size. Many Karatemen, who were often barely five feet tall, developed their Karate to use their small size as an advantage.
6. Use your opponent's weight against them. This is obvious, but many people do not know how to do this correctly. Learn to yield and then snap back, like bamboo. Or to blend with the energy and then suddenly redirect it. Picking up techniques from Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan) and Aikido will help tremendously here.
7. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN. Practice constantly. Workout out every day to make your self stronger and faster and tougher. Improve your skill, and practice will both larger and similar sized opponents. In order to get ahead of the big guys, we have to work hard!
Never feel inferior because of your size. You CAN defend yourself against larger people, and you don't need brute strength. Technique, if correctly practiced, will always prevail against an opponent. So go train and get better!
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