Size/strength doesn't matter, and other lies you were told.

[OlongJohnson]

Discussions of strength here are interesting. Size doesn't necessarily correlate. Some guys just get stronger and don't get bigger.

When I was a 19 year old skinny punk, I was 6'4" and 195 pounds. When I lifted, I stayed at the same weight and just got stronger and stronger. Ended up with a 485 lb squat. Nobody looked at me and saw anything but a skinny dork.

[P30]

The hosts argued that it might be more beneficial for the average person to be strong and fit rather than learn a martial art.

Both is helpful. If one is lazy/does not have much time left, then the person should take advantage of the Pareto principle. 20% effort are good enough for 80% of the maximum return (after that you have diminishing returns). So a bit fitness (e.g. 1 h jogging/rope jumping and 0.5 h stretching/planks/push-ups per week) and learning a few efficient MA techniques. Then you take advantage twice.

I think, mindset is also very important. As far as I remember, the founder of this forum liked the little book "Principles of Personal Defense" by Jeff Cooper.

PS:
But if you have very little time, then just watch this video. There you get it all in 1.5 minutes.
<hickok45voice>Did you believe this?</hickok45voice>

[03RN]

For me personally on diminishing returns, it was when I found my guard game had gone to shit after three days a week powerlifting for 2.5 years and a gain in weight of about 18 lbs of muscle. My numbers for triples in the lifts respectively were 245 bench, 405 squat, 495 deadlift at a bodyweight of 186 lbs.

I'm about 175 now and just maintain what I have which is less than what I was at when I had essentially turned myself into a strength athlete versus a combat athlete. I pulled a fairly easy triple on deadlift the other day of 425 and i'm not pushing numbers right now especially with my travel schedule.

As far as how my strength translates, no one I grapple with tosses me around or says I feel weak. That includes Alan Belcher who right now is a shredded 245 and former top ten UFC 185-er. Alan has to work technically if I'm on top to sweep or create a scramble with me, which he does fairly regularly. Alan is a black belt I'm a brown belt and Alan is twenty years younger and is 70 pounds heavier.

Recently I had John Welbourn, the founder of Crossfit football in coursework. John is 275 and was a starting offensive lineman for three different teams in the NFL and an assassin on the field. John was completely incapable of breaking my body-lock until I showed him how. Once he had a LITTLE technique he could probably get out 50% of the time. Six months of grappling and there's no way I could hold him because he's a freak athlete.

I think everyone who does the deep dive into strength will subjectively get to the point where they are satisfied with being "strong enough" if they are in tune with their body and pay attention to their performance on the mat or in the ring. At 53 and not being a professional athlete, fighter, gunslinger, whatever, I'm fairly satisfied with where I stand right now. My big thing these days is working on skill, maintaining strength, embracing the balance of frequency versus intensity, and being patient with myself on recovery and not taxing my neurological system.

When you're really good strength is less important. If you're mediocre then it helps level the field against better grapplers.

There's no place here to grapple so I'll just lift more.

I was training for my grey belt in mcmap as a 19yo lance corporal and I was paired with a staff sergeant who was bigger than I am now. I could not get the arm bar as he could curl me all day long. So I bit his hand and sank in the arm.

[03RN]

On the other hand, let’s consider a female who is never going to be in a good position while being assaulted by a much larger male. I would encourage her to use all her tools to fight back, break contact, and escape. For example, bite his hand to free one of hers so she can deploy her knife.

The last thing she should be worried about is pissing her attacker off.

Is it in bad taste to say the female who did this didn't win?


I've got 3 good scars from biters. Feed the bite. IE jam whatever their biting down their throat until they release.

[03RN]

Strength is important but so is endurance.

This week I ran 6.5miles in armor, 8miles pushing a 40lbs kid in a stroller and deadlifted 405x10, 455x4, and 495 for a single during my back work.

[Kirk]

I really think the answer is to be strong and a good grappler. I'm neither, but closer to "strong" than good grappler at the moment. I had an interesting experience this week. I did my first no-gi session in a decade (I trained 3ish years a decade ago), and I'm a good deal stronger now. I rolled with a high-level purple belt of the same size (I'm 240) and a black belt (he was probably 180) and got submitted about 8 times in 10 minutes lol. I came away thinking that my minimal strength was pretty irrelevant. I can bench 340 and deadlift a little over 550 but the 180lb black belt submitted me every which way possible.

My goal is essentially to get back to ~blue belt level and keep getting stronger. I figure that at some point, my size/strength/grappling skill will hit a level where I can at least hang with a 180lb black belt for 1 minute or so without getting submitted .

I think Paul Sharp is the perfect example of a guy to mimic. No, we probably won't be as strong as him or as skilled as him, but he has combined size/strength and skill extremely effectively.

[TheNewbie]

Strength is important but so is endurance.

This week I ran 6.5miles in armor, 8miles pushing a 40lbs kid in a stroller and deadlifted 405x10, 455x4, and 495 for a single during my back work.

You may be one the most impressive athletes I know of. It's one thing if you are paid to train like that and your life/job revolve around it, but your life/job does not. There is only one guy I have met that could match what you do. Maybe it's arrogant, but I am pretty impressed with my own fitness activities and life activities. That said, I don't come close to what you are doing on my best day.


I grappled with a guy who was of similar skill level, but bigger while I was stronger. We were about equal. A little shrimp of a guy with incredible cardio and skill level wiped the floor with me.

[03RN]

You may be one the most impressive athletes I know of. It's one thing if you are paid to train like that and your life/job revolve around it, but your life/job does not. There is only one guy I have met that could match what you do. Maybe it's arrogant, but I am pretty impressed with my own fitness activities and life activities. That said, I don't come close to what you are doing on my best day.


I grappled with a guy who was of similar skill level, but bigger while I was stronger. We were about equal. A little shrimp of a guy with incredible cardio and skill level wiped the floor with me.

Thank you

I think some really good grapplers dismiss strength because they are really good. For the rest of us strength can add up. Same with experience.

8 mile run flex

[TheNewbie]

Thank you

I think some really good grapplers dismiss strength because they are really good. For the rest of us strength can add up. Same with experience.

8 mile run flex

Strength also matters in mental toughness and confidence.

The mental and physical endurance it takes to achieve lifting numbers that are at the max end of what your body can do build toughness and resolve. Especially when you talk about hi rep and heavy sets.


Obviously BJJ takes toughness as well.

[03RN]

Strength also matters in mental toughness and confidence.

The mental and physical endurance it takes to achieve lifting numbers that are at the max end of what your body can do build toughness and resolve. Especially when you talk about hi rep and heavy sets.


Obviously BJJ takes toughness as well.

That's one of the reasons why I like those longer runs with weight. I'm pretty slow but I kinda have to shut part of my brain off. My wife and I will throw out math problems every once in a while so we stay sharp.

Go clear 3 more buildings after going all day loaded down with gear.

Already hauled 300 lobster traps but need to haul 200 more before we can head in.

Gotta go restrain another patient and running out of IM zyprexa because of the first 10 restraints.

Sometimes days are just long and physical. I've always prided myself on staying positive. Positivity is contagious. For me it helps to know there is nothing that can stop my body but my own mind.