Sparring: What I Have Learned as a Short Fighter

Every time I go to a new dojo, someone says something about my height. I’m doing aikido now, and one of the first things the sensei told me was that aikido is good for short people because height and strength are not as important. As a short fighter, I thought I might share a little bit of my experiences in sparring. Keep in mind that I am only a green belt in karate, and if your sensei says something to the contrary of what I write here, trust your sensei. Also, these tips are based on KARATE sparring sessions. I’ve fought some Muay Thai guys, and maybe it’s because they were twice my weight, but some of my usual techniques didn’t work.

I think I’ve been very lucky because my karate sensei isn’t so tall himself, so every now and then he’ll come over and say, “You’ve got short stubby legs like me, so here’s some advice…” Several times he’s told me I’m too short to do a particular kata, and it only makes me laugh.

Kicking:
Being the shorter person in a sparring match means you have to be brave. You might be afraid to get close enough for the other person to kick you because you know that you can’t kick back from too far away. However, think about this. A kick’s power comes in part from the distance the foot/shin travels before it hits you. Think of trying to kick someone who’s standing a foot away from you. Pretty hard, right? Not as effective? Thus, when fighting a taller person, I recommend getting in close. Sure, you’ll take some kicks, but they’ll have less power the closer you are, and you’ll then be close enough for your kicks to be effective.

Get in and get out:
Last year when I went back to karate after a summer of jiu jitsu and frequent running, I was a powerhouse. Not as in totally built, but I had tons of energy for every fight. And I was extremely aggressive, so it wasn’t until my second semester, when I had lost that energy (hard to go running when it’s snowing and I have homework to do), that I realized I’d been relying too much on my stamina. That’s when a Muay Thai guy gave me some advice (from one short person to another): Get in there, get some shots off, and get out. When I fought a tall person, I had the tendency to get in close – and never leave. This was bad because it meant I lost a lot of energy and had little recovery time. So, a smart game plan would be to circle around the ring, bide your time, dodge a bit, and then move in close for your combo attack, then get out and keep your distance. It’s good for recovering, but beware: not every fighter is going to let you go so easily.

Center of gravity:
If you’re shorter, you probably have a lower center of gravity than your opponent. This means that your opponent will have a harder time throwing you, and you’ll have an easier time throwing him/her. Take advantage of this. Learn some throws. Learn how to drop your weight to avoid being thrown.

Beware going to the ground:
If you’re short, you might be small, too. If you are fighting someone heavier than you, who knows jiu jitsu, avoid getting taken to the ground. Even though I learned some jiu jitsu, I eventually got fed up with it because it was just impossible for me to do anything with a guy who weighed 100 more pounds than I did sitting on top of me.

My old instructor told me that it took one of his classmates a year to make someone tap because of the kind of competition they had in their dojo, but if jiu jitsu isn’t your thing, I really don’t encourage doing it. I think it’s an intimate sport with a lot of potential for injury (I wrecked my shoulder my first year, and my sensei cracked two ribs just rolling with someone). Learn how to defend yourself and get back on your feet. Learn to recognize moves and get out of them. And remember, even if you don’t recognize the move, and something hurts, TAP. I tapped once after getting stacked, just because I felt like my neck was about to snap. You can never be too careful.

Don’t underestimate people underestimating you:
This may be more for meeting new fighters than actually fighting them. Or not. I’m not sure. But anyway, here’s an example. Coming to aikido the first time, my sensei first thought I was in middle school (it took some guessing to figure out I was in college) and assumed when I told him that I did karate at school that it was just a couple of months. Later I did tell him I was a green belt, and at one point in class, when a girl winced at how hard my one-hand blocks were, he said about me, “Look at this girl – did you know she was a green belt before? On the street, if you meet someone, how are you going to know if they’re a black belt?” I guess this is more of a story of reminding you to never underestimate your opponent (I was once fighting a 6′ tall guy, and literally standing a foot away from me, he kicked me in the face…gently, because he was a black belt), but I think it can work the other way, too. If you notice your opponent making mistakes because he or she has underestimated you, take advantage of it. Don’t let their stereotyping make you feel like you should conform to some stereotype of what a short fighter is (it’s a psychological thing…like self-fulfilling prophecy). Do your best.

Oh, and last but not least, a tip for point-fighting:
As soon as they say, “Hajime/Start,” MOVE!! If the other guy is taller, he can hit you sooner than you can hit him. So either get going with an attack or get out of the way. I’ve lost too many points because I’ve forgotten to take into account the other person’s range. And it seems to me a good deal of point-fighting depends on the first move. So move.

Okay, those are my thoughts. Questions/comments/corrections/tips are welcome (after all, I’m still learning too). Good luck!

 

Shoulder Injury Update

A while ago I wrote about a shoulder injury I’d gotten (way back in November ‘07), and I got a few concerned comments, so I thought I’d update!

My shoulder is almost better. I re-injured it – obviously – during our karate promotion, though not to the extent that it was the first time. I basically have my full range of motion back. The bad thing is I spent all of January not doing ANYTHING with it, because even doing a couple weights made it hurt, or even going on an elliptical. Now that I’m back at karate, I’m trying to build up muscle there again (not like I had much to begin with anyway) so that push-ups don’t kill me so bad. But you know what’s worse? Jumping jacks. Getting my arm to go above my head was the hardest part of recovery. I should be going to see the school’s trainer soon to get advice on some rehab exercises, but I’m almost better! As in, I can actually sleep on my shoulder at night. Though when I stretch it (esp. rotate it) I can hear tons of popping noises; my doctor says it’s cause the muscles aren’t exactly balanced yet (overcompensating…not moving enough…something like that).

As for going back to jiu jitsu, I feel SO guilty because I haven’t gone back (but how dumb would I be to go back before I’m fully healed?). I’m hoping to go back after spring break, maybe once a week. I think I really want to take judo (although it hurts like hell to get thrown) to take advantage of my being so short (lower center of gravity, yo!). And jiu jitsu – well, I think I haven’t gotten as much as I could have out of that class, since I can’t do much during a fight. BUT the nice thing is that learning the moves teaches me at the same time how to get out of them and to expect them, even though it’s really frustrating to not be able to do stuff (esp. because, I think, brute strength might compensate for my shortness, but I haven’t got that).

In other news: We’re doing a lot of Muay Thai now, including the clinch, and knee and elbow strikes. We’re supposed to be balanced fighters, though we got ripped apart today for slacking off on our Isshinryu basics – because, that’s what we’re there to train for.

 

Yet another injury…

Well, unfortunately, I have to add to my chronicles of injuries yet again. This is for you all to be wary and extra careful…

Okay, so I’m a small person, not extremely strong, not made of steel.

I got put into a double arm bar during jiu jitsu, which involves the other guy squeezing me at the shoulders with his knees to trap me and then grabbing one of my arms and doing an arm bar (with that single arm – he stressed that a double arm bar is in fact NOT a double arm bar). Problem was, he never got to grabbing my arm because something inside the left side of my chest made a crushing/popping sound. No pain at first, just a weird, nauseous feeling almost. Half an hour later I couldn’t move my left arm without pain. I spent the entire night awake from the pain, too stubborn to go to the hospital. In the morning, I went to our college’s health center and was diagnosed with a shoulder strain (thankfully not a shoulder separation, which is what I feared, though I had no bruising or visible swelling) and whiplash symptoms.

Fucking whiplash. That’s the worst part. Trying to move my arm and having the whole back of my neck freak out with pain. Apparently, I’ve only got soft tissue damage, and what probably happened was that all the muscles spasmed up to my neck when I strained my shoulder, resulting in whiplash.

I wanted to ask my doctor when I can go back to karate (thankfully I have a week off before classes start again) but I was scared of the answer I’d get. I think once my neck gets better I’ll be good to go and do at least some stuff. And once I can lift my arm above my head I’ll be completely better =D I’m pretty sure I didn’t hurt any muscles in my arm at least…my upper back might be another story…

Anyway, I’m thinking about quitting jiu jitsu. Yes, I know it’s a coward’s way out to quit once the going gets tough, but I’ve reasoned it out as 1) I’m too small to pull off most of the moves (I can’t hold a guard, can’t do a triangle, and I pull the muscles in my legs a lot just trying to do some stuff – basically, the only thing I’m good at is defending myself) 2) I’m too light (everyone else in the class is heavier for sure) 3) the other guys have nearly crushed me several times (and once I had to tap because I thought a guy, after he’d stacked me, was about to snap my neck just by trying to pass my guard) 4) I care more about karate, and if I’m going to get seriously injured, I’d rather it be from karate.

 

Awkward…

Once again, it’s super late at night (2:48 am) and I’m blogging about stupid stuff… But anyway, we recently got to order our jiu jitsu gis, and I was so excited, but confused about what size I should get. My meaning being that I don’t exactly weigh what I should theoretically weigh at my height (I blame it on indigenous bone structure and muscle and a heart of stone), so I didn’t know whether to go by size or weight. So I asked our club president what I should do, and she just asked me how tall I was. So I said 5. She said, Five what? So I said, Five.

Just five?

Just five.

And she gave me a look as if she had learned something brand new about me, as if she saw me in a different light. As if to say…she’s shorter than I thought!

Well, the truth is, I’m actually 5′ 1/2″.

 

Stretch Marks from Jiu Jitsu?

A while ago, I blogged about the spiderweb of bloody lines I had gotten on my shoulders after doing jiu jitsu. After searching the web, I had concluded that this was rotator cuff tendonitis/shoulder bursitis because my shoulders were sore and the skin was very warm.

Recently, I went to my doctor for a check-up and mentioned the red lines that appeared on my shoulders. By then, they’d gone (although they return every now and then), and he told me with surety that they had been stretch marks. Then I told him I’d gotten them after doing jiu jitsu, and again he told me they were stretch marks. STRETCH MARKS? Aren’t stretch marks WHITE? Don’t they not disappear?

Now I’ve got a sliver of a red “stretch mark” on my shoulder since I went back to jiu jitsu yesterday (damn, I’m in love with this sport). Is there something I’m missing here? Are there different kinds of stretch marks – like, ones that aren’t associated with gaining weight/rapid muscle gain – like, ones that aren’t white? Or is my doctor bullshitting me like he did when I sprained my ankle?

Oh, and I’m wearing a knee brace now, and there’s no way I’m going back to him for advice. I think I’d rather see a doctor who knows what he’s doing.

But, if I’m wrong, and you know for sure that jiu jitsu gives you stretch marks on your shoulders that eventually disappear, please let me know so I can renew my faith in this doctor I’ve been seeing for years.

Thankies.

P.S. In other news, I got promoted to yellow stripe before the summer ended! But now I’m back to white since I’m at another jiu jitsu school TT_TT hehe, ah well.

 

Jiu Jitsu Aches

Arghh! I started doing jiu jitsu about a month ago, maybe a little less, and it’s fun all right, though it’s weird to be so much smaller than everyone else. They always treat me like I’m made of glass. Hate putting me in chokeholds. It’s HILARIOUS because I never hold back on them. But…one time some guy sat on my chest and I thought my rib cage would be crushed, so I suppose it was very, very kind of him to not put his whole weight on me. Or else I’d be dead. But, what I wish I’d been warned about when I signed up, was the damage my shoulders were gonna take. I think I have rotator cuff tendonitis/shoulder bursitis ’cause they’re way sore and I woke up one day with a whole bunch of broken blood vessels visible through my skin (now normally that would translate into a bruise, but there was no bruise, just this net of bloody lines under my skin). So I’ve been making sure to ice my shoulders – anything to not go to the doctor – but I thought only the stress of jiu jitsu would make them hurt, but they’ve been burning since I came back from my dance class. No pain, no gain, right? but I don’t think messing up my body is worth it. I already have to wear an ankle brace (although that’s for preventative measures, not because something is seriously wrong there) and I don’t want to end up like other guys who mess up their knees, elbows, thighs… I can see that it’s hard to be a martial artist, but one should avoid permanent damage at all costs. Which is why I sometimes have trouble understanding how someone could do Ultimate Fighting. But then I remember why I would do it if it were my thing.

Still, I like jiu jitsu. It’s incredibly different from karate. You have to use muscles you might not normally focus on in karate, and there’s an increased emphasis on the hips. Last class I realized that because when you’re grappling you’re often on your back on the floor or on top of someone, different physics come into play than when you’re just fighting someone standing up. With your back on the floor, you can use that to your advantage, and during a fight, I used gravity to make myself heavier to keep a guy from getting out of my guard. One of the instructors explained that when you’re on someone, you can only use your weight to keep them pinned (not force, I guess, unless you’re doing MMA and are striking), which was pretty interesting. Still, I think there’s a difference between putting your weight on someone and really putting your weight on someone (like dead weight). I experienced the difference when I did carries in karate, and I don’t know how it works but it does…