fighting the big men: Some of the most impressive wins in the short history of the squad came in their many outings against bigger and stronger opponents in open weight divisions or super fights. There is no clearly sign of the worth of a training program in jiu jitsu than the production of athletes who can take on high level opponents who have a big size and strength advantage and consistently win. In my experience THE TWO BEST MEANS TO SUCCESSFULLY ATTACK BIGGER, STRONGER OPPONENTS IS TO ATTACK THE LEGS AND back. Whilst I encourage my students to train to attack the whole body, these stand out in my opinion as best in allowing a smaller athlete to take advantage of the innate weaknesses of the human body to a greater degree than any others. A very fine example of this attitude was on display when squad member, Garry Tonon took on heavyweight world champion Luiz Panza – a man known for impressive physical strength which, in conjunction with good technique, allows him to exert tremendous breaking pressure with Achilles lock variations. The clash took place under IBJJF rules at the no gi world championships, so heel hooks, one of our signature moves, were illegal. Mr Tonon immediately went into a battle for the feet, taking on Mr Panza at his speciality- the Achilles lock. A deadlock occurred, so Mr Tonon slipped behind his bigger opponent and took the back. Once there, he was able to take advantage of the fact that the human body is well adapted to deal with threats from the front, but much less so to deal with threats from the rear. Very quickly he was able to slip in a well applied stranglehold and take a fine victory. This was an important match for Mr Tonon's development. He had always been a good scrambler to the back, but learning to UNIFY weapons – leg attacks and back attacks – greatly increases their effectiveness. REMEMBER ALWAYS THAT THE HUMAN BODY IS FULL OF ASYMMETRIES – AS SUCH SOME AREAS WILL BE WEAKER OR MORE VULNERABLE THAN OTHERS. If you wish to defeat a stronger opponent, knowledge of these asymmetrical elements and how they relate to the techniques and tactics of the sport is the key to success.
