How to Grapple a Larger Opponent - Coach Zahabi vs 220lbs Purple Belt

In this video I do a roll narration and highlight some of the key concepts I believe will help you when rolling with a larger opponent.

[@dmfaccount1272]

I was grappling a 310 pound purple belt the other day. My strategy was to tap a lot really quickly.

[@andrewgiegerich5526]

Or just be quicker . . . You didn't grapple a 310 pound man with 5 % body fat

[@dylanwagner1162]

Lol

[@fatemahshatar1059]

😂😂😂

[@roberthaskell2983]

I'm gonna use that tonight

[@SaftonYT]

@Andrew Giegerich That doesn't mean the bigger guy was an incompetent grappler. No need to try and flex on/shame a guy who was making a self-deprecating joke. "Be quicker"... lmao.

[@edlye7694]

1. Have the underhook on the arm or leg when you're holding them down on the mat 2. Never let them control your ankles or wrist (hide them) 3. Try the inverted guard - use your speed of transition as an advantage (change back and forth quickly) 4. Go for leg locks (most powerful) or take the back (most secure) to submit them As a 57kg (125lb) guy who's always going up against bigger and stronger guys, this is really helpful. Thanks Coach Firas! Been watching lots of your videos lately. Bonus: that scissor takedown was awesome! Gonna try it myself.

[@mrsorg87]

"Thanks! As a 145 (66kg) I'll keep this concepts in mind, very helpful, oss.

[@CoachZahabi]

Oss

[@erukun3055]

Hi fellow 145

[@mattmgarza]

Zahabi has the BEST analysis. This is such a great learning tool. Thank you, sir!

[@mrkalesia87]

I just search for something similar and it just came up like 3 seconds later as a notification. Thank you magic person from the future

[@CoachZahabi]

Glad to hear it!!!

[@kcwliew]

I've made a promise to myself to spend 6 months at Tristar after getting my blue belt... hope that's possible - keep making these videos, they are amazing! Osss!

[@farrmma9872]

4 Dislikes from 4 Large Grapplers... lol

[@FR-ty5vn]

Farr MMA hhhhaaaaa!!

[@rasalghul9331]

LOL!

[@lancegorman6043]

Every single time. Every video. I'm blown away. Thank you! 🙏

[@blazeupdaclown]

Man those little details are so hard to get down and so important. Thats what separates good coaches from great coaches. To be pushed to learn and use these tiny details changes your game dramatically. Good shit mane

[@alexandred3135]

I am considering the move to Montreal just to train under that quality of a coach... Love your view on the fighting game

[@Hacimoto]

when i grow up i want to be chocked by firas.....#lifegoals

[@TheSureshot626]

Go to one of his seminars. He'll straight up kill you haha trust me

[@amnfox]

Crazy how much skill you got. Making this man look like a baby. Definitely levels.

[@chemclimber]

Lawnmower escape to torreandor guard pass was so slick! Great video

[@kdb560]

Soooo helpful, thank you for these tips!! I’m an old man and everyone at the Club is bigger and stronger than me, so I’m hoping I can apply these tips to help me survive. 👍

[@steelmember6326]

tapped the like button, before watching vid. Its coach, you know you'll learn something important.

[@meowmeowone8479]

Legit, 2 Legit. Meow dreams of going to TriStar but Meow lives in Toronto. Maybe, one day, Meow may.

[@UserName-ii1ce]

Huh

[@falkreathguard7895]

tf

[@kuya49z]

the meow brothers and their berimbolos

[@TheBoufhead]

@@kuya49z underrated reply, dude. Deserves more thumbs up haha

[@MrPhilipRoberts]

Alex?

[@tomneedham9965]

Firas, Those are some great concepts for grappling the bigger guys. Appreciate your knowledge sharing! Thank you.

[@jackdaniels2905]

Thank you Master Zahabi!! Love these well explained videos!

[@StreetzSweeper]

Been missing your instructional videos. Please keep up the good work!

[@marcuslorenzo9705]

Coach! Underhooking the leg is arguably the most essential pinning combination we learn from young. Pinning = Dominant Position = Full Control. As you already have said and know...this is one of the principles which make Wrestling so key to BJJ. =] Enjoy your day coach!

[@rivhaaken9763]

"Very big, strong guy" ... Here is me passing the guard. Firas is just amazing! 💪

[@ericcraig3875]

Great points on the heel hook. Awesome technique all around.

[@pipokatz]

Incredible! I was missing these kind of videos so much!

[@crroyalflush]

As the big guy in my class at 230, I'm about to compete at Pans as a brown belt in the ultra heavy division, this was a great video man! I like your style game but also your explanation of the why.

[@AstenRegisTheFlipside]

Great video, love the detailed breakdown. Thanks coach

[@ashigaramii__]

PLEASE make that video about the grip breaks! I lost my last comp to a guy who was able to control my ankles and pass my guard eventually leading to an arm triangle win for him.

[@BJiuJitsuTV]

I love watching the narrated rolls. That inspired me to start my channel. Thanks for the insight!

[@bodhitree33]

I love these break downs.

[@kanekauai]

Thank you sir! I have been having a hard tome with larger opponents on my gym. Gonna implement the inverted guard!

[@ShoesMagoo]

Highly anticipated content, as always. Never disappoints. Wish I could move to Montreal and train full time at ***!

[@shaynegreen]

Would love to see more of these live training analysis videos. Great stuff!

[@rossmitchell6784]

This is gold, and something I needed to see... shame it was 4 hours 27min too late for today, lol.

[@trinidadraj152]

Cool ankle scissor takedown. You're a creative man.

[@HumbleFishStix]

That missed bump at the beginning hurts me

[@baewuf]

Inverts guard -> proceeds to sledgehammer balls

[@kirkd81]

You make inverted guard look so easy 👊🏼

[@DanPonjican]

Excellent video! I need to work on all these points with bigger guys. Thank you for the awesome content!

[@vikingjiujitsu7645]

Thank u for this im 155 whitebelt and one of my favorite rolling partners is a 260 lb purple belt. Oss

[@MrStrikeforce1987]

Great video and I learned a lot from it (especially the sweet kimura detail). One issue I have though is going inverted vs bigger opponents seems like it would be risky to your neck. I know ideally you roll across your shoulders and don't stay inverted for long but in rolling not everything goes to plan. A big guy moving quickly and you moving wrong while inverted seems very risky to your spine. Perhaps you could provide some insight coach :)

[@CoachZahabi]

Ive never had that issue but I have definitely heard that complain before. I think maybe its a flexibility issue. I suggest inverting guard drills as a warm up (Increasing flexibility) before class and I believe that should resolve you issue.

[@jasonjean2901]

I am a 6'2" 320lbs blue belt and I frequently roll with another 6'3" 180lbs blue belt who likes to invert when we roll. When we first started rolling as white belts, he would invert and I would smash him until I could hold him in place and pressure pass his guard. Our instructor was always telling him not to invert his guard when rolling with me but he's 20-years-old and still thinks he is invincible. What eventually happened is I stopped smashing him when he would invert his guard (I like having training partners) and now I try to find other ways of passing.

[@saadoa4969]

Chokran Firas for the free content !

[@gregstokes7169]

Man, thanks so much for sharing. Love your stuff. Salute brother !

[@tknyte]

Been looking for exactly this. Thanks! btw the volume needs to be a smidge higher on your mic. Great vid!

[@kevint18]

Your content is amazing Firas. Thanks for these

[@Pandusauce]

Can't wait to come train at Tristar, learn so much from just the videos

[@darxcide7375]

Great breakdown as always Firas

[@bobblehead2k8]

Thanks for the vids firas! Legit learn a lot of stuff from these videos

[@michaelcorcoran3942]

THANK YOU soooooo much Mista Coach Zahabi. Really helpful stuff to burn into my brain. Cheers from Ireland hope to train with you some day :) Oss

[@CoachZahabi]

My pleasure and yes hope you come visit!

[@pavelryabchuk4876]

Thanks! Now waiting for the grip breaking video you mentioned

[@markhenderson3771]

Thank you so much for the detail. Great narration and freezing frames. FYI, with both wearing black, it’s hard to see some moves.

[@teamgitusome]

thank you for this study my brother Firas

[@mohamedosman3845]

I was waiting for a video of this kind

[@jesbar2183]

You're the king Firas thank you!

[@CoachZahabi]

jes bar lol thank u

[@lloydchristmas4547]

Excellent information. Thanks.

[@harryhardwick3267]

I do go for that ankle scissor in training a fair bit, I found making a plan for when or if it fails (I mostly chain to single legs) gave me a lot more confidence to go for it and experiment with it

[@joshdoe7288]

I've actually used the leg scissor sweep before but haven't really seen very many other ppl use it or teach it. I'm about 125 or 130 5'9 so I'm a lot lighter than the guys I train wth they're all about 160 and up so I always have a lot of trouble taking them down with single legs but the leg scissor usually works for me because like you said I can drop a lot quicker than them and I've found that other people struggle with the leg scissor sweep because they're getting one leg on the inside and one on the outside then they're trying to use their thigh muscles to sweep the leg out from under them but it's not a sweep of the leg that takes them down it's you turning towards them. Your inner leg is trapping theirs and your outer leg is coming up at an angle behind they back if their knee pushing it and making it buckle. So its more like you're twisting the leg so they have to bend it not so much sweeping it. I'm sure if you're going against someone more your wait you could just sweep it but that hasn't worked for me

[@jaygrambling79]

Love your videos...thanks for all the great tips. I'm not a super huge guy...I have a little wait and strength on most my of classmates including my instructor, but when he takes my back it makes it almost impossible to leverage my strength advantage...just as you described. Thanks for the detail on the ankle being in the armpit of the opponent to finish the kimura. Also, the ankle scissor looks like a great move although I know you said people have trouble with it. It doesn't look that complicated, but maybe it's one of those moves that's harder than it looks.

[@romesk814]

I really can't wait to reach my mma dream n train wit Zahabi,Rory n George and be a part of tri star i swear,just wait ill see yall soon i promise/swear💯😤

[@michaelcorcoran3942]

Yes do it man..I had my dream and now I train at SBG Ireland.

[@erukun3055]

Are you italian?

[@efficiencyjiujitsu417bjj2]

Excellent video and narration!

[@Windbend3r]

I rolled with a AZ wrestling state champ who had a lot of weight on me. Popped my rib and now I can go live for a month 😢😭

[@DykuNKE]

Great . I waiting for this long time .I love this chanel .

[@timr8456]

9:45 Learned that in on of my first few classes recently (just started BJJ). Cool to see

[@wingoreviewsboxingandmma3667]

I understand that move at 6:40. It's a snap down variation. I hit this in other ways to especially the armdrag.

[@juliand4442]

Love going north south on a bigger guy staying heavy and working for that Kimura/armbar

[@highsoflyify]

I also like going north south. You are far away from his hip bump and he can´t bench press you over from there but getting armbars is really difficult when they have very strong arms

[@olemew]

Some key concepts I liked: 2:50 leg circles, keep your ankles free 3:40 advantange of being smaller -> quick transitions e.g. inverted guard 7:25 rear naked choke (RNC) against bigger opponents

[@matthewmanetti8560]

:03 seconds in, you left that dude hanging on the fist-bump! hahaha

[@jonmiller948]

Correction. There are 26 bones in the foot.

[@riccikalaya4614]

Thank you Mr. Zahabi!

[@lauca6969]

High level details for free . Thanks mate

[@juangjj3830]

Thankyou from argentina .coach firaz!!!!

[@CoachZahabi]

Gracias hermano!

[@juangjj3830]

Tristar Gym thanks for your hospitality in rio!!!!always grateful!

[@aldoavila8059]

Thanks a lot for al this info coach im having trouble rolling with these bigger guys

[@tylerjack4290]

This was very helpful thank you

[@fabledogify]

Thank Firas! Truly

[@matthewlaplant8919]

I’m a bigger guy constantly trying to not just muscle my way out of situations. Any videos from the bigger guys perspective would be appreciated.

[@John2corner]

Mr. LaPlant bigger guys do not dederve videos that favor them!

[@CoachZahabi]

Hmm I think we would need a good plus size BJJ black belt for that.

[@shevb]

Just do exactly what Firas is saying lol. Combine the techniques in these videos with your size advantage and you’re good to go

[@matthewlaplant8919]

Tristar Gym Wow! I just went from being a big guy (6-3 245) to plus sized. Thanks for fat shaming me coach ;)

[@thelister4910]

Yeah, then how about a video on how to beat a slower, less skilled opponent?

[@SauceMario]

In professional wrestling, they usually called that a drop toe hold if I remember correctly.

[@SauceMario]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2ikdGhplJtgbKM

[@agl9591]

What about the Walls of Jericho?

[@nitishranjan2451]

please make a detailed video on mount escape against a bigger and heavier opponent .

[@EthanPowellMMA]

Guy he's rolling with fist bumps the air right at the beginning LOL

[@TheElThomaso]

Greta video, thanks so much for sharing! Maybe you could make a series out of it (specific strategies and moves against bigher guys). Also loved the one you posted about flexible opponents a while back.

[@zakidakkak1416]

Coach Firas can you make a video on takedowns against larger opponents??

[@aaronsimpson5417]

Zaki Dakkak Angles angles. When you shoot, don’t ride train tracks. The sprawl will make you pay. If you turn the corner on single legs you will be more successful

[@jonathanwilliams1746]

Genius

[@renegarza793]

“Do not do try any fancy counters “ lol

[@brettgainsford3208]

great video!! off topic and probably a lame question but I'm so curious, who is a better grappler out of you and GSP? can u make a video of that roll?

[@insidetrip101]

Could you give a match where Kendall Cross uses that "ankle scissor" technique?

[@oftankoftan]

FYI The foot has 26 bones.

[@CoachZahabi]

KallaMigCP lol yes sir I caught that mistake also lol I miss spoke.

[@howdyho4807]

And the heel hook does nothing to anything of them. It's an attack on the knee, despite where all the work to get the sub is done

[@impulsive1252]

@@howdyho4807 Wrong, a heel hook targets the knee but it certainly can also blow out the opponents ankle, especially an outside heel hook.

[@frknlazy]

Thank you for posting this

[@pseudonym7606]

this was so awesome, thank you

[@vadimyakus]

I am a big guy: 6'3" 215lbs (white BJJ belt with green belt in Judo) and I have to say that rolling with medium size brown belt guys is my nightmare. The way they always capitalize on any openings I give them by mistake and create very tough situations for me so easily is simply pissing me off LOL

[@colet1096]

Your ankle scissor is like a baseball slide takedown in CACC

[@seinundzeiten]

Such amazing tutorials! You give better instructions than real-life jiu jitsu gyms...

[@danielcho3270]

Very nice! Thanks for the vid.

[@sa7828]

Thank you, Coach!

[@FR-ty5vn]

Fantastic video - superb guidance - I have found success against bigger, stronger opponents with ankle locks & wristlocks, occasionally a guillotine or loop choke standing or on knees - what do you think of wristlocks, hard to get but very effective imho - maybe a go to like ankle locks against bigger opponents?

[@GalenWillettMusic]

Is circling/pumping the legs like that allowed? It is almost kicking. If the opponent tried to do jiu-jitsu to you, he’d get kicked. Seems like a good way to accidentally kick the opponent, hurting a training partner or getting you disqualified in competition.

[@rjturbo3371]

Larger opponent vs me = Rubber Gaurd😈

[@jarrettpierce5626]

how is this video edited to use the drawing function??? dont see it in imovie, thanks

[@spencerdean4181]

Thanks for the great vid! If i could make a video request, I would love to see how to transition from the thai frame blocks into the clinch. Thanks again!

[@t.r3400]

What's up coach Zahabi! I'm meeting you one day!

[@dimecanal]

the first thing i would do if i go to canada is to train at tristar , its literally one of my goals in life

[@wbuffet3856]

Mind blowing details, will you be doing more narration videos soon?

[@johntodds2555]

Where's that's video of firass wrestling that huge Iranian wrestler I cant find it

[@JN-kk4nk]

Great video Thanks coach Oss