Big guys, defend yourselves at training.

Saw some guys get injured recently training and it recalled my younger days wrestling and rolling in BJJ when it was first getting popular.

If you are a BIG guy, aka heavyweight musculature, you will get it drummed into you not to use your strength too much, try not to use your weight.

Often as a big beginner you will roll with the coach, sensei or senior students firstly, since despite your size and/or strength they can handle you fairly easily without risk of you hurting another beginner. Or they watch carefull to ensure you can learn in a relaxed fashion without scaring the other club guys away.

That said, as a heavyweight I always suggest to big guys a few things to be aware of your own safety, because just as many injuries occur to big guys, as from big guys. This mostly applies to grappling but also to striking sports.

1. When wrestling lower strength and lower intensity as the coach requires still maintain 100% awareness. Because its when your moving lazy, you will think lazy, your body won't respond right and its then you will get a joint taken out by lax position, or being too slow to react to submissions etc.

2. You have the right to go as hard as the other guy does. Many a time as a big guy, when I would crosstrain another style like Judo or BJJ, I'd get the advanced white/blue belt types seek you out to roll with you. Now this is fine because a heavyweight is a great resource to have since it gives lighter guys a chance to really work their game. That said if you are beginner, maybe not sure what is going on, or the coach has said 'drill at 60% but this other guy is going crazy submissions at 100%" tell them to chill. You aren't anyone's trophy and if someone wants to make you one you have the right so say either "relax guy" or give him some curry back.

This goes back to point no.1 as well, maintain 100% awareness of what is happening.

3. You have the right not to be a training dummy for other students. Regardless of your size you aint anyones punching bag or throw dummy( at least not more than other students are). Its rarer these days with all the sports bodies and social media watching things, but it still does happen that big guys can be used as sparring meat for the club champ. Or even worse if you have a coach with a big ego and small brain, who wants to take you down to show off to his students periodically. If you are getting too hurt, or don't feel you know what is going on, just say stop and get out.

Again this wasn't any excuse for heavyweights to run amok on the mat. I think the majority of full contact styles have a pretty good handle on matching big and small beginners.

But its just a few points, again to give yourself the same right to keep yourself safe as anyone else does.

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Big guys, defend yourselves at training.