How do you choose your rolling partners?

**new2bjj** · Posted On: 7/05/2006 10:41pm

By scent.

**Oscar Goldman** · Posted On: 7/06/2006 12:16am

In order of preference:

1) More skilled than me, any size

2) Evenly matched - these are my favorite, like 6 mo. to one year guys who are a size / strength match. I have a couple guys that it's brutal to roll with because we can't submit one another and these are the rolls that keep me pumped up about this sport.

3) Less skilled, my size or smaller / weaker, preferably smalller / weaker. I just relax and take it easy on these people, try to give them some good looks to try stuff, try to be a good guy and not use strength or practice my pins on someone I have 30 lbs. on.

4) Less skilled, larger - I'm in my late 30s and these are the fucking clowns that going to have me limping after my kids for the rest of my life. I avoid these fuckers like the plague since the first 240 pounder with 3 weeks who tried to kneebar me because he "saw it on UFC" (I'm 185 and skinny). Leg locks and rear naked face cranks galore.

:wrestlerb

**huge** · Posted On: 7/09/2006 11:07am

How do you choose your rolling partners?

Easy. I look for the slowest and sickest and generally wait untilthey fall behind the rest of the herd... no, wait... that's how I hunt Zebras.

I get paired by the instructor

**Method2Madness** · Posted On: 7/09/2006 1:12pm

I roll with whoever is free at the moment, we only get about 30 seconds to get a rolling partner. I usually will try to work in a blue belt and a purple belt (if there are any around and if they arent taken yet).

**MadeOfOlives** · Posted On: 7/19/2006 11:40am

I always like to go with someone who is much better for the first round, as having to defend things from the get go seems to improve my whole game, rather than going with someone who I can coast with.

That's my only trick. After that I tend to go with whoever is opposite me in the rotation (we go in a circle).

**chaosexmachina** · Posted On: 7/19/2006 5:13pm

My choices are completely random everytime.

**pauli** · Posted On: 7/24/2006 10:57am

Originally Posted by theraydiator

There are rarely so many people at class that I can't roll with everyone. Generally, it's the instructor, me, and 2 other dudes. So that's a round-robin right there.

I'm 160# and my partners/instructor probably range from 180-210. There's 1 guy that's 150, and we tend to roll super-fast compared to me rolling w/ the heavier guys.

I like rolling with guys that are bigger than me. My reasoning: I always feel like I'm not getting that many subs/reversals anyway, and when I get them on the bigger dudes I feel more like I've accomplished something.

Since I generally roll w/ heavier guys I'm almost always on the bottom, and I get most of my subs from the Guard. Also, I feel like I'm tempering myself against the pressure of constantly being knee-ridden and smothered by big guys. I've definitely gotten better at managing the other guy's weight, b/c nothing's worse than getting tired and then having to deal with 220# on my 160# chest.

edit:: Now that I think about it, the other small guy is always on the bottom too. And as a result, we tend to get stuck in the others' guard a lot. I have trouble passing his guard and maintaining dominant top positions and he has the same problem with me - we mostly submit each other from the guard... maybe we're both over-doing it with playing the bottom

virtually identical to my situation. except i don't normally have anyone my size. consequently, when i can get them, my favorite partners are a few students who are smaller than i am, and a few that are larger but less experienced. the former let me work on being more technical, the latter are simply fair fights.

my favorite partner (on the rare times we're at the same class) is a 14 year old kid who has just passed me in weight (but not height). given his age, i can't use a lot of my more effective subs - cervical attacks. he gets slightly confused when i guillotine him and just let go, rather than crank it. i try out things that i've been taught but can't possibly use on anybody else. it's also a time when i practice not muscling techniques.

got another guy who just recently came back after like four months... he's several inches shorter than i am and about 30lbs lighter; prototypical high school/college wrestler, now around 30 i'd guess. he's a match for me strength wise, and he's faster, but i have more reach and experience.

most of my partners are a couple inches taller and 30-50lbs heavier than i am. a lot of these guys have several years more experience than i do, so i end up just focusing on defense. when i get a submission, it's generally ugly.

lately (well, before i got injured), my regular classes had shrunk to just me and the instructor... so twice a week, i'd roll with the black belt for 45 minutes. it usually devolved into him tying me up with my own belt, but it's a hell of a work out...