Are skinny guys stereotyped as weak in a mixed match?

[Mr Businessman]

I think they are. I mean some skinny guys are just uber strong. I remember watching a Gladiators episode and they had a big Gladiator wrestle a skinny man on a platform. Whoever threw the otter one off won, and the skinny guy just overpowered him. Well it was quite surprising.

And fat guys portrayed as "mismatched" against females. Not all fat guys are sloppy, I've seen some fat dudes bench much more than bodybuilders. Some I know kill at bench press.

[sleepinbin]

well, in the vast majority of cases, mixed matches that are being filmed will be at best semi-competitive and usually scripted fantasy, so i think guys in general are stereotyped as being weak - kind of a neccessity of the genre! 

[sammy_scuffles]

well, in the vast majority of cases, mixed matches that are being filmed will be at best semi-competitive and usually scripted fantasy, so i think guys in general are stereotyped as being weak - kind of a neccessity of the genre! 

It's only necessity because all you guys like the wrong thing. Sheesh!

But yeah, the whole point of most "mixed fighting" videos is for the guy to appear weak and the girl to appear strong. Isn't that fairly obvious?

[Ronald_Frump]

It's only necessity because all you guys like the wrong thing. Sheesh!

Spoilsport!

To answer the OP's question, yes. But remember this....for every skinny or fat strong guy you know, there are a dozen skinny nerdy geeks, or fat "bloaters", who would get their ass handed to them by a strong, skilled girl.

Now THAT'S what I call "obvious!"

 

 

[desertgoodguy]

Sorta like me lololol

[Mr Businessman]

It's only necessity because all you guys like the wrong thing. Sheesh!

Spoilsport!

To answer the OP's question, yes. But remember this....for every skinny or fat strong guy you know, there are a dozen skinny nerdy geeks, or fat "bloaters", who would get their ass handed to them by a strong, skilled girl.

Now THAT'S what I call "obvious!"

 

But there are also fat men and skinny men that could beat strong, skilled women

[DiabloNYC]

I think they are. I mean some skinny guys are just uber strong. [...]

And fat guys portrayed as "mismatched" against females. Not all fat guys are sloppy, I've seen some fat dudes bench much more than bodybuilders. Some I know kill at bench press.

What sort of heights are we talking about here?  What sort of ages?

Do you mean tall and skinny?  Or do you mean gymnast size/build?  Do you mean "wrestler cutting weight" skinny?  Or do you mean yoga-guy skinny?

As for fat guys - there are so many types of fat guys!  Do we mean clinically overweight or clinically obese?  Is the fat guy currently a 19-year-old American football linebacker?  Or is he a 50-year old who was last active when he was playing football at age 19?

Is the fat guy a powerlifter?  A strong-man contest competitor?  An off-season bodybuilder?  Or is he just a food-lover?  Or an ex-jock?

These sorts of variables make a huge difference when it comes to these sorts of matters!

[DiabloNYC]

We must also keep in mind that there are different types of physical strength.  Here's a very simple article, if anyone would like some jump-off info: http://www.oneresult.com/articles/training/developing-different-types-strength

There are types such as relative strength (moving your own body weight), max strength (force with no accounting for time), and explosive strength (most force in least amount of time).

Not all types of strength correspond directly with body size.  Since we are talking about men, consider male Olympic gymnasts and figure skaters.  Small, skinny guys, but have you seen them jump?  Do you understand the speed at which they move their bodies through the air?  Not even mentioning the precision with which they guide their movements.

More closely related: American school wrestlers.  These guys can be pretty tiny.  Some of them can look rather "skinny."  But the amount of relative strength and explosive strength their sport requires is impressive (they have to quickly move themselves and move their opponents).

How about fat guys?  Powerlifters and strong-men.  Max strength doesn't care too much about fatness.  As a matter of fact, in order to be able to lift really heavy, you need to keep your body well supplied with calories.  Granted, powerlifters and strong-men do need a fair degree of hypertrophy in their "diets" as well.

Hypertrophy.

It's always on everyone's minds.  In a nutshell, hypertrophy is the increase of a muscle's size.  Hypertrophy is the bread & butter of the bodybuilder.  However, training for hypertrophy is not the same as training for max strength, nor is it the same as training for explosive strength.

Training for hypertrophy is, as I explain it, training "metabolically."  Meanwhile, training for max strength and explosive strength are training "neuro-muscularly."  So, BIG MUSCLES are a "body" thing, but MAXIMALLY strong muscles and POWERFUL muscles are very much a nervous system thing.

Sorry, this is all very simplified, since I am trying to stay close to the topic!

SO!

Can someone be "skinny" and strong?  Of course!  Can someone be "fat" and strong?  Of course!  Can a "fat guy" be stronger than a bodybuilder?  Absolutely!  Especially if that bodybuilder is anywhere near to contest-shape (when, though they look "strong" with heavy muscle definition, due to weight cutting and dehydration, they are actually in a weakened state).

So, can a "skinny" guy plausibly out-wrestle a Gladiator (1980s-90s?) who most likely trains in a classic bodybuilder style?  Sure!  But, of course, it depends on who this skinny guy is, how he trains, and what sort of activities he does.

Ok, that was long, but it is an important topic to understand.

[DiabloNYC]

But are MOST "fat guys" and "skinny guys" school wrestlers, gymnasts, powerlifters, and strong-men?  Of course not!

So the question is "are skinny guys stereotyped... ?"  The answer is yes! 

[Mr Businessman]

But are MOST "fat guys" and "skinny guys" school wrestlers, gymnasts, powerlifters, and strong-men?  Of course not!

So the question is "are skinny guys stereotyped... ?"  The answer is yes! 

Put it this way I'll give you a few examples.

I knew a fat guy, the guy you'd see laying at home all day watching TV and playing X-Box. He did a bit of exercise but not much, however he was ridiculously strong. From first sight he looks slow and sloppy, but he wasn't. He out-ran me (and I was in much better shape) and a couple of my friends, don't know how but I think genetically his legs were extremely strong and muscular in comparison to the rest of his body. He was laid back generally but whenever his family was threatened or anything of the sort he wouldn't have it. He was a loose-canon.

And another skinny guy, he was skinny and had low bone density but he was simply very strong. When you look at him, you'd think "wimp" or "nerd" bit that wasn't the case AT ALL.

I keep hearing this "strong females" can beat "skinny, small men" and yes that can happen but there are skinny men that can beat strong females and they aren't wrestlers or anything.

[DiabloNYC]

I keep hearing this "strong females" can beat "skinny, small men" and yes that can happen but there are skinny men that can beat strong females and they aren't wrestlers or anything.

Just curious, where exactly do you keep hearing this?  Also, do you think the specific individuals that you know personally represent the specific demographic(s) you are asking about, as a whole?  That would be "skinny guys" and "fat guys."

But if, on average, one doesn't need to condition one's body at all in order to win fights and physical contests, then what are all those silly gym-going fighters wasting their time on?  Silly fighters!

But seriously, surely anyone can beat anyone on any given Sunday, even defying the odds and likelihoods.  Remember that Serra vs St-Pierre UFC fight....?

Anyway, it seems that the question you mean to ask is not "Are skinny guys stereotyped as weak in a mixed match?"  but rather "Can skinny guys *defy* the stereotype of being weak?"  If the latter is the case, then the answer is "Sure, why not!"  And as ever, I'm still curious about the heights, weights, and ages of the example gentlemen.

But since the context is "in a mixed match," one must ask - have you seen these example "skinny guys" be other than "weak" in a "mixed match"?  If so, that would be stereotype defying right there!

Also curious, what is the criteria for the "strong female" in this discussion?  Is age, height, weight, athletic history, and level of conditioning taken into account?  Is it a simple objective criteria like "can squat 200 lbs for 10 reps" or "can crush a 10-inch diameter watermelon between her thighs"?  So many variables, so little time!

[crushed4life]

I know what you're getting at 007, it's how some folks, (like me) prefer to see a guy on the skinny side in a mixed match because it makes it more believable in their minds anyway. So we might prefer to see a guy, say, Bruce Lee sized, rather than a bigger guy even though the smaller guy might be amazingly wiry and the big guy a complete dud...
I think its similar to how some guys perceive the FBBs compared to other female athletes...they'd rather see some 'roided up monster with zero endurance/wrestling skills and arthritic joints "destroy" some jobber than a competitive match with a skilled gal with normal testosterone levels 

[submitme]

From what I've seen, a lot of the skinny guys in mixed wrestling videos are guys who fantasize about being dominated by women; so generally they're hardly trying. Quite often you'll see these guys step past the girl, which is totally stupid. As soon as they do this, bang, rear choke. Time after time, they let the female get them in a body scissor, and they always get caught out. Even when you see a skinny smaller guy try to evade the girl, you never see him put her in a headscissor, choke hold or pin the female. If he fought all out competitive he may actually win a few bouts. This is what I want to see with wrestling, the guy fully trying.

I think the video makers do try to convey that skinny guys are weak. I'm still convinced they will beat girls at armwrestling. I can use my own experience to account for this. When I was 20, I was 5'4 and only 55kg/121lb. I wrestled a 6' female and she was huge, easily 90kg/200lb. I could barely move her, once she got me in a hold it was over. Yet I beat her in armwrestling, I've also beaten two other women one was also 6' and one was 5'9. The last female was muscular, and I had to really give it everything to put her down. I really don't think any female, aside from pro armwrestlers would beat me armwrestling. In all skinny guys are probably stereotyped. But the thing to note, is that while guys may be skinnier, and when comparing the legs of a female to be as large as both of his, you need to realize bodyfat content. These females if lean, would look considerably smaller. The weight advantage is a huge factor, which gives the impression the woman is stronger, but technically may not be true.