I wrote this about a month and a half ago, but thought it might be bad form to post it. But hearing recently in an interview that Minotauro considered armlocks "his specialty" got me thinking that maybe there was something to this post after all.
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It's been axiomatic that certain submission techniques in jiu jitsu are easier for certain people to perform compared to other techniques. The most common example is the idea that jiu jitsu fighters with longer legs tend to have an advantage with attacks like the triangle choke.
Another example I think comes from watching jiu jitsu/submission fighters like Paulo Filho and Joe Stevenson. Both of these fighters are short, but thick-bodied. Filho is only 5' 8" or so, but competes at 185. Stevenson is generously 5' 6" and only recently moved down to compete at 155.
Neither of these guys is going to win a triangle choking contest. But what they both have in common is a preference for joint locks: armlocks in Filho's case and leg locks in Stevenson's case.
I think this is because both fighters have large, strong arms and thick shoulders and core, and can use them--and their relative small size--to attack a limb with all of their bodyweight. It is easier for fighters like this to maneuver their smaller, but stronger bodies in between an opponent's body and his arm or leg than it is for longer-limbed fighters.
Is there another body type/finishing technique combination? I think there might be if you consider someone like Marcelo Garcia or even Leo Viera. Neither fighter is especially long-limbed. And I don't think anyone would accuse either fighter of being "built like a tank." Both fighters are relatively well-proportioned and--save for Garcia's somewhat oversized thighs--not especially muscled.
For fighters of normal athletic proportion, I think chokes might be the weapon of choice. Guillotines, brabos, north-south guillotines, rear-naked, d'arce ... all of these attacks should work especially well for the "average build" jiu jitsu fighter. Not only are chokes ultimately the most efficient finishing technique (if they don't tap, then they go to sleep), but also they are something that the less muscled and less long-limbed among us can apply more easily than our lengthy or thick-bodied teammates and competitors.
Obviously jiu jitsu fighters of all body types should become proficient in all forms of attack. I've given up the idea, for example, that my legs are "too short" for me to be able to finish with the triangle choke.
But it is worth having an idea of what sort of finishing techniques might be tailor-made for your body type. Everyone has their own jiu jitsu--as every knowledgeable jiu jitsu instructor insists. And knowing what kind of jiu jitsu your body was built for will go a long way toward helping you find it.
