Do I need to be strong to do jiu-jitsu?
No. Strength helps and it is not the point. Technique, position and timing beat muscle, and jiu-jitsu exists to prove exactly that.
No. The art was built by people who were not the biggest in the room.
Strength is what you fall back on when technique fails, and lean on it early and you never build any, because muscling through hides every mistake you are making. Grip lighter than you want to. Breathe out. Red in the face after two minutes means you are squeezing things that do not need it.
The fitness arrives on its own. Extra weight is closer to an asset here than a handicap: where to start if you are overweight. And technique counts for more with age, not less: are you too old to start, do I need to be fit.
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