Background here, I am only 3 weeks into BJJ. Practices/classes are M-F, have missed only 2 days over the last 3 weeks. I have muscular/athletic build as I have been lifting consistently for at least 5 years.

I am having difficulty when practicing techniques with people because of my size and strength. I do not want to hurt anyone so I tend to not put my bodyweight on people, I do not fight for submissions hard, and I do not put up too much resistance.

Well when it comes to rolling that is when it kinda goes out the window for me because I can tell that my partners are trying really hard, so I do as well. I get complimented on my strength and thanked afterwards. Problem is I do not have the techniques down yet, so I tend to "Muscle" my way out of bad positions and into dominant ones.

I ended up getting pulled aside after class, not by the coach but by another student that I have come to respect and learn from. They told me to not go so hard when rolling with woman or children. I rolled with a woman that night and she was incredibly good, more skilled than I am currently by far, and I did use my strength to prevent positions.

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TLDR: Should I hold back my strength when "rolling" not drilling techniques, but rolling with physically smaller opponents? I am confused by this because I don't think I should hold back, and their technique will and should beat my lack of it. Thoughts?