If you wish to learn great BJJ, then you will have to invest a lot of effort in it. It’s not just about the effort – it’s also about the dedication and the consistency that you need to put in if you wish to truly master this martial art. But the good thing about it is that everybody can do this – provided they are persistent enough. One of the most important things that you will have to do regularly on your road to master is the BJJ drills. There are two main forms of these drills – solo and non-solo drills.
Solo BJJ drills
Shrimp
These are the drills that you could do on your own. The first drill that we recommend you to try is the shrimp. For those of you that haven’t ever been on a BJJ training session – the shrimp is one of the most basic moves that you can learn in BJJ. It’s very helpful in escaping from bad positions like under side-control or mount. You will need to plant one of your legs and use it to help you scoot your butt to the side while you also use your hands on the other side to make this movement easier and more effective. You can do this movement as a warm-up for however long you like.
Bridge to shrimp
The bridge to shrimp is a related BJJ drill that you could do on your own. This move is very useful if your opponent has mounted you and it offers a great way to escape your predicament. You will have to first create a bridge with your butt in the air while you lay on your back and then do the shrimp motion that we have talked about in the previous paragraph. This is a great movement that you can use for improving your escapes from bad positions.
Hip-switch Drill
The hip-switch is a great drill that you could do on your own and it will help you to increase the mobility of your hips. You start the movement by lying on the floor and shooting one of your legs over the other leg, to the side of your body. You then make a mini-shrimp to pull out your other leg and place it at the exact same position of the first leg – but on the opposite side. Do this movement for however long you like – it will dramatically improve your guard after a while.
Non-solo Basic Jiu Jitsu drills
This type of drills cant be done without training partner. If you want to do this type of drills at home you can consider getting grappling dummy.
leg-drag drill
These are typically the more fun drills because they will teach you how to be more coordinated when facing another body. The leg-drag drill is a fundamental movement that you will deal with in your BJJ practice. You start standing near your opponent and your opponent is lying on the ground – his feet are on your hips. You grab one of his knees and shove it to the side of your body so that you can pass your opponent’s guard. Rinse and repeat.
The bridge drill
The bridge drill can be very fun – though it may seem a bit dangerous. You start to the side of your opponent (who’s laying down on the mat) and you grab his legs. Then you throw yourself so that you will make a front flip on top of his body and you will land on your back and legs. You will still need to hold your opponent’s legs during this move. Rinse and repeat on the other side.
Toreador Drill
The toreando drill is somewhat similar to the leg drag drill, only this time you won’t have to pull your opponent’s legs to your side. All you need to do is to move to the side and pass your opponent’s guard, then get back to your original position and do the same thing on the other side.
These are some of the best drills that you can do for the purpose of improving your skill in BJJ. They are a great investment of your time and effort – so make sure that you perform them regularly.
Check also:
- Basic Guard Passes every White Belt should learn
- Basic Jiu jitsu Sweeps you Should add to your Arsenal
- Basic Jiu Jitsu positions you should master
- Basic Jiu Jitsu moves every white belt should know
- BJJ Mount Escapes you Should Know
