Jiu-Jitsu flow drills...suggestions?

[bushido_man96]

Hello, grapplers!

I've been looking to increase my ability in BJJ as I go along, and at this point in my training, I've done mainly everything kind of one-step like; bad guy is in a position, and basically doesn't resist a whole lot while good guy learns and reps the moves. This is good training, but I'm wanting to move into something more interactive so my trainees, and I, can learn to feel a little resistance, and do more "alive" training, but not an actual free roll.

Just briefly yesterday, I suggested a drill where one person is in full mount on the other. The person in mount either punches, chokes, or smothers (stays close), and provides a bit of resistance. The person on bottom has to reverse some how, UMPA or UMPA with swim and trap, or do elbow escape to get to guard or elevator sweep. At any rate, the goal is for the person on bottom to reverse position to get on top, in guard. Then the person on top breaks guard, gets to mount, and the series continues.

I'm looking for any other suggestions for a beginner like me. Maybe something that would include getting to a sub, the other taps, and then the series continues to something else. I just don't have much experience with it yet, so I am looking for suggestions. We don't wear gis, as its a DT setting, for the most part, if that has any effect on suggestions.

Thanks for any help!

[tallgeese]

I like to work things in chains of movements. By showing a handful of basic tactics from a position you give the trainee a set of options that he or she can pick from based on the energy that their partner is giving them.

For instance, let's look at staying on top of an opponent. There's only a handful of BASIC ways to beat this. So starting in mount, people will usually try to bench press people off, throw them to the side, roll up to their side, or roll all through on their stomach in an effort to stand (bear in mind we're talking new people here).

So, you can show swimming thru the arms to prevent the press. Have them drill that. Then, do a hook and base drill to prevent the throw. Have them practice. Show a transition to a modified mount when they roll to side. Drill. And finally, show establishing good back mount with hooks when they go to turtle to stand. Again, drill.

Once everyone is comfortable, start letting people on the bottom use those options at will. This will make the top person adjust to what the bottom escape is. When each counter is performed correctly, the bottom person goes on to another. Run this on a clock and make them keep moving.

Stuff like this can go a long way to building that conditioned response. In fact we just got done doing the same thing with the scarf escape during the am class. Three escapes based on the situation. At the end of class, we escaped while our partners attempted to counter. Of course, each counter leave another escape possible.

The permutations of this are endless.

Also, give serious consideration to limited engagement free rolls. For example, one person starts in closed guard, the other inside his or her closed guard. The goal of the 3-5 min round is to break the guard and pass. If they pass, the drill is reset.

Again, the variations are limitless. Some popular ones are: guard v. pass, open guard v. pass, bottom mount escape vs. mount, side mount v. escape, half guard v. pass.

It's important to stress technique in these drills. In other words, squeezing with the quads doesn't count as maintaining guard. Moving you hips to off set, posture control, and grips those are what you want to see you're people using to defeat the pass. Never muscle.

Those are some ideas that might help you get started.

[pittbullJudoka]

Glad to see you're wanting to further your BJJ knowledge. and your in my opinion going in the right direction. There's a basic drill call three brothers. you start in closed guard and go for an arm bar, they pull out and you transition to the omoplata, they press back in to avoid being broken down, you then transition to the triangle and for what ever reason you go back to the omoplata and use it to sweep to top position.

Here's a video that I made for my students of the basic 3 brothers drill:

And here is the one with the omoplata sweep added I call the 4th Brother:

Hope this helps explain my rambling.

[pittbullJudoka]

Just thought you may want to check out Andre Galvao's book drill to win. It's not exactly what you're looking for but it will help with some other areas you will be needing in the future by drilling to build muscle memory. Also Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's Mastering Mixed Martial Arts: The Guard, it not drill specific but it could give you some good ideas of what you could do.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the information, Alex and Rusty, and thanks for the videos. In the drill we did, we went from arm bar, to triangle, to omo. The other day we threw in gogo, before going to the omo, but I like what you've shown here, and I will ask about that 4th brother, too.

[pittbullJudoka]

The 4th brother is just going back to the Omoplata and using it as a sweep to come to top position. The actual drill doesn't include the Omoplata sweep. I just named it the 4th Brother for mine and Shorikid's school so we would remember it.

[bushido_man96]

The 4th brother is just going back to the Omoplata and using it as a sweep to come to top position. The actual drill doesn't include the Omoplata sweep. I just named it the 4th Brother for mine and Shorikid's school so we would remember it.

Ah, ok. Thank you for that. We don't roll in gis, so will that change how the drill looks at all?

For instance, let's look at staying on top of an opponent. There's only a handful of BASIC ways to beat this. So starting in mount, people will usually try to bench press people off, throw them to the side, roll up to their side, or roll all through on their stomach in an effort to stand (bear in mind we're talking new people here).

So, you can show swimming thru the arms to prevent the press. Have them drill that. Then, do a hook and base drill to prevent the throw. Have them practice. Show a transition to a modified mount when they roll to side. Drill. And finally, show establishing good back mount with hooks when they go to turtle to stand. Again, drill.

Do you have any videos of know of any that would show these? The swimming through the arms I am familiar with, and we used that to set up an arm bar with Royce. But the hook and base, and the transition to that modified mount, I am unfamiliar with.

[tallgeese]

Let me look. If nothing else I can probably shoot a fast video this week and send it your way.

[bushido_man96]

That would be great, Alex. Thank you. I will also look into some more literature, and see what I can dig up. After all, its not like I need an excuse to buy more books...

[sensei8]

I like to work things in chains of movements. By showing a handful of basic tactics from a position you give the trainee a set of options that he or she can pick from based on the energy that their partner is giving them.

For instance, let's look at staying on top of an opponent. There's only a handful of BASIC ways to beat this. So starting in mount, people will usually try to bench press people off, throw them to the side, roll up to their side, or roll all through on their stomach in an effort to stand (bear in mind we're talking new people here).

So, you can show swimming thru the arms to prevent the press. Have them drill that. Then, do a hook and base drill to prevent the throw. Have them practice. Show a transition to a modified mount when they roll to side. Drill. And finally, show establishing good back mount with hooks when they go to turtle to stand. Again, drill.

Once everyone is comfortable, start letting people on the bottom use those options at will. This will make the top person adjust to what the bottom escape is. When each counter is performed correctly, the bottom person goes on to another. Run this on a clock and make them keep moving.

Stuff like this can go a long way to building that conditioned response. In fact we just got done doing the same thing with the scarf escape during the am class. Three escapes based on the situation. At the end of class, we escaped while our partners attempted to counter. Of course, each counter leave another escape possible.

The permutations of this are endless.

Also, give serious consideration to limited engagement free rolls. For example, one person starts in closed guard, the other inside his or her closed guard. The goal of the 3-5 min round is to break the guard and pass. If they pass, the drill is reset.

Again, the variations are limitless. Some popular ones are: guard v. pass, open guard v. pass, bottom mount escape vs. mount, side mount v. escape, half guard v. pass.

It's important to stress technique in these drills. In other words, squeezing with the quads doesn't count as maintaining guard. Moving you hips to off set, posture control, and grips those are what you want to see you're people using to defeat the pass. Never muscle.

Those are some ideas that might help you get started.

Solid post across the board, and in that, I wholeheartedly concur!!