BJJ DRILLS WITH A PARTNER

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a formidable style of combat that incorporates high levels of intensity, dynamic transitional movements, heavy grinding positional control, and a ferocious nature of submission attack. Learning the art, and building a game style that will stack up against professional athletes takes a long time, and a considerable amount of effort is involved. Students must apply themselves to every training session, and show consistency, tenacity, integrity, perseverance, and resilience. There are many different ways to learn BJJ, and some athletes are visual learners, while other athletes are more hands on. 

What this article covers:

• The Importance of Drilling in BJJ
• Partner Drills for Warm ups
• Drilling Techniques with a Training Partner
• Other Valuable Partner Drills

Training inside of an academy requires athletes to participate in jiu jitsu warm up drills, and this is to strengthen their body, and to prepare them for the rigorous grind of BJJ. The technique portion of an academy class requires athletes to partner up with other training partners, and repetitively work on technical components within the art. 

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Practical application, which is full contact sparring, or otherwise known as rolling is also encouraged, but is not a prerequisite to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However utilising rolling sessions is the only real way to battle test all of the techniques that an athlete has learnt, so they can be a more capable fighter, a fitter and faster athlete, and be able to compete in tournament matches.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DRILLING IN BJJ

There is a significant importance for athletes to employ jiu jitsu training drills, and this is because it is the only way to improve an athlete's skill level. Drilling repetitively is the only way to turn a technique into a muscle memory, and this means for the movement to become a normal, and functional movement that happens automatically. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a game of instincts, and the athlete that has sharper instincts, and a faster reaction time will have a much greater chance of being successful within a competition match. Of course rolling, which is full contact sparring, will undoubtedly help an athlete reach the higher levels of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but without predominantly drilling with a partner they will lack the fundamentals needed to have an efficient game style within the art.

There are different types of drilling like solo drilling, which are bjj movement drills that athletes will perform by themselves, and they incorporate techniques like hip escaping, break falling, bridging, and different variations of rolling. Drilling with a partner can be basic warm up drills, or drills that involve working on guard passing, while their training partner works on sweeping. These kinds of drills are highly effective in helping athletes improve, and this is because they can use repetition of any aspect they want, in order to master their craft. Drilling techniques is how any athlete can learn basic fundamentals, or highly advanced techniques. This is usually done in every training class, as the instructor teaches techniques, and allows their students to use a partner to practice the technique. Drilling a move a couple of times is only just scratching the surface, and all athletes need to drill comprehensively in order to master even the most basic of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu maneuvers.

PARTNER DRILLS FOR WARM UPS

Warming up in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can happen in a number of different ways. After the usual solo drilling that instructors will utilise during their warm up sessions, some instructors will move into partner drills as a way of warming up an athlete, but to also help them develop critical skills in different aspects of the game. For example, two athletes will partner up, with one athlete standing on their feet, while the other threads themself into a de la riva guard. The guard player will then invert onto their shoulders, as they scoop the other leg with their hand, and roll over their shoulders, threading into a de la riva guard on the other side. This is a drill that an athlete can practice from side to side, or in a three hundred and sixty degrees rotation around their standing training partner. This is a good drill to utilise, and will help an athlete understand the fundamental concepts of securing a de la riva guard, and inverting into other positions, or other guards.

One of the most important partner drills that is incorporated into a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training session is pummeling. This partner drill is a series of movements where two athletes will stand face to face, with an under hook on one side, and an over hook on the other. One athlete will release their over hook, and swim their arm underneath their training partner's armpit securing an under hook, as their opponent does the same on the opposite side. This will create a flow of movement, which can look a lot like swimming. This drill was designed to help athletes improve their ability to fight for double under hooks, which is a dominant control position in taking an opponent to the ground. The same drill can be used with the arm drag, as an athlete will secure a wrist grip, and use their other arm across the body to secure a tricep grip, as they pull the arm and step past their opponent's leg, taking their back. This drill can be utilised in a flow sequence, as both athletes will work on their entries into a back take. 

There are other warm up drills that are used more for strength and conditioning purposes. Athletes can utilise s-grips on each other's hands, and simply pull their arms back and forward, while they pump their legs in a running style of motion, on the spot. This will help to get the blood flowing, and the athlete limbered up early on in a training session. Other drills include one athlete to get into a seated position with their hands posted, and their knees up, as their training partner will turn their back towards the athlete, lowering their hip in between their legs, and holding onto their knees with their hands. This will allow the athlete to utilise a dip, which is another way an athlete can strengthen their body. Another good partner drill will see one athlete standing up and bracing themselves, while the other athlete lies on their back with their head facing toward their opponent, with their hands anchoring on to their opponent's leg. From here they will invert their legs up over to the side, and then back down to the mat, as they go from side to side.

DRILLING TECHNIQUES WITH A TRAINING PARTNER 

Drilling techniques with a partner is crucial for learning all aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. All instructors will put significant time into the technique portion of a training class, and no matter what technique is taught whether it's an arm bar, a guard pass, or a leg entanglement, athletes must begin the process of repetition. It is no good being lazy, and only drilling each technique two or three times, because the athletes will not retain any of the information. All athletes must drill each technique numerous times in order for it to become muscle memory, and even in a class where an athlete can practice the move ten times, it may still be hard to remember the technique. In order to master the move properly it needs to be practiced on a larger scale. This is why a lot of instructors will only teach a few techniques during a whole week of training classes, and this is so all the athletes can drill the techniques numerous times, which can help them develop all of the movements into a muscle memory.

An important tip to remember is that athletes should stick to the techniques taught by their instructors, especially when they are a beginner. Going off on a tangent, and trying to practice too many steps, or too many variations of the same technique in one sitting, can be too much information for an athlete. Unless the two athletes that are drilling are of a higher rank, then adding on different variations, or different counter movements can be beneficial. Sticking to fundamental movements, or traditional movements, especially at the beginner phase is critical for building a solid game style. Too many modern day athletes are skipping important fundamentals of the game just to learn leg entanglement positions, or advanced movements like the berimbolo, rather than focusing on passing the guard. All Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques are valid, but students need to know where they are in terms of their learning process, and this means they need to stick to the basics before they can move on to more advanced systems.

A good way to drill techniques in a systematic motion is for two athletes to go through a series of different moves. The drill is a non resistant one, as each athlete will freely move from one position to the next in a series of maneuvers. For example an athlete may start in the guard position, and begin by breaking open the guard, knee slicing through the guard, and moving into a side control position, before continuing the movement into the north south position. From here they may move back into side control, and then into the mount position, where they will set up a submission attempt. The opponent will defend the submission, and then look to trap and roll, making their opponent roll over onto their back, landing inside the guard. The opponent will then repeat this process, as this becomes a systematic flow of movements. The best part about this drill is that athletes can design any specific movements they want, and connect them together to help them develop a more systematic flow system, moving from technique to technique.

OTHER VALUABLE PARTNER DRILLS 

There are many partner drills that are extremely good value, and these can even be executed in a jiu jitsu home workout. Most higher level athletes will utilise drilling as a way to work on certain aspects of their game style. For example, drilling games like sweeping and passing, where one athlete will only attempt to pass the guard, while the other athlete goes for sweeps, can be highly valuable in remembering each technique. These types of games can be designed specifically for whatever aspect of the game an athlete wants, like maintaining the mount, and escaping from the mount, or going for a submission, and defending a submission, or takedown defense versus executing takedowns. This type of drilling can even be beneficial to beginners of the art, as they are highly advised to stick to more fundamental movements, which means more basic guard passes rather than the highly intricate ones.

There are other partner drills that are highly beneficial to an athlete's development like squatting in the guard. This is a drill that enables an athlete to practise standing up in the guard. The drill is simple, and involves the athlete to start in their partner's guard. Just standing up in an opponent's guard can be extremely hard, and this is because an athlete's weight is too heavy on their knees, so naturally they need to make their leg lighter, so they can get up easier. The way to do this is by leaning towards one side, and this will make their leg on the other side extremely light. From here the athlete will stretch out their leg, before sliding it into a squatted position. The same process is used on the other side, where the athlete is on both feet in a squatted position. The next step is to simply kneel back down, repeating this process several times. It is important to note that when the athlete is in the squatted position, they must walk their feet backwards, so that their hips are in a good position, where the athlete will not fall backwards.

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Flow rolling is always a good partner drill to use, and this drill is different to the normal roll to submission. A flow roll is a much lighter roll, where athletes will basically take turns in setting up different maneuvers. For example one athlete may choose to attack a guard pass, and move into the mount position, from here they will maintain the mount, as their training partner will effectively escape from the position, and set up a sweep. Each athlete will go move for move, and this is a good way for both athletes to explore every aspect of the game style. When two athletes roll to the submission they can often bypass some of the most fundamental positions, but when they engage in a flow roll these positions are utilised, and can be developed much more freely. This is how each athlete will understand how the flow of Jiu Jitsu is supposed to be. Sometimes one good flow roll can be better than numerous other rolls, and this is because of the high level of positions, submissions, escapes, and sweeps that each athlete will encounter.

Another good partner drill, which seems to be a rarity in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training sessions, is human chess. Because BJJ is extremely similar to the game of chess there is a partner drill that can be utilised, which is very similar to chess. The drill is simple, and involves each athlete to utilise one move at a time. For example the first athlete might decide to reach in for a collar grip, leaving the second athlete to take a defensive grip against the collar. With each move set up, a new problem will arise, and the two athletes will slowly engage in a battle of wits, and strategy to try and secure a sweep, or a submission. This game is a thinking one, and involves athletes to be extremely creative. It will also force them to see more of the hidden aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

If you enjoyed this piece, consider checking:

• Open Guard BJJ
• BJJ Half Guard
• Full Guard BJJ
• Jiu Jitsu Throws
• Judo Throws for BJJ
• Escaping Side Control BJJ
• BJJ Leg Drag
• Side Control BJJ
• Jiu Jitsu Holds
• BJJ Mount
• BJJ Transitions
• Reaping BJJ
• Inverted Guard BJJ
• Neck Crank BJJ
• Kneebar BJJ