Is Wrestling The Secret To Better Jiu Jitsu Technique?

By Fanatics Authors, November 30, 2018

Get Better Jiu Jitsu Technique Through Wrestling

There are many different ways in which wrestling will help your Brazilian jiu jitsu technique. It is actually quite amazing how many similarities there are between wrestling and jiu jitsu when you really stop and think about it. Many positions in wrestling are effectively used in Brazilian jiu jitsu as well. Take half guard for instance, either top or bottom. When you watch a BJJ practitioner play half guard on bottom you will see him or her use an under hook in order to achieve many of the best sweeps. We often times call this a dog fight position. Dog fighting positions are among the most popular positions in wrestling. For a person on top half guard when someone under them performs an under hook in order to get up, well that is when you will use a whizzer, which also happens to be one of the fundamentals of wrestling. Let’s take a look at a single leg half guard sweep with an under hook video so that we can really understand the similarities.

I’m sure as you watch this video you will begin to understand that wrestling is extremely widespread and prevalent in jiu jitsu. Half guard is just one of many positions you will end up finding yourself in where a wrestling technique could be the factor between getting a sweep on your opponent or getting crushed.

Adding wrestling skills to your game, regardless of experience, age, size, etc will greatly improve your jiu jitsu technique, as well as give you another perspective into the grappling arts.

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Also, there are a lot of other positions you can use wrestling in jiu jitsu, whether practicing gi or no gi. Take the De La Riva guard for instance. It is very popular today and used quite often. There are sweeps from the De La Riva guard that are going to put you into a single leg position. You should also consider the butterfly guard, riva guard, and reverse de la riva guard, and how wrestling can be applied here as well. Take high level black belt world competition as an example. World class athletes use wrestling techniques all the time. All you have to do is watch and take note and you will see that wrestling gets used very often. For some great examples check out guys like Lucas Leite, Andre Galvao, Vernardo Faria, Buchecha, and many, many more that play with a very specific guard game that puts them into single leg or even double leg take down positions.

Let’s check out a great video from Black Belt ADCC champion Rubens Charles “Cobrihna.” In this video you will see him show the proper method in order to get a single leg take down from the guard. Cobrihna has actually won the ADCC 3 times. Because of this he attributes his victories to techniques learned during intense wrestling camps.

From this point on it should be quite obvious that you are also able to use wrestling while standing. Sometimes it is the take down itself that is the deciding factor in whether or not a person wins or loses their BJJ match at a tournament. It is considered incredibly wise to have a bunch of takedowns in your arsenal so that you are not just relying on passing or pulling guard to win a match. For instance, when you look at what Marcus Almeida “Buchecha” has done with his career you will be quite impress. Buchecha is a ten time world champion and he has some of the absolute best wrestling in BJJ.

There are many other ways wrestling will improve your BJJ, too many to even list. But think about this the next time you are exploring new techniques, and remember that it is very wise to look at how jiu jitsu practitioners are utilizing wrestling either in their standing game or ground game.