Knee Shield Drill by Tom Deblass
Posted by Ismail Safi on
Drilling is one of the best ways to get better at Jiu Jitsu quickly. The reason drilling works so well is that it enforces a different kind of learning, that which creates Jiu Jitsu specific muscle memory. In order to become an amazing grappler, you have to be able to move and transition so quickly that it is as natural as walking, and drilling does just that.
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There are two ways you can approach drilling, each with its own set of benefits. The first type of drill is when you repeat a movement quickly for a short period of time. An example of this is doing the gorilla drill for one minute. This type of drill improves muscle memory for one movement but is also helpful in improving cardio and endurance.
The other type of drilling is chain drilling. Chain drilling involves linking various related techniques together and repeating them for a period longer than that of the drilling previously discussed. For example, you can do a drill from closed guard where you link the armbar, triangle, and omoplata. This type of drilling is great for improving transition time and reaction time.
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Unfortunately, there is not a lot of resources online with a lot of examples of drilling, and we are usually left to our own devices to make up our own. However, Tom Deblass is putting out an instructional that shows a lot of drills for us to utilize. In the following video, Tom goes over some simple drills from knee shield half guard.
The reason I enjoy Tom’s drills so much is that they are focused on simple yet vital movements. For example, the escape from the leg weave is a very simple technique but is very important because the leg weave is an extremely common way people pass half guard. This is what you want from most drills;they are easy to do but necessary to be good at.
In the video, Tom’s illustrates the two types of drills I discussed above. In the first part, after coming up from the leg weave position, you can quickly reguard and do this drill under high intensity for a minute. In the other part, Tom shows how you can connect this drill to an omoplata, where you can add a transition to triangle do this drill for three to five minutes.
In order to be a great grappler, the techniques you execute need to be natural and perfect. Drilling is the key to unlocking this success! Tom DeBlass has THE resource on drilling ready for you here at BJJFANATICS!!
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