The Biggest Mistake In The Hip Escape
The Biggest Mistake In The Hip Escape by Bernardo Faria
It is commonly known in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that hips are everything. It makes sense when you really stop and think about it. Your hips are right at the middle of your body. You use them virtually everywhere in jiu jitsu, no matter what movement you are doing or what position you are in. Some of the most fundamental concepts of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are based solely around using your hips for mobility or leverage to gain an advantage on your opponent. Think back to your first days on the mats. When you were taught closed guard you were probably also taught to keep your hips up high on your opponent’s waist. When you were taught what to do when a person gets mount is to use your legs and hips to bump your opponent forward. Or how about when you learned to bridge when stuck in bottom side control?
As you know, the hips are the most important component of a variety of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques. But there are some common mistakes new BJJ players sometimes struggle with. You may think you have all the hip power in the world, but little nuances can be the difference between effective use of hip movement and wasted effort. Nobody understands this better than 5 Time World Champion Bernardo Faria. Bernardo started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Juiz de Fora - MG, Brazil at the age of 14 in 2001. After receiving the Black Belt from his first instructor Ricardo Marques in 2008, He moved to Sao Paulo to join BJJ legend Fabio Gurgel and his Alliance team. After many years of training and winning many major titles, Bernardo moved to NYC in 2013 to train and teach at Marcelo Garcia Academy. In 2015 Bernardo achieved his dream of winning the IBJJF World Championship Open class title and his division, doing the double Gold and becoming the 1st in the IBJJF Ranking and was also chosen as the best athlete of 2015.
There is a science to escaping bad positions in jiu jitsu. If you don't have the tools or the concepts to escape, you will waste all your energy and not get anywhere.
Let us take a look at one of the biggest mistakes many rookies do when performing the hip escape. The hip escape, also sometimes called “shrimping” is a great way to create space and regain your guard, especially against a bigger opponent. But if you are making this mistake you are wasting your time and energy. Watch the video below of Bernardo Faria demonstrating the biggest mistake in the hip escape and then we will discuss it below. Check it out now!
The hip escape is one of the most fundamental techniques in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It was something you were probably taught in your very first class. But there is one big mistake Bernardo sees people doing when teaching a class or seminar. Remember that when doing a hip escape you want to have both of your elbows in tight to your body. Your outside foot should be posted on the mat and you want to push off of it to do the biggest hip escape movement that you can. Often times the mistake people make it to bring their posting leg up and try to push off with their bottom leg. This is not right, and will not work. All of the leverage comes from the leg you post on the mat, which allows you to do a big and strong hip escape. Look at how far back Bernardo is able to move his body when he does it right. That is a big movement with a lot less energy used. It also puts you in the proper position to either get up to your knees, or regain your guard.
Look at how much effort it takes Bernardo Faria when he tries to push off his bottom leg. He is not able to get back anywhere near as far as when he does it correctly. Pay attention to how you are hip escaping the next time you are in a live roll or in competition. Are you doing it incorrectly? If so this one little detail could completely fix your game. If you are new to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you want to stay conscious that you are doing hip escapes correctly to avoid picking up bad habits. So keep this in mind, and make the correction if you are doing it wrong, it could make a huge difference. I hope you find this information useful. Thank you Bernardo Faria for pointing out this common mistake and showing us how to correct it!
Bernardo is a 5 time Black Belt World Champion - think about that for a second.. He’s won five.. - America has only ever won two. So it is safe to say that his escapes are very solid. He knows how to get out of anything and pretty much always does.
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