The Importance of Drills

By Fanatics Authors, February 04, 2019

In the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are two main ways of practicing techniques and positions. The most common of these methods is basic technique repetition and this necessary to learn how to perform techniques correctly and add all the necessary details. The other method is quick-paced, high intensity, interval drills. The latter is important because it enforces muscle memory for specific movements and techniques.

If you pay attention to the best grapplers in the world, you’ll realize they devote an extensive amount of time for Jiu Jitsu specific drilling. This is vital because it enforces subconscious learning of techniques and movements. If you are in an intense grappling match, you wouldn’t want to waste time thinking about what technique to do next, it should just be natural. This is why high level grappling matches are entertaining; the competitors are in an never ending battle of movement with very little breaks.

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So what does it mean to drill? Drilling is essentially doing simple movements for as many repetitions in a specific time period. For example, you would do one drill for guard passing for a minute, take a break while your partner does it, and then do it again. There are really no rules for drills or any best way to do them, so long as you are actually trying hard.

Another type of drill you could do is a sequence drill in which you perform a sequence of related techniques for a longer period of time but with high intensity. These types of drills are great for building the muscle memory needed to sequentially move between different techniques. These drills are usually done for longer periods of time like three to five minutes.

The awesome thing about drills is that they can be done from literally any Jiu Jitsu position. For example, if you want to get good at half guard, you can do a lot of half guard specific drills. In the following video, Tom Deblass illustrates a simple yet very effective drill from bottom half guard.

This is an excellent example of how to drill an entire technique. We often think that we can only train techniques slowly with no time limit, but if a technique is simple enough, or you’re good at it, you should definitely be drilling it.

A key component to success at BJJ is being able to efficiently execute techniques and movements. 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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