Learning self-defense techniques will make you safer in this world. But the advantages of learning a martial art like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ go way beyond that. One of the biggest benefits of training BJJ is that it prepares you for all sorts of challenges. It builds confidence, enhances coordination, and most importantly, provides you control over your body. While mastering the art takes years, the 10 basic BJJ moves that we are going to discuss today are very easy and quick to learn.
1. BREATHING TECHNIQUES
Out of the 10 basic BJJ moves we will discuss today, breathing is the most important. Breathing in a controlled and calm manner in pressure situations is what sets champions apart from the rest. The last thing you would want is running out of gas while you are up against a fierce adversary. Here are a few breathing techniques to improve your cardiovascular output.
Percussive Breathing
Percussive Breathing is a control and practice technique that involves inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the mouth. It is a breathing technique that has sound and rhythm. With this technique, you breathe deeper and bring more oxygen to your lungs.
Apart from improving your cardiovascular capacity, Percussive Breathing also builds endurance.
Ginastica Natural
The biggest names in martial arts, like Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Rickson Gracie, have approved this technique. To perform Ginastica Natural, you should breathe in and try to suck your stomach inwards. Keep your stomach in an inwards position for as long as you can. Repeat this technique and master it over time.
2. SHRIMPING
Like breathing, shrimping or hip escape is another one of the basic BJJ techniques for beginners. In fact, it’s an important one because it helps you create distance and escape bad positions. It is also an important technique when it comes to applying submissions and sweeping your adversaries.
If you end up on the bottom in guard, bridge up and lift your heels off the ground, with your hips high. Then while pushing your opponent away, move your hips up and away. It is a simple and effective way to escape from the bottom position.
3. TURTLE ESCAPE
The Turtle Escape is a very intriguing move in BJJ. It is adapted from Judo, where the Turtle position is the most important one. Due to rule and point system change, Turtle Escape is no longer called a guard. But it can come in incredibly handy in attacking, because you can easily transition to other positions and catch your opponent by surprise.
With that being said, The Turtle position is primarily a defensive one. When your guard defense fails, the next best option for you is to turn onto the other side, without turning to your belly. To stay protected in Turtle position, make sure your chin is properly tucked in and your arms and legs are tight.
The main goal of this position is to leave absolutely no space for your opponent to work with. However, your opponent will still have the upper hand as long as you are in the Turtle position. Your opponent is going to find an opening sooner or rather than later.
Therefore, it’s essential to transition into a safer position quickly.
4. ELBOW ESCAPE
The full mount or the side mount are two of the most bothersome positions to deal with when you are on the receiving end of them. Having a solid set of escapes in your defensive arsenal can help you easily transition into better sports. The Elbow Escape is among the most important out of the 10 basic BJJ moves you will learn. It is one of the two primary escapes from the mount, the second one being the bridge.
The biggest mistake a practitioner can make when mounted is to stay flat. Instead of staying flat, make a strong crunch upwards towards the opponent’s body. Then you should flatten your left leg and push down on your thigh as you pop your left knee outwards. Then track their leg with your left leg. Raise your left arm upwards, and wrap it around your opponent’s neck.
Once you have done that, shrimp your bottom to the left, and move your knee out. Put your left leg on your opponent’s back. Now shrimp your bottom to the right. By now, you must have created enough room to bring your right leg around your opponent, crossing your ankles with your left leg. Congratulations, you are back in guard.
5. PROPER GRIP TECHNIQUE
A strong grip is vital not only to attack your opponent, but to also for solid defense. There are a number of gripping techniques in BJJ, but they might vary depending on whether you are practicing Gi or a no-Gi BJJ.
The Ball And Socket Grip:
This is one of the most basic BJJ techniques. This grip is mostly used to control an opponent’s upper body, waist or legs. Ball and Socket grip is also used to lock in submission moves such as the Guillotine.
The Gable Grip:
This grip is also one of the basic BJJ techniques, which is named after American freestyle wrestler Dan Gable. Gable Grip is a great weapon to have in your arsenal, especially during a clinch. It allows you to control distance and exert pressure on your opponent. It is also used to lock in moves like the arm-triangle choke.
The S-Grip:
S-Grip is also known as the Chain Grip or Chain Hook. While it isn’t as versatile as the ones mentioned above, it comes in handy during clinch and to complete double-leg takedowns. It is also used in different lifting moves.
6. UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT TYPES OF GUARD
A guard is a position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when a grappler is on his back and is trying to control the aggressor using his legs. There are a number of basic guards in BJJ.
Closed Guard:
This is one of the basic BJJ techniques you will learn in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While you are on your back, lock your opponent between your legs, in such a way that your feet are crossed behind their back. The Closed Guard provides a great amount of space for submissions and sweeps in BJJ. However, in a street fight or MMA, where striking is involved, make sure to control your opponent’s head.
Half Guard:
As the name suggests, Half Guard is a position where you have one leg in-between your opponent’s legs and the other on the outside. A lot of times your legs are triangled around your opponent’s thighs. Half guard is a great way to get back to your feet, move to side control or take your opponent’s back.
Butterfly Guard:
In Butterfly Guard, you plant both feet between your opponent’s legs, with the top of your feet wrapped around their thighs. Unlike Closed Guard, Butterfly Guard position is not a resting position, and is often used for leg locks and sweeps. It is a great position for transitions.
X-Guard:
X-Guard is mostly used against a standing opponent. In X-Guard, one leg is hooked at the knee of your standing opponent, and the other leg is hooked into the groin area. This helps you throw your opponent off balance and sweep easily into a dominant position. It can also be applied with your opponent sitting, so it’s a very versatile position.
7. SIDE CONTROL ESCAPE
Among the 10 basic BJJ moves, side control is one of the safest top positions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Side control is a pinning position in BJJ when you’re perpendicular to your opponent. It’s a great defensive and offensive position and can create opportunities for submissions. However, it does require learning and technical soundness to perfect. While getting into side control is easy, maintaining the position is the harder task, because your opponent is looking to squander all your hard work.
You can always find ways to escape if you are on your bottom being side controlled by your opponent.
If you are a beginner, the Elbow Push technique is the best defense against side control. To execute this move, the first thing that you should do is set up a frame with one arm against your opponent’s neck and the other one securing the grip. If you are struggling to do it, bump your opponent forward to make room for yourself. Push on your opponent’s neck and set your head free. When your head is free, use your nearside elbow to hip escape and transition into an open guard position.
8. DOUBLE UNDER PASS ESCAPES
The Double Under Pass is one of the best guard passes you can perform on your opponent. If you master this guard, you can turn the tables on your adversaries more often than not in training and in combat. However, if you don’t want to be on the receiving end of this position, you’ll have to follow the tips mentioned in this section.
Make Your Legs Heavy
Shutting down a Double Under Pass attempt early can save you from adversity. Since your opponent will be looking to open your closed guard and dive their arms underneath your hips, make sure that your legs remain heavy. The idea is to make your legs so heavy that your opponent will find it extremely hard to lift you.
DO NOT let your opponent clasp their hands together to lock your legs up. Instead, spread your legs wide and tight and curl your toes upwards. This will add more pressure on your opponent’s arms. If the opponent still continues to drive into you, keep your back nice and flat. If you apply pressure perfectly, your opponent will surely give up.
Shoulder Locks
Start from the same ‘heavy legs’ position and slide backwards to move to a sitting-up position. Again, before your opponent tries to clasp their hands together, spread your legs nice and tight. Use your hips to hook your left leg all the way across to your opponent’s left hip, while keeping a firm grip on their sleeve. This will bend your opponent’s right elbow inwards, leading to extreme discomfort and the eventual tap.
9. KNEE ON BELLY ESCAPES
It’s never a pleasant feeling to have someone pressuring you from the top, let alone anchoring their knee into your belly. The Knee On Belly position is a tricky one to move out of, but nothing’s impossible. There are a number of cool techniques you can use to escape from this position.
Single Leg Takedown
Single Leg Takedown technique is one of the most common moves to fight a Knee on Belly. It works for both Gi and No-Gi BJJ and is relatively easy to use. It’s also a safe technique as it doesn’t put you into vulnerable positions.
Begin with gripping your opponent’s belt with your nearside arm. Then, kick your opponent in their butt using your nearside knee, forcing them out of balance. Next, use your free arm to grab a hold of your opponent’s leg right below the knee. Extend your legs and turn towards your belly, and you will end up in a dominant top position.
Arm Trap Escape
The Arm Trap Escape is one of the best escapes from Knee On Belly. This technique relies on taking advantage of your opponent grabbing a hold of your collar and hip. To complete this move, reach for your opponent’s side collar with your far side arm. Push towards your legs and then pull downwards once you have a hold of their collar.
Follow it by using your near side-arm and your head to trap your opponent’s arm that has a hold of your collar. This will have their arm trapped. Once you have trapped your opponent’s arm, you’ll soon find yourself in a dominant position.
10. FOCUS ON AREAS OF PRESSURE
Pressure is one of the most important concepts in BJJ. It is one of the most important out of the 10 basic BJJ moves. It doesn’t matter if you are trying passing guard, advancing your position or going for submissions, Pressure plays a major role. Understanding the areas of pressure can also help you avoid being put into positions you don’t want to be.
It is quintessential to understand when to put pressure, where to put pressure, and how to deflect pressure in training and combat. The key is to save your energy while tiring out your opponent at the same time. It’s also important to understand the areas of pressure so you stay out of danger at all times.
Hip Ups
Hip Ups are a great way to alleviate the pressure your opponent is putting on you. Your opponent will try to break your guard by putting an immense amount of pressure through his back onto you. But by elevating your hips and moving your ankles further back and away from your opponent, you can release the pressure.
Posture Break
When you are in closed guard, your opponent will most definitely try to keep his body straight and head up. However, you can counter the pressure by grabbing a hold of your opponent’s head.
Pulling With Knees
When you are trying to break an opponent’s posture by pulling him down, don’t put too much pressure on your arms. Instead, use your legs in an arcing movement to pull your opponent forward. Another important thing you need to do is pull diagonally off to one side. This way the opponent won’t be able to use both his hands.
Conclusion
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great way to get in shape, improve your overall health, gain confidence and have the tools to protect yourself at all times. If you enjoyed reading this article on 10 basic BJJ moves, also read why Jiu Jitsu is better than Karate.
If you are planning to practice BJJ, there are a few accessories that you’ll need. Here are some products you can check out.
- Jitsu Gi (uniform): $65. The uniform is an essential part of training, because it helps in strengthening your grip.
- Jiu Jitsu White Belt: $20. Not all Gis come with a white belt, therefore it’s essential to get one to compliment your Gi.
- Rash Guard: $25. While T-Shirts work quite well with Gis, if you want added protection against rashes, rash guards are highly recommended.
- Mouth Guard: $20. While it’s an optional accessory, it is important to have because it prevents a lot of mouth injuries during training.
- Finger Tape: $12. Tape stabilizes your fingers and can help prevent mat burn on your toes. It’s also optional.
- Elite Sports Boxing Gym Duffle Bag for Jiu Jitsu: $60. Also optional but it sure is nice to stay organized.
- Liquid Bandage: $5. Minor scrapes and burns are common in BJJ so it’s great to have a liquid bandage along with you.