Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Drills: The Ultimate Guide!

Are you looking to sharpen your Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills at home or in the gym? Adding some practical BJJ drills into your training routine can help you improve your overall performance.

Drills will help you improve your BJJ technique, timing, reflexes, and execution. Furthermore, these movements can help you improve your guard passing and retention, submissions execution, takedowns, and other skills.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned jiu-jitsu practitioner who prefers doing solo drills, drilling with a partner, or on a dummy. In that case, This blog post is for you since it will go over some of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu drills to do at home or in the gym.

Drills in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Drilling is an essential part of any Brazilian jiu-jitsu training program. It is the activity of repeatedly performing the same grappling maneuver or technique at a slow or fast tempo.

This type of practice aids grapplers in remembering the techniques they learned in class and executing them correctly. Otherwise, it improves the practitioner’s muscle memory, reaction time, speed, mobility, etc.

Aside from that, most people equate drills with solo exercises. However, drill routines in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often refer to practicing specific techniques with or without a partner.

For example, the BJJ class warm-up session can include solo drilling movements. Yet, during the class course, each practitioner will drill the primary explained technique with a partner to ensure they are learning it adequately.

Related: Are you curious about Jiu-Jitsu but unsure what to expect from your first class? Don’t let it hold you back! This post will walk you through the process of preparing for and attending your first Jiu-Jitsu class to have an incredible grappling experience and a good martial arts start.

Related: Aside from being a very effective grappling combat sport, jiu-jitsu has several benefits. Click here to find out more!

Best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Solo Drills

Solo drills are essential to any martial artist’s training regimen, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu. They may not be the most exciting activities, but they can be highly effective in improving your skills.

Solo drills are among the most beneficial exercises you can do everywhere you want, including at home.

So, what are the best solo BJJ drills to help you improve your game? Hip escapes, technical standup, bridging, shoulder rolls, and sprawls are some of the best BJJ solo drills that benefit all practitioners.

Bridging

Bridging is one of the basic moves in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It can help you escape or get into a variety of positions.

For example, bridging can help you escape the bottom side control and counter some takedowns, among other benefits.

Otherwise, the bridge movement can help you generate enough power to escape vulnerable positions when using it from the bottom.

Therefore, you must correctly use your hip muscles, glutes, and hamstrings. Also, it would be best if you reacted at the appropriate timing and in the right direction.

Hip Escapes

Hip escape or shrimp is one of the best BJJ solo drills you should master from your early days on the grappling mat. It will assist you in maintaining a safe distance between you and your opponent and regain a good position.

For example, a hip escape can help escape some bottom positions, such as the knee on the belly, bottom side control, etc. Furthermore, this essential drill movement can help you recover the guard, among other things.

Reverse Shrimp

The reverse shrimp is another solo drill that will improve your Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This drill is simple yet highly effective and can be done anywhere. It will also help you make space within your opponent.

Moreover, the reverse shrimp drill is excellent for developing explosive hip movement. Indeed, it will also help improve your posture and balance.

Technical Stand Up

The technical standup is another important jiu-jitsu solo drill that practitioners should learn and master as early as possible. It will assist you in maintaining a safe distance between yourself and your opponent during a fight.

For example, the technical standup can help you break an opponent’s control on your way from a seated position toward a neutralized standing position, among other benefits.

Related: Don’t put it off any longer; check out the list of the finest jiu-jitsu strength and conditioning workouts. Regularly integrating these workouts into your BJJ training program can help you become a stronger and more competitive grappler. Click here for further information! 

Sprawls

The sprawl is one of the most drilling movements to improve jiu-jitsu reflection. This move will drive your hips flat toward the floor, making it difficult for an opponent to move your center of gravity.

Moreover, sprawls are done explosively at the appropriate timing to defend against a double-leg takedown attack, among other benefits.

Granby Roll

The Granby Roll is an excellent BJJ solo practice you should be familiar with. This wrestling maneuver can assist you in countering some attacks, escaping from inferior positions, and so on.

For example, the Granby roll drill can help you move out of the bottom turtle posture, among other things.

This drill movement is relatively simple to do. However, it demands good weight management and some explosivity, which may be challenging for many people.

Source: Stasis Jiu Jitsu

Shoulder Rolls

Shoulder rolls are among the most vital movements you should drill more often. These drills can allow either to recover the guard, escape some unwanted positions, etc. 

The back shoulder roll allows you to roll over your shoulders to protect your back or head from an attacking attempt. Otherwise, it can help counter some guard passes, get into submissions, or escape from weak positions.

The forward shoulder roll can help you avoid uncomfortable positions like the bottom turtle. Indeed, It can be helpful in some situations to sweep your opponent, protect your head or neck from injury, apply some submissions, etc.

As a result, shoulder rolls are important movements to improve your grappling abilities. However, it is critical to take the necessary time to learn these movements properly to avoid injuring your head and shoulders.

In the video below, Ritchie Yip, a black-belt martial artist, demonstrates how to perform proper shoulder rolls.

Source: Ritchie Yip

Monkey Shuffle

The Monkey Shuffle is another excellent solo drill to improve your steadiness and coordination when passing any open guard.

Related: Whether a beginner or a seasoned practitioner, knowing how to attack and defend from various jiu-jitsu positions is essential for taking your BJJ game to the next level. I wrote an article that comprehensively lists the fundamental BJJ positions you should know. Click here to learn more!

Rocking Chairs

The rocking chair is another great solo drill for jiu-jitsu improvement at home or anywhere. This drill helps correctly perform sweeps, reversals, guard transitions, etc.

You begin the rocking chair activity by lying on the ground. Then, to generate momentum, activate your core and elevate your legs towards your shoulder. Next, swing your legs while keeping your body tight to sit on the mat.

However, depending on your final leg and hip positions, you can perform these movements in various ways. The following video explains how to execute rocking chair drills properly.

Source: Sun of Sensei Kettlejitsu

Knee Cut Drill

Knee cut is another fantastic solo drill that you should practice daily. It can be done in various ways, all of which will improve your guard passing skills.

Long Step Drill

The long step is another essential solo drill to improve your Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In addition, it can help enhance your guard passing skills, especially half guard passing.

Kneeling to Standing Up

Kneeling to standing up is another fantastic BJJ solo drill to improve your grappling performance. Additionally, it is beneficial to improve your standing guard break, double and single legs takedowns, etc.

Sit-Out Drills

Sit-out is another essential drill for BJJ that you should be familiar with if you want to improve your grappling skills. It is a strong move for escaping from some bottom positions, such as the turtle.

The video below will teach you everything about wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu sit-out movements.

Source: Danny Fung

Double Leg Takedown Drill

The double-leg takedown drill is a fundamental BJJ and wrestling movement. This takedown technique is one of the most effective techniques for bringing someone to the ground.

So this drill will improve your takedown abilities, including proper head alignment, postural integrity, and leg movements.

Related: These incredible takedowns take your jiu-jitsu standing game to the next level. Click to Learn more!

Best Jiu-Jitsu Solo Drills for Takedowns

Takedowns form the basis of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a fighting style. It is incredibly challenging to win a BJJ match if you do not have a solid takedown game. So, it is essential to perform regular takedown drills to improve your grappling.

The following video presents some of the most effective solo exercises you can perform to improve your takedown game. They include the drop step, jump over, double leg, sit-out, hip thrust, and sprawls, among other exercises.

Source: Escapology BJJ

Best Solo Drills to Improve Your Guard Game

Without a shadow of a doubt, the guard is one of the most important aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Any opponent will be in pain against a skilled guard player.

More submissions and sweeps are available from the guard compared to other positions. But, it requires an appropriate level of fitness and conditioning. And this is where the drills for the solo guard come into play.

Drilling your guard game on your own, without the assistance of a training partner, is possible through solo guard drills. In addition, they are an excellent way to improve your mobility, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, etc.

The following video will show you some of the most effective solo guard drills you can perform to improve your guard game.

Source: Chad The Beast Hardy

Solo Bag Drills for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Solo bag drills are excellent exercises for anyone who wants to improve his Jiu-Jitsu. First, they can help you sharpen your tactics. Otherwise, solitary bag exercises can also be a fun and challenging workout.

So many distinct solo bag drills to pick from might make figuring out where to begin challenging. However, the following video demonstrates 25 of the most effective solo bag drills for BJJ grappling improvement.

Source: Angel Gonzalez

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Partner Drills

Partner drills in jiu-jitsu are an excellent approach to learning new techniques and refining existing ones. They can improve your cardio, mobility, guard passing, guard retention, sweeping moves, submission finishes, etc.  

BJJ partner drills are essential to improve your martial art skills, whether you’re a beginner student or an advanced competitor. There is a diverse selection of partner drills, each of which offers its own set of advantages:

  1. Guard Drill: An excellent approach to improving your guard game through improving your passing methods, retention, recovery, hip mobility, etc.
  2. Takedown Drill: A fantastic exercise to improve your takedown tactics. 
  3. Submission Drill: This is an excellent method for honing your skills in submitting your opponents.
  • BJJ Partner Drills for Guard Passing
Source: Chewjitsu
  • Partner Drills for Jiu-Jitsu Guard Retention
Source: East Midlands BJJ
  • BJJ Partner Drills for Conditioning and Mobility
Source: Knight Jiu-Jitsu

BJJ Dummy Drills for Beginners

BJJ dummy drills are an excellent way to improve your techniques at home, and they do not require the presence of a drilling partner. Nevertheless, a significant number of practitioners frequently ignore it.

There are several dummy drills for getting better at jiu-jitsu. For example, you can work your ground game from side controlknee on belly, etc.

The following video will walk you through 42 of the most effective dummy drills you can do at home to improve your BJJ game.

Source: Baer Deeskalation

Benefits of Drilling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian jiu-jitsu drills are indispensable exercises for any practitioner’s training routine. Moreover, it isn’t a boring workout since it can be done in different ways, including solo drills with partners or dummies, among other practices. 

For example, solo movement drills don’t require a training partner; they can be done anywhere and anytime. As a result, you will have several opportunities to improve your grappling using these simple training regimens.

Generally, here are the most attractive benefits of the BJJ drilling exercises that make people like these workouts. 

  1. Drills will improve several essential elements of your jiu-jitsu game, including guard techniques, takedowns, sweeps, submissions execution, etc. 
  2. These exercises improve your mobility, flexibility, and body coordination. So, you become more comfortable performing even the complex grappling moves. 
  3. Drill movements improve your reflexes and reaction timing. This will help you recover the guard or escape some wrong positions smoothly at the right time without panic. 
  4. A good selection of drill routines can assist practitioners in enhancing their cardio and explosiveness. As a result, they will become more brutal in sparring rounds. Indeed, they will have more energy during a fight and improve their success by terminating various submissions and transitions.
  5. Repeated drilling moves will ingrain your muscle memory, which is necessary to leverage your fighting skills in sparring or competition.
  6. Some people enjoy drill exercises, particularly those that are done solely. This is because they are a terrific BJJ method to get in shape and can be done anywhere with pressure.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu drills have various advantages. So, what are you waiting for? Check out the section below to start your drill routine immediately!

Should You Do Solo Drills at Home Even If You Attend Class Regularly?

BJJ Solo Drills are critical for improving your grappling game. So, even if you regularly attend class, your home training plan should include solo drills. This is because solo drilling is a terrific approach to accelerate your progress.

Solo drilling has various advantages, including focusing on specific methods, creating muscle memory, and enhancing timing and precision.

Furthermore, solo drills may be done at any time and location, making them an excellent method to fit extra training when your schedule is packed.

Conclusion

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a great martial art discipline with many benefits. Whether you are a beginner white belt or an advanced practitioner, a practical BJJ drilling routine is necessary to improve your game. 

Brazilian jiu-jitsu requires a lot of drilling practice and technique setups repetition to leverage your skills, especially if you’re willing to compete in tournaments. 

So what do you wait for? Pick up some of the abovementioned drills and add them to your training routine today.

In that case, you will improve your jiu-jitsu by improving your guard playing, sweeping techniques, submission attempts, mobility, and even flexibility, among other benefits.

Related: Building a brutal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game requires knowledge of several Submission techniques. So, I’ve written a lengthy article on the most effective BJJ submissions you must know, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner. Click here to learn more!