Movements of Escape in Jiu Jitsu

From the Ground Up

There are 7 major movements of escape in Jiu Jitsu. How many can you name off the top of your head? Within the movements of escape below, 3 of the fundamental concepts of escape are noted. These concepts will guide you when you are stuck and wondering what to do. Whether you are learning new material or reviewing something you already know, it is always beneficial to look for patterns that will lead you to a deep conceptual understanding. Once you have identified a potential concept, ask yourself if it holds true in other similar areas or even all areas of Jiu Jitsu. Make it prove itself before you trust it. This is how I came upon the 3 fundamental concepts that govern all of Jiu Jitsu.

Start Here

The foundation of everything in Jiu Jitsu is based on movement, or the lack there of(control). In learning movements of escape you are learning to create the movement you need to eliminate or prevent your opponent’s control. Literally working from the ground up. Therefore, learning the movements of escape as soon as possible is the most beneficial thing you can do. Training or competing is significantly more enjoyable when you know that you will avoid getting stuck in someone else’s control.

The 7 Movements of Escape in Jiu Jitsu

Bridging

Bridging, when done correctly, is a great way to get your opponent to move when you are on the bottom. Read that again. Notice I did not say bridging is a great way to move your opponent. When you are in a bad position in Jiu Jitsu, escaping is a lot easier if your opponent moves for you. If it isn’t already this should become your first conceptual rule of escaping.

One leg vs two legs

Inside this juxtaposition is the key to getting your opponent to move for you while you are using a bridge to escape.

Imagine that you are at the bottom of mount, your opponent is sitting on your hips. Plant two legs on the ground and bridge. What do you hips do? Now, plant one leg on the ground, externally rotate the other leg. and try to touch the ground with the ball of the big toe. Its likely not possible, but trying is the appropriate action with the rotated leg. Now when you bridge, what do your hips do? One rises higher than the other. The place where your opponent is sitting in mount, balancing on you, is now unlevel. The greater the disparity in the height of your hips, the more off balance your opponent is. They will have to choose to adjust their position or fall off of you. Their movement to maintain balance is the opening you need to escape.

Walking

In this one legged bridge position, to turn over you transfer your weight to the externally rotated foot. Then you use the externally rotated foot to carry your hips over, along with your opponent. This is why you are reaching the big toe ball mound to the ground when you rotate the leg. Sometimes however, when that foot touches the ground you will feel like your bridge needs some more power. In that case you will walk your feel in the direction your hips are facing. The leg you bridged on moves first, toward the externally rotated foot. Then the externally rotated foot steps farther away from the leg you bridged on. In this way, you walk more power into your bridge. Now you will have an extremely strong bridge, without requiring explosive movement. Escapes that aren’t strength based… One of the major promises included in BJJ lore.

Shrimping

This is the very first action that many people are taught in Jiu Jitsu. It is very useful. I would argue however, it is not as important as it is made out to be. If you ask someone to shrimp down the mat they will most likely: Lay on their back. Roll to one side. (Lift?) and push their hips back (hopefully with one leg). Then, roll back to their back. Repeat on the other side… Because this is what they do in warmups almost every day they train. The problem with this is, in real application this is only half the movement. To achieve success against talented resisting opponents, you need to repeat the whole movement, not just the first half. Shrimping down the mat as I described above is literally programming the wrong instincts.

Realistic Application (full movement)

When shrimping against a resisting opponent, it is common that the first shrimping action requires follow up action. It is also common that the following action is moving the hips back again in another shrimp. However, when you shrimp your hips back your opponent is going to follow your hips. Taking away the space you created. If you move your hips again this cycle will continue until you get tired from carrying your opponents weight. At which point, you will be put back where you were or into an even worse position.

This action of the first part of shrimping is to get to your side and create some space. It is not to continue in the follow up or the second half of shrimping. After shrimping, your opponent will close space with your hips. But as the do this, instead of moving your hips again you should move your shoulders back. Making sure the bottom shoulder stays behind the top shoulder. Now your opponent has to gain control of your shoulders to put your back on the ground. When they move to do this, now you can move your hips again. This time your opponent is caught in the dynamic of having you disappear every time they try to put weight on you. Now they are becoming exhausted faster than you. You will never return to your back.

Shrimping is first moving your hips, pivoting on your shoulder. And second moving your shoulders, pivoting on your hip. This whole cycle is repeated, not just the first half.

Surface Friction

An important consideration is the amount of friction resisting your shrimp. There are many situations when shrimping is the right action, and lifting your hips before you move them will reduce the friction between you and the mat. The movement becomes easier and requires less effort, even when lifting your hips means carrying the weight of your opponent. As with bridging, we want to do this with one leg. If we are trying to turn to our side, to shrimp, after bridging with two legs, the leg on the inside of the turn is going to be an obstacle. If we are already on our side when we lift our hips to move them back, using two legs will angle your back to the ground giving your opponent significant leverage to pin you.

This should become your second concept of escape. When someone controls your shoulders, use your hips to create leverage. When someone controls your hips, use your shoulders to create leverage. Remember, as in this case, leverage isn’t always mechanical. Sometimes it is an implied threat.

Hip Heisting

Hip Heisting is the act of taking your hips from facing up to facing down using the momentum of switching your legs. You can begin to feel this by laying on one side. Move your bottom leg as far forward as you can. Move your top leg as far back as you can. Even though your torso is on its side your hips will be facing upwards. Now forcefully switch the position of both legs. Your hips are now facing towards the ground. The place where this made the biggest difference for me when I first learned it, was in a running escape from side control. It actually isn’t running, it just looks that way. Hip Heisting into, the next skill, sitting results in recovering guard from the bottom of side control.

Sitting

This skill is the act of sitting into guard from face down in bottom position. The full range of motion of sitting can be practiced from bottom of turtle guard, with an opponent’s weight in between your shoulders, their feet away from your feet. You plant your head on the ground, step up with one leg and then lift the ankle of the other leg. Pivot the lifted foot forward on your knee and drop your hips back. It is important that the action of dropping your hips is what lifts your head.

Granby Roll

The granby roll is rolling from one shoulder to the other with your back facing your opponent. Likely you will be pushing your back into your opponent while rolling across the shoulders. You are not giving up your back to do this, but rather using the movement to create a scramble in defense of an already exposed back.

To guard

The most common way the granby roll is used in Jiu Jitsu is to replace the guard. In the process of rolling to the second shoulder you will start to push your hips into your opponents chest while you walk your shoulders away from them. Oftentimes, if you are prepared, there is a triangle or omoplata waiting for you in the transition.

This should become your third concept of escape. Escaping into attacks is significantly more beneficial than just escaping. If you do this, you are reversing the dynamic of the interplay between your opponent and yourself, not just creating positional change.

To your feet

You can also granby to your feet (or shins) facing your opponent if you would rather not go back to guard. In this scenario you would extend your legs as your weight shifted to your second shoulder. This creates upward movement in your body, similar to jumping. As the weight on the second shoulder decreases, you will pivot on it and bring your feet or shins to the ground.

Inversion

Inverting in Jiu Jitsu is often viewed as an advanced skill but I am absolutely convinced it is a fundamental movement of escape in Jiu Jitsu. It serves as a demonstration of the power of building proper body structure in open guard. If your structure is correct and your opponent over commits to trying to smash you, they will invert your body for you and deflect their own power/weight off of you. It prevents the necessity of engaging in the battle of pushing back into someone who is on top of you.

To invert, you are in open guard on one side. Your bottom arm is under your knee and your top triceps is pushing into the bottom of the top knee engaging the lat. This connects your shoulder to your hips. You will do everything in your power to keep your arms and legs connected in this fashion in the open guard. In doing this, when the opponent drives weight into your top leg, it lifts your hips naturally. You will engage the opponent with at least one foot while you are upside down, weight across your shoulders. When you want to rotate all the way through you will bring the knee of the free leg under the leg engaging your opponent. That action will carry you to upright. Your opponent will eventually stop trying to smash you because you effortlessly disappear every time.

Kipping

Kipping is the hardest of the movements to embody but is by far the most useful movement of escape in Jiu Jitsu. However once you do, it pays the largest dividends. It can be used to create movement in virtually every position you get stuck in, on the bottom in Jiu Jitsu.

It is the art of creating a wave action in the spine. Sometimes I describe it to students as the ability to move your hips back and forth, anchoring the movement from your shoulders.

To start exploring how to do this, use the muscles of the torso to subtly stabilize the spine rather than generate movement. Then move the legs forward and back in a pendulum action (there are several different pendulum actions), allowing the hips to move freely. The free movement of the hips transfers a wave up the spine. The subtle engagement of the muscles stabilizing the spine, carry this movement up and then back down the spine effortlessly. The difficulty in learning to kip comes in achieving proper engagement in muscle groups that people are largely unfamiliar with. Intermediary exercises are often required.

The way kipping creates opportunity for escape is through vibration. Vibration is the combination of amplitude and frequency of waves. Frequency is significantly more important than amplitude. Or put another way, the number of waves is more important than the size (power) of the wave. The greater number of small waves, the easier it is to move. Get good at this, and you will never be stuck again.

If you want to test this theory out before putting the time into developing it, then find something that is vibrating. Place a heavy object on it, and see if that object slides around easier than it does on a static surface.

Mastery of the Movements of Escape in Jiu Jitsu

As you develop a better understanding of and embody these movements and their applications, freeing yourself from pins in Jiu Jitsu becomes easier and easier. There is an additional compounding effect that begins to happen. As you become more familiar and comfortable with escaping uncomfortable positions, you will see that you can start to employ these movements before the pin happens and avoid it all together. The art of escaping bad position slowly evolves into the art of gaining dominant position within scrambles.

Watch the 7 Movements of Escape in Jiu Jitsu Video