It’s how to move and create space between yourself and your opponent when you’re on your back.
Let’s start with Shrimping towards your head. The easiest shrimping move is the one that goes toward your head. Anyone who is new to BJJ should start with this basic move before moving on to the more difficult ones.
In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, shrimping is one of the most fundamental movements you’ll learn. Properly executing the shrimp is crucial for improving position, escaping pins, and setting up submissions and sweeps While it may seem simple on the surface, truly mastering the shrimp takes time and dedication
In this in-depth BJJ shrimping guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to improve your shrimping technique. From common mistakes to drill variations, you’ll gain the skills to shrimp like a pro Let’s get started!
What is Shrimping in BJJ?
Shrimping refers to using your legs and core to push your hips out to one side, then immediately bringing them back to center. It enables you to move your hips from side to side quickly to either create space or close distance against an opponent.
The term “shrimping” comes from the curvature of your body resembling a shrimp during the motion. Shrimping is often used interchangeably with “hip escaping”
Executed properly, shrimping gives you the power to:
- Escape and improve position from pins or submissions
- Create space to move, regain guard or stand up
- Move opponent’s body using pushing or pulling motions
- Set up sweeps by disrupting opponent’s base
Shrimping is thus an indispensable skill in BJJ. Now let’s break down proper shrimping technique.
How to Shrimp in BJJ
While shrimping variations exist, the basic motion is the same. Follow these steps:
- Lay flat on your back
- Bring your knees to your chest, feet flat on floor
- Thrust your hips off the floor to one side
- Immediately return hips to center
- Repeat to opposite side
Make sure to keep your shoulders flat on the mat at all times. Avoid rising up on your elbows – this reduces power.
Here’s a great video breaking down proper shrimping technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-OkELHE9g
Common Shrimping Mistakes to Avoid
Many common shrimping mistakes can negate its effectiveness. Be aware of these errors:
- Lifting shoulders off mat – stay flat!
- Not thrusting hips high enough – really explode up
- Dragging feet instead of bringing knees in
- Taking too long to return hips to center
- Failing to coordinate upper and lower body
- Shrimping straight back instead of to the side
Correct any flaws in your technique by recording your shrimping and watching for errors. Have your instructor observe as well – an outside eye is invaluable. Practicing shrimping slowly can also ingrain proper mechanics. Be patient in honing your technique.
BJJ Drills to Improve Your Shrimp
Including shrimping exercises in your regular BJJ training is key for improvement. Here are some of the best drills:
- Basic shrimping – Simply shrimp back and forth, focusing on proper technique
- Shrimping across mats – See how far you can travel shrimping in one direction
- Shrimping races – Shrimp against a partner to build speed
- Partner resistance shrimping – Have a partner apply light resistance as you shrimp to apply technique
- Shrimping with medicine ball – Add resistance by holding a medicine ball against your chest
- Bridge and shrimp combo – Bridge up, shrimp to a side, return to bridge, repeat
Aim for high reps with deliberate technique. Varying your shrimping drills builds coordination, speed, strength, and endurance.
Shrimping Exercises for Off the Mats
You can further improve your shrimping away from regular training with solo exercises including:
- Glute bridges – Strengthen your hip thrusting power
- Planks – Build core strength for stability
- Squats – Develop legs for driving shrimp motion
- Lunges – Improve hip mobility and range of motion
- Foam rolling – Loosen up your hips and lower back
- Stretching hip flexors – Ensure flexibility for better shrimping
Combining mat drills with off-mat exercises will quickly level up your shrimping ability.
Using Shrimping in Rolling and Competition
Once you’ve honed your technique, put your shrimping skill into action while rolling and competing. Here are some key applications:
- Escape mount – Upa, trap an arm, shrimp and regain guard
- Escape side control – Frame, shrimp away, and insert knee shield
- Escape back control – Trap arm, hip out and spin in
- Escape north-south – Shrimp down to create space, enter kneeshield
- Regain closed guard – Break posture, shrimp, and control limbs
- Take the back – Shrimp toward opponent’s back and get your hooks in
- Set up sweeps – Disrupt base then capitalize on their shift in balance
The possibilities are endless – get creative with integrating shrimping into all aspects of your game!
Shrimping Your Way to BJJ Success
In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, shrimping skills are an absolute necessity. Mastering the intricacies of this indispensable movement will supercharge your ability to recover and improve positions against any opponent.
Implement the techniques in this guide during every class. Drill your shrimping relentlessly. Stay mindful of mistakes. And envision the new possibilities for your game as your shrimping expertise expands.
Remember, perfection of the shrimp is a lifelong journey. But with consistent practice, you will shrimp your way to BJJ success! Now get out there and start those hips moving! Oss!
Frequency of entities:
shrimping – 28
bjj – 24
jiu jitsu – 8
brazilian jiu jitsu – 4
hip – 11
hips – 10
drills – 5
mistakes – 4
opponent – 3
exercises – 3
rolling – 1
competition – 1
Shrimping Up Towards Your Head
What I’m trying to do is displace my body to create distance between myself and my opponent. To do so I want to travel up towards my head.
First, I’m lying on my back like a fetal position, with my knees bent and my heels close to my hips. Now I am going to try to move up.
Right now, I’m going to lift my hips and turn my body to the right, focusing on my right shoulder. Then I’m going to spread my legs apart and bring my hips up to where my head is. Now I am going to come back into the original fetal position on my back. I’ve now displaced myself, having moved up towards where my head was at the beginning.
For practice, I can do this again, but this time I can turn to the left or right and keep shrimping up the mat.
I’ll show you what I mean, just watch the video below.
Video: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Basics: Shrimping to the Side[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/JKZStCRvXvo” align=”center”][vc_column_text]Let’s now talk about a method to move your body down towards your feet when you’re on your back. This direction of shrimping is the most complex method of shrimping but an important skill to master for any BJJ practitioner.
When you’re in the bottom position, this is the hardest way to shrimp, but you need to be able to do it for many of the escapes.
To begin, I’m going to start off on my back, with my feet on the floor. Next I’m going to extend my right leg so that is is straight, flat against the floor. Moving my right shoulder down to the floor, I’m going to turn a little to the right.
My hip will go up into the air as I kick my left leg up. I will then pull my hip down toward my right heel with my right heel. Now I’ve brought my heel and my hip together, having moved down the mat.
Now I’m going to do the move again on the opposite side. I extend my left leg. I use my left shoulder against the floor, turning my body to the side. Then I kick my right leg up into the air. This helps me lift my hip off the ground, and I bring my left heel down to my hip.
This is the most difficult form of shrimping. This is an important drill to use if you’re trying to create distance from your training partner.
The video below fully demonstrates what I’m talking about; so, be sure to check it out.
How to Shrimp in BJJ – BJJ Basics and Tips for Beginners
What is shrimping Jiu Jitsu?
Shrimping is one of the few techniques that one might start to learn in the initial training of Jiu-Jitsu. It’s not easy to perform but daily practice will definitely improve your skills, speed and execution instinct. Shrimping BJJ is important and essential for learning escapes from bad positions.
How to master shrimping in BJJ?
It’s important that BJJ beginners master shrimping to get maximum support in grappling. You always move on the opposite side of your shrimping leg. Do not turn on the same side of your leg movement. 8.2. Staying flat on the ground To attain maximum mobility, raise your hip and shift all your body weight to knees and shoulders.
Why is shrimping important in BJJ?
Shrimping BJJ is important and essential for learning escapes from bad positions. It is a vital part of BJJ moves for submission, sweeps mounting and managing distances to win your BJJ fight. From the start of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, shrimping will remain a part of your warm-up routine. 2. History of BJJ Shrimping
How to do Jiu Jitsu shrimp drill?
Thus, you need to combine the jiu-jitsu shrimp with other moves, such as the BJJ Bridge . Otherwise, the bridge is one of the foremost powerful moves that help create space within your opponent. Thus, the bridge and shrimp drill combines two important movements (legs shrimping and legs bridging).