A huge misconception associated with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that you can only practice it at the gym. Unfortunately, this way of thinking actually cuts back on your potential. By finding ways to practice jiu jitsu at home, you’ll increase your skills at a much quicker rate.
Jiu Jitsu at home: Developing Your Technique By “Shadow” Grappling
Shadow grappling is nothing more than practicing your Jiu-Jitsu moves on an imaginary opponent. It’s
extremely important that you perform moves as though there was actually someone there. Do your best to visualize another opponent and then follow through on various moves and techniques. Why is shadow grappling so effective? For one, it really allows you to become aware of your body.
Since another opponent is not actively submitting you, you can take the time to focus on your technique and work on where it might be a little weak. Another quality tip to remember about shadow grappling is to perform it with your take downs. Take downs are actually quite important in Jiu-Jitsu, but most gyms won’t spend that much time working on them (unless your gym is focused on competition-based BJJ).
Jiu Jitsu at home: Working on Building Your “Hips”
Another way to increase your BJJ skills at home would be to work on building your hips. What exactly does this mean? Basically, BJJ is a sport in which you want to have full control over your hips. For example, when performing a take down, you don’t want to have your hips on the mat, because it means that your technique is poor. Likewise, when performing moves like arm bars or triangle chokes then being able to lift your hips off of the ground is essential to completing the technique.
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To work on your hips at home, start by lying down flat on your back. Now, place both of your arms over your chest and raise your feet straight towards the ceiling. The key thing to remember here is that you want to lift your hips off of the ground as you do this. As you perform this move, continue starring at the ceiling and slightly turn your legs to mimic a triangle choke. Make sure that you control your legs all the way up and all the way down for optimal results.
As you work on these two techniques, you’ll notice your BJJ skills increase by a noticeable amount. The great news is that these are moves that you can work on from the comfort of your own home!