BJJ is full of graceful, precise movements and techniques that can flow together and connect to create an amazing display of art. Sure, we know that good BJJ is all about good “flowing” technique, but what helps these techniques flow so well?
I’m talking about scrambles and concepts of engagement, guys.
Many of us might not think that these small concepts and strategies play a large role in the developement of our jiu jitsu, but in fact they play a HUGE role.
Here’s what I mean:
Scrambles:
Having a good scramble game means having the ability to get from one position to another before your opponent can do so.
A good example of this is when two fighters are in a foot lock orientation. If for some reason during the position there is an opening where both fighters have the opportunity to take the top position, a scramble to take the top position will occur.
Which ever fighter has the faster scramble game in the match will have a huge advantage, as they will be able to take the best position more often and even beat their opponent to the punch during neutral positions.
A great way to improve your scramble game is to have “base races”. This is when you and a training partner start a match in a neutral foot lock orientation, say for example, 50/50 guard. The second the match starts, your goal is to achieve top position first during the foot lock scramble.
This is also an effective training drill for other semi-neutral positions such as the dogfight position or single leg and double leg takedown positions.
Here is the epitome of a good scramble game. One of my favorite matches featuring Bruno Malfacine, a master of the scramble:
- 1:42 to 2:05 – An awesome scramble from a foot lock entanglement giving Bruno top position
- 2:33 to 2:50 – Another ridiculous scramble as Bruno fights to keep top position
- 5:20 to 5:23 – Bruno gets his leg free and scrambles to close the distance between him and Ary.
- 9:38 to 9:48 – Yet again, another scramble by Bruno to take top
Like I said, this match is an incredible example of how important having a good scramble game is.
Concepts of Engagement:
Knowing when and how to engage your opponent effectively is also essential in developing your BJJ game. Most of us are not going to sit there and let our opponent impose his will on us, right?
If your opponent reaches for your collar or grabs a wrist, it is very important that you immediately counter his engagement with your own. Break his grips or even set up the very same grips on your opponent to counter-engage effectively.
Engaging properly from the feet is also super essential. When pulling guard from the feet, don’t just pull guard to pull guard, pull right into the sweep! When you don’t engage with purpose, it leaves you open to attacks and counter attacks.
Timing is a large factor of proper engagement, and if you can get your timing down well, then your engagements with your opponent will be advantageous.
If you take a look at wrestlers who transition to BJJ/submission grappling, they all have excellent scramble games and their engagement/timing is near perfect. This is because wrestling requires timing and the ability to scramble from obscure positions.
Here’s a match between Davi Ramos and Rustam Chsiev. Here you will see some crazy scrambles and excellent examples of engagement concepts.
Here are the key points to remember:
- Getting to your feet/base quickly will win you scrambles
- Getting out of entanglements quickly will win you scrambles
- Always break or counter grips
- Engage with a purpose
- Timing is key to proper engagement
Develop these areas of your BJJ game and you will see some serious improvement!
-N
Chube Jitsu 