BJJ 101 – Wrestling for BJJ

Grow up on the wrestling mat? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Otherwise you probably wouldn’t be here, reading this right now. Don’t worry, you’re in good company. 

Incorporating wrestling into your Brazilian jiu-jitsu game is not easy. Just like jiu-jitsu, wrestling is an art, and one that takes many years to master. It’s also generally takes a much greater toll on your body than the average BJJ class, which is why many jiu-jitsu practitioners tend to just pull guard rather than risk a bad takedown. 

However, opting to avoid wrestling altogether, rather than slowly but surely incorporate a few takedowns into your game, is a shame. Not only that, but in today’s sport, you really come to the mat at a severe disadvantage - especially if you are or plan to be an avid competitor - if you don’t have at least some basic understanding of wrestling. 

Convinced? We hope so. 

In our full blog at the Kingz USA site (here), we provide a short summary of wrestling (at its most basic), some concepts to help you start adding wrestling to your game, and a few of our favorite BJJ-friendly takedowns. 

The article covers:

• Understanding Wrestling
• Key Principles of Wrestling (for BJJ) - including posture, controlling the angle, timing and movement
• The Power of Wrestling for Jiu-Jitsu
• Common Jiu-Jitsu Friendly Takedowns

Also, if you liked this, check out the others in our BJJ Basics series below:

• BJJ Basics – Back Control
• BJJ Basics – Mastering the Mount
• BJJ Basics - All You Need to Know About Closed Guard