The Four Fundamental Movements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The Break fall is the single most important technique that you can teach someone. It is far more likely to be used than any other technique as people often fall in non-combat related activities all the time. For that reason it should be included in every curriculum, reviewed often and repped daily.
There are three important Break-Fall variations to learn:
Standard Break-Fall
Side Break-Fall
Front Fall
Break-Fall
Standard Break-Fall.
To perform a Breakfall the practicing student will cross their arms across their chest with their fingers touching their shoulders. Then they will make sure their feet are less than shoulder width apart and squat down until their tailbone is close to the floor. As the student is squatting they should touch their chin to their chest to prevent the back of their head from hitting the floor during the breakfall.
To execute the Break-Fall the practicing student will simply allow their lower back to make contact with the floor and continue to roll up their back until they reach their shoulders. As their back is making contact with the floor the practicing student will exhale and extend their arms between their hips and shoulders slapping the mat with their hands in the palm down orientation.
It is ok to allow the legs to come up off of the mat to help maintain the curve of the back and disperse the impact across the entire back and arms rather than back flopping on the mat.
Side Break-fall.
The Side Break-Fall is an important variation as sometimes you cannot control the direction of the fall. This can be practiced by entering the squat as stated above (arms crossed, feet less than shoulder width apart, chin tucked) but altering the fall. The fall can be altered by choosing one side to fall and straightening the corresponding leg across the body. This will effectively remove an essential part of the students base and create space to fall. As the student is falling they should extend their arm, palm down and attempt to touch the floor one moment before the rest of the body makes contact. Just before making contact with the mat the practicing student should remember to forcibly exhale to prevent having the wind knocked out of them.
It is important to understand that this hand is not attempting to catch, brace or prevent the fall, but rather to spread out the practicing student’s mass as much as possible to distribute the force of impact.
Front Fall.
The Front Fall is the most difficult of the falls to practice because intuition is to reach your hands out and try to catch yourself. It is also scary to do correctly because it will give the sensation that you are about to smash your face into the floor (and you will if done incorrectly).To practice the Front Fall the student will start on their knees with full posture. There should be as much separation between the student’s heels and buttocks as possible with the knees, thighs, hips and chest making one straight plane.
The student will then lift both arms and make a diamond shape by connecting their pointer fingers and thumbs (Note- The Diamond shape is only a visual cue and it is not necessary to actually touch the fingers). The hands should then be brought up to the nose with the pointer fingers in front of, but not touching the nose.
Before executing the front fall, the student should make sure the elbow, forearm and hands create a flat plane that will make contact with the floor prior to the rest of the body. It is the goal to have the whole forearm, including the hands make contact simultaneously. As the student is falling forward they should turn their face. There will be some give in their arms and if the student doesn't turn their face it is very possible that their face makes contact with the floor.As with the other Breakfalls it is extremely important for the student to exhale forcibly as they are falling to prevent having the wind knocked out of them.
Technical Stand Up
Teaching someone how to get off of the ground safely and efficiently is nearly as important as learning how to fall. It is important in a combative instance to learn the mechanics of the body, how to have the arms, legs and hips working together and dangers associated with attempting to get back to your feet in front of someone. However, it is also important to learn this skill as there are many instances in your life that require getting up off the floor (playing with kids, servicing some appliances, laying on the beach etc).
To perform the Technical Stand Up the student will sit on the floor on their buttocks with the bottoms of their feet touching (very similar to a Butterfly Stretch). The student will then choose one side and place one hand on the floor. The same side leg will then remain on the floor with the knee touching the floor. The other foot will be placed with the foot flat on the floor and the knee pointed towards the ceiling. The same side arm, as the knee towards the ceiling, will place the elbow on the top of the knee in a resting position. This is referred to as the “Watching TV position”. Once in position the student will use the hand that is on the floor, and the opposite foot on the floor to lift their body. This lifting should allow the hips to rock back and forth but may take some practice to hold this position. I typically allow students some practice in lifting their hips a couple of times before I ask them to transition the legs. To transition the legs, the student will lift their hips and slide the non-posted leg under the body until it can be firmly placed behind the posted hand. Once posted the child should be able to comfortably stand into a neutral standing stance.The placement of the foot can be a difficult concept to understand but a new student can build this understanding by placing their resting arm on the floor comfortably next to the posted hand before lifting their hips. This will lock their hips into a set pattern and will allow an easy placement of the non posted foot.Note- The non-posted hand has the job of protecting the face and/or framing in the event an opponent attempts to close the distance while performing the Technical Stand Up. While this is exceptionally important, and should be pointed out, it is ok to alter the hand placement while learning how to raise the hips and place the second foot to alter the hand placement.
Bridging
Bridging is an essential technique for making space. The Bridge has many applications and is present in many martial arts. It is both diverse and powerful. There are however differences in the application and execution of the Bridge between sports. This is typically based on the rule set. For instance, in wrestling they bridge on their head rather than their neck and shoulders. It is important to practice this daily as it will also be used in every training session. The Bridge is a gross motor movement that engages a lot of the core muscles and is great for part of your school's warm-up sequence.
To practice the Bridge the student will lay on their back with their legs bent and feet on the floor. The heels should be pulled as close to the student’s buttocks as is comfortable with an emphasis on pushing off the balls of their feet. Their hands should be in the Home Alone position with their elbows pressed against their ribs. To execute the Bridge the student will lift their hips towards the ceiling and then angle their body towards one shoulder. This will slightly turn their belly and create a desire to turn over. As the body is lifting the student should extend their arm so that their bicep and shoulder make contact with the jawline and ear (not across the throat). This hand should continue to reach throughout the entirety of the bridge with the desire to touch the pointer finger to the floor at the highest point of the bridge. Once the finger makes contact with the floor the student will allow their hips to lower while retracting their arm into the Home Alone position as their body reaches the starting position (back flat, heels close to the Buttocks). Then the student should practice the Bridge to the opposite side.
There are various applications for the Bridge and many ways to practice. Make sure the student not only understands the power of lifting the hips, but also the range of motion of the hips, the reaching arm and how to maneuver their own legs to transition directly into the Turtle Position.
Shrimping
This movement is equally important as the previous two but mostly has combative implications and so it is listed third. Strong and diverse hip movement is essential to being able to grapple, and while there are different ranges for hips movements, the shrimp is arguably the most important. In every class, in every training situation, and with almost every partner, there will be a need to shrimp to create space. For that reason it is important for students to develop a deep understanding of how the shrimp works, how to apply the shrimp, and revisit the movement regularly.
To practice the shrimp the student will lay with their back with their legs bent and feet flat on the floor. The initial movement will be a very slight bridge to relieve some of the friction on the lower back and hips. The bridge should be initiated from the toes with an emphasis on one shoulder. As the hips are lifting the practicing student will push off their toes while simultaneously crunching their nose towards their toes. Emphasize hip movement as the crucial part of the shrimp. For students that struggle it is ok to stand over the practicing student with your feet planted on either side of the practicing student’s hips. Encourage the student to crunch their body over the shin and use their arms and feet together to slide their buttocks, hips and lower back out and away from your legs. Then, once they have cleared the legs they will return back flat and you can progress to standing over their hips again. Being able to use the arms to push on the shin is helpful in understanding the progression of the body, but also having the other shin limiting the space behind the student also reinforces a good pathway for the hips while performing the shrimp.
Lastly, if a student’s feet are slipping while performing the shrimp, it is because they are pushing off of their heels and/or the flat part of their foot. Have them emphasize pushing off the balls of their feet before performing the shrimp.