9 Best BJJ Drills for Beginners to Build Skill

A beginner’s first few months on the mat can feel like trying to solve a moving puzzle while somebody is leaning their weight on you. The best BJJ drills for beginners make that puzzle smaller. They give you repeatable movements, clear positions and dependable reactions before the pace rises in positional sparring or live rolling.

Drilling is not about collecting flashy techniques. It is where you learn to move with balance, protect yourself under pressure and recognise what a good position feels like. Train these fundamentals with purpose and the techniques taught in class will begin to connect far more quickly.

Start with movement, not submissions

New students often want to know the fastest route to a submission. In reality, good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu starts with posture, frames, balance and escapes. If you can move safely on the ground and recover a strong position, you can train with more confidence and give yourself more opportunities to attack later.

Work at a pace that keeps the movement clean. A rushed repetition teaches rushed habits. Your partner should provide enough cooperation for you to understand the path of the drill, then gradually add realistic resistance as your timing improves.

1. Shrimping and hip escapes

The hip escape, often called a shrimp, is one of the first movements every BJJ student needs. Lie on your back, turn slightly onto one side, place a foot on the mat and drive your hips away from your upper body. Your shoulders should not slide backwards with your hips. The aim is to create space.

Practise shrimping up and down the mat, but do not make it a race. Keep your elbows close to your ribs, your chin tucked and your knees able to return between you and an opponent. This movement appears in side-control escapes, guard recovery and many defensive scrambles.

A useful variation is the hip escape to knee-elbow connection. After each shrimp, bring your near-side knee towards your elbow. That simple connection teaches the defensive frame that stops an opponent from settling their weight too easily.

2. Bridging with control

A bridge is not simply throwing your hips into the air. From your back, plant your feet close to your hips, drive through the mat and lift your hips while turning towards one shoulder. The movement should be powerful but directed, as if you are trying to place an opponent’s weight over the shoulder rather than straight above you.

Begin with solo bridges, then practise with a partner holding mount in a safe, controlled way. Learn to trap an arm and a foot before bridging for a basic mount escape. The drill teaches a valuable lesson: escapes work when you remove the posts that keep your partner balanced.

Avoid bridging with your neck. Your head stays relaxed on the mat, and the force comes from your legs and hips.

3. Technical stand-up

The technical stand-up helps you rise from the ground without turning your back or sacrificing balance. Sit with one hand posted behind you, one foot planted and the other leg extended as a barrier. Lift your hips, draw the extended leg underneath you and stand while keeping your hands ready to frame or defend.

This is especially useful for self-defence awareness and for the moments in training when creating distance is the smarter choice than staying entangled. Practise standing on both sides. If one side feels awkward, that is the side that deserves extra repetitions.

Do not reach your posted hand too far behind you. Keep it close enough that your shoulder remains strong and your body can move as one unit.

The best BJJ drills for beginners build reliable positions

Once the basic movements feel less foreign, pair them with the positions you will see in nearly every class. The goal is not to win the drill. It is to learn the small details that make a position stable or vulnerable.

4. Closed guard posture and posture breaking

Closed guard is a valuable early position because it teaches you how to control distance with your legs and upper body. From the bottom, practise keeping your knees active, your ankles safely crossed and your hips close enough to affect your partner’s posture. Break posture by using your legs, grips and body movement together rather than pulling wildly with your arms.

From the top, drill a tall, balanced posture. Keep your elbows connected, your spine aligned and your weight centred. Your task is not to force your way through the guard. It is to remove your partner’s ability to pull you forward and off-balance you.

Switch roles often. Feeling both sides explains why posture matters more clearly than any verbal instruction can.

5. Guard retention with frames

Guard retention is the skill of keeping an opponent from passing your legs and settling into side control. Start with your partner moving slowly around your feet while you use your hands on their shoulders or hips and your shins to maintain distance. Keep your knees pointed towards them and recover squarely when they angle off.

A simple drill is to have your partner attempt to touch the mat beside your hip. Your job is to frame, move your hips and bring a knee back inside. At first, use light pressure. As you improve, your partner can increase the pace and use more realistic passing angles.

This is tiring, and that is normal. Efficient guard retention relies on timing and structure, not trying to leg-press somebody all round the mat.

6. Side-control survival and recovery

Side control can feel claustrophobic for new students. A good survival drill makes it manageable. Begin underneath a cooperative partner. Build two frames: one across the near hip and one protecting the space near their shoulder or neck. Turn onto your side where possible, keep your elbows in and avoid pushing with straight, disconnected arms.

From there, practise a small hip escape and bring your bottom knee back inside. Recovering half guard is a worthwhile first target. It is often more realistic than trying to leap straight into full guard against a partner with good pressure.

Your partner should learn as well. When holding side control, practise chest-to-chest connection, wide base and controlled pressure without crushing your training partner. Good drilling creates capable partners, not exhausted bodies with sore ribs.

7. Mount escape chain

Mount is a dominant position, so beginners need more than one answer. Drill the elbow-knee escape and the trap-and-roll escape as a connected sequence. If your partner posts a hand or leaves an arm vulnerable, the bridge escape may be available. If they stay balanced and tight, create a frame, shrimp and work your knee through.

Start each repetition with your hands in sensible defensive positions, protecting your neck and managing their hips. The detail that makes this drill useful is decision-making: learn what your partner’s weight and posts are telling you rather than repeating one escape regardless of the situation.

8. Passing the guard with a partner

Guard passing teaches posture, patience and pressure. A beginner-friendly drill is a standing or kneeling pass against open guard where the bottom player gives realistic but measured movement. The passer practises controlling the legs, choosing an angle and clearing the knees before trying to settle side control.

Do not rush into a pass with your head down and arms extended. That often leads directly into sweeps, collar chokes in gi training or being pulled off-balance. Instead, establish grips or controls, keep your base broad and advance one stage at a time.

For the guard player, the same drill develops retention. Both people are improving, which is why positional drilling is one of the most productive ways to spend mat time.

9. Positional sparring from one clear goal

The bridge between drilling and live rolling is positional sparring. Start in a defined position, such as bottom side control, closed guard or mount. Give one person a simple goal, such as escaping to guard, while the other aims to hold position or advance. Reset when the goal is reached.

This format keeps rounds focused and gives beginners enough repetition to notice patterns. It also reduces the pressure to perform every technique at once. Use short rounds, perhaps one or two minutes, then discuss what kept working and what broke down.

Make your drilling time count

Quality beats volume. Before a round, agree on the purpose, the level of resistance and the finishing point. During the drill, pay attention to whether your frames stay connected, your hips move at the right time and your breathing remains calm. After a few repetitions, ask your partner for one specific observation rather than a general verdict.

It also helps to train both sides, even when one side feels less natural. BJJ will not always give you your preferred angle. A balanced practice builds confidence when the position is messy, when fatigue sets in and when a familiar escape must happen on the other side.

At Attitude BJJ Academy, beginners are encouraged to learn these movements under experienced coaching, at an appropriate pace and alongside training partners who want to see them improve. A one-week free trial is a practical way to experience how structured instruction turns unfamiliar movements into useful skills.

Show up ready to learn, repeat the basics with care and let each small improvement earn the next one. Confidence on the mat is built one clean repetition at a time.