You practice jiu jitsu with extreme concentration. You focus intently on your instructor. You operate at maximum intensity in practice sessions. But somehow you are unable to hold your protective positions, and you lack the strength and stamina to subdue your opponents. This can be very irritating.

The answer is to make sure you swivel your hips!

Maximizing your success in the sport of jiu jitsu is predicated on getting good hip action. Hip action is the central act for almost all important jiu jitsu moves, including moving beneath your challenger for a sweep, gain a positional advantage, escaping via a defensive move, or using leverage to establish a critical hold. Without hip action, these maneuvers become impossible to negotiate in the heat of battle.

Learning to use your hips correctly should be a central focus while you practice jiu jitsu. The hips are critical to getting you out of trouble via a defensive move, as well as to your finishing out a match with a lethal hold. Just remember the importance of active hips! Sometimes your active hips may cause you to make a mistake, but don’t worry about it. Learning how to employ your hips correctly requires constant repetition in training.

A great way to get used to the feeling of using your hips is to do solo jiu jitsu drills and a great one is shrimping. Get in the habit doing these shrimp escape moves whenever you have a chance to practice alone, and eventually they will become second nature. Be sure to get all the way onto your side and move those hips as far out as you can. Once you are practicing with a partner, you will automatically start to make use of your hips.

Some people are able to learn the correct hip action immediately, but others must work at it- so don’t get discouraged if it takes awhile. Just persevere and you’ll get it down in a snap!

Draculino is a fourth degree jiu jitsu black belt, multiple time champion, and trainer of MMA, BJJ, and grappling champs. To learn more visit his BJJ training site or stop in the free jiu jitsu forum.