The Jiu-Jitsu Basics – Wrestling for BJJ

Wrestling is hard. Well, maybe not for those in the jiu-jitsu community who grew up on the wrestling mats. But for the rest of us, wrestling takes a lot of work. So much work, in fact, that pulling guard is often the more attractive option. 

However, neglecting your wrestling skills does your BJJ game a grave disservice. Not only is it such a powerful tool for your arsenal, but today’s jiu-jitsu - especially competitive jiu-jitsu - almost demands it. In fact, the youngest generations of grapplers are growing up on the mat more well-rounded than their predecessors, incorporating wrestling from the very beginning. So, even if you’re not an avid competitor, if you don’t want to get absolutely handled in your own gym by a 14-year-old phenom, you have to know at least the basics.

This is where we come in. No matter where you train and whether they focus on wrestling or not, a few key pointers will go a long way.

In our full blog at the Kingz USA site (here), we go over a quick run down of wrestling, a few concepts that get you started on adding wrestling to your game, and give you a short list 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