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!

Hip movement is the foundation upon which jiu jitsu is built. Moving your hips is critical for almost everything you do in jiu jitsu - getting under your opponent to destabilize him, establishing distance when your guard is being passed, reaching up to lock in an arm bar or triangle. If your hips don’t move, all of these options just go away.

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. Practice hip escapes/shrimps around your living room, around the school before or after class, and otherwise go crazy with it. Be sure to get all the way onto your side and move those hips as far out as you can. When it comes time for live training, just remember your practice time and apply it.

Using your hips correctly is something that doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so don’t get frustrated if others do it well. Just persevere and you’ll get it down in no time!

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.