One Reason Why You Should Learn the Reverse Shrimp
In Jiu Jitsu, there is a common situation that is virtually a checkmate.
If you get caught there, you will be offered a harsh choice. It’s either tap or snap, if the attack progresses past a certain point. Escape won’t be an option anymore. But a few short moments before it reaches that point, there is a movement that can be used to drastically improved the odds of a safe, easy and painless escape.
I speak, of course, about the armbar from mount, one of the most fundamental techniques in the art of Jiu Jitsu.
It doesn’t matter where you go or who you train with, you will learn how to do this attack, and you’ll also have to defend it again. It’s common because it’s effective, and that’s true even at the highest levels of the art. Studies have even been done on the result of black belt matches at the biggest tournament in the world, and consistently the armbar has been ranked in the top 2 for most common submission finish. Now that may include many different entries to the attack, but the transition from mount is always threat, and it’s a fundamental transition that you will have to deal with.
That’s one reason why you must have the reverse shrimp in your arsenal.
There’s a moment in the transition to the finish where one little reverse shrimp will make opponents flop on their butt, allowing you to not only escape with ease but also laugh a little at their frustration.
How awesome is that?
It’s not easy movement to learn, though. Perhaps that’s one reason why it’s not often included in many warmup drill flows. Everyone does the shrimp, but the reverse variation just doesn’t get the same amount of love. In fact, I didn’t learn it until I was a purple belt at a seminar in the mountainous region of western Maryland.
That’s why we have put together a short breakdown of how to do the movement, and you can check that out right here:
If you want to learn how to use this movement to escape armbar, sweep from tough positions, and otherwise improve your position while grappling, come in and try a class. We will explore this movement and many others, and you will learn how to apply them in ways that are both effective and efficient.
Just sign up for a trial on the form below.
