Getting Started In Bjj As A Wrestler : 4 Tips To Make A Smooth Transition

As I’ve seen from my own experience and my years as a coach. Wrestlers (even high level) have some common snags that they get hung up on when getting started in BJJ. On the flip side, they have some common advantages to their non wrestling counterparts.

This is something I’m very familiar with because I got into Bjj straight out out of wrestling and I’ve also coached many wrestlers. In fact I want to say I started training BJJ around 3-4 weeks after the state wrestling tournament.

If you liked wrestling you’ll probably love grappling and BJJ. It’s fun and brings back that competitive element former wrestlers often miss afterwards. It is an adjustment though. Below are some tips and advice I would give, and have given, to wrestlers deciding to start Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training.

Its Ok To Be On Your Back

The most obvious is you’ll have to change your mentality about being on your back. From wrestling you’re programmed not to let your back touch the mat. You’ll most likely instinctively spring up to go belly down during your initial BJJ rolling. Even worse, you might even be like I was and look down on the idea of fighting from your back.

To tell you a story from my own experience. Initially, I got into BJJ to learn top submissions. I didn’t want to be a wimpy guard guy, or as I called them, bottom feeders. My idea was that if I was put on my back I would just push the person away and just stand up. However it’s not that easy and, overtime, I lost my resistance.

The turning point for me was at a Pablo Popovitch seminar where he showed some cool butterfly guard sweeps. I couldn’t use them at the time but I liked the mobility and movement of the position. It looked dynamic and exciting, rather than the somewhat static full guard. This opened me up to embracing the idea of being offensive from bottom positions.

Not only will having a good bottom game give you an effective “Plan B” in case you end up on your back (Even if you’re some freak wrestler, you’ll probably be swept to your back at some point). But having a better knowledge of what’s going on the bottom will make you be more effective on top!

When I was a white belt. There was a period of about 3 months where my coach made me start from full guard during rolling. I hated it at first. But after a while my sweeps and submissions got better and it became enjoyable. It also gave me a new area that I could work from. Once I was able to use my full game again I found that my guard passing ability and submission defense from top had shot way up. Whenever the person would grip something, I knew instantly what they were going for and could adjust. This made my guard passing and submissions far more effective than they previously were.

Lastly on the subject of fighting from your back. This is Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, not wrestling. Being a well rounded grappler with a deep knowledge is the goal, not simply winning competitions or rolls in the gym. You can still hold true to your gritty, competitive, heavy top pressure roots from wrestling. But if you don’t want to learn how to grapple from your back. Consider a different sport.

Learn To Slow Down

Slow down. Wrestling is a 6-7 minute sprint whereas BJJ is more of a series of bursts with the match times varying. Wrestling follows a go go go rhythm. While Bjj takes on a go, slow down, go, slow down type of flow.

One of the big reasons for this burst style of movement, in my opinion, has to do with the grips. As a wrestler, you know that you can’t use certain holding grips. They are banned. BJJ has no such rules, and people will lock onto your body or your gi in an effort to slow you down and jockey for position. Some BJJ matches will grind to a stand still because of these grips and positioning.

I see many wrestlers, as I did, struggle with this initially. I remember I would get stuck in a position and my wrestling coach’s voice was still stuck in my head screaming, “Go!” In BJJ and grappling though, you can’t simply explode out of every position. Often when you get tangled up with someone in BJJ, if you try and just get out of or jump away from the position. You pay for it.

So be prepared to slow down and think when you get bogged down in someone grips, guard or some other position.

Watch For Armbars and Triangle Chokes

Being a wrestler you’ll be able to snag a takedown. You’ll also get a reputation for that in your gym of being a wrestler. This means you’ll find yourself in guard often. Due to head and arm placement, pure wrestlers have a knack for getting caught in triangle chokes and submitted with armbars from inside the guard. Getting familiar with triangle choke and armbar escapes and defenses from the top of full guard will help you avoid this.

Get Versed With Side Control And North South

Getting started in BJJ as a wrestler, side control and north south are going to feel like home. You’re essentially in pinning position and you’ll have the sensitivity necessary to adjust when the person tries to escape. This is something you won’t have from a lot of other positions because most of them will be somewhat foreign to your body.

If you’re like I was when I first started you’ll favor keylocks, kimuras and armbars from side control and north south.

I’m not sure if it’s true but one of my original coaches told me the reason the keylock is also called the “americana” is because American wrestlers would favor it so much. Also, true story, I’ve seen D1 wrestlers submit black belts from side control using keylocks because they were just so damn physical. So it’s not something to scoff at, and it’s important to remember that having a good wrestler in side control can be a miserable experience.

With all that side, if you’re a wrestler, learn submissions from side control and north south. They’ll be a good starting point for you.

I hope these tips help you with your new journey as you’re getting started in BJJ and grappling! They come from a wrestler who made the adjustment to BJJ but still feels heavily influenced by wrestling.

Please comment or share if any of this was useful or informative to you.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Chewy