How to improve wrestling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

What “wrestling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu” actually means

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, “wrestling” usually means the skills that decide who lands on top when the match starts standing: stance and footwork, hand fighting and tie-ups, takedown entries and finishes, and takedown defence such as the sprawl. In no-gi settings this overlaps heavily with what many people call submission wrestling, a hybrid grappling sport that mixes elements of various wrestling styles, judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with the objective of forcing a submission through joint locks and chokes.

If you want wrestling to matter in your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you also need the link after the takedown: you must land in control, not just touch the floor first. That is still grappling, but it is the part that makes your takedown “count” in a ground-fighting sport where submissions and positional dominance matter.

How to improve wrestling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (a practical sequence)

Improving is mostly about turning “things you know exist” into habits you can use under resistance. In grappling, that normally means drilling and live sparring (rolling), supported by conditioning as needed. If you are unsure how to balance repetition against live rounds, use this as a supplement to Drilling vs rolling — why you need both.

1) Start with stance, distance, and safe falling

Begin from a neutral standing start. Build a stance you can keep while moving: stable base, ability to level change, and the habit of keeping your head and hips in positions that make it harder for your partner to access your legs.

If you are adding more takedowns to your training, make sure you can fall safely. Breakfalls (ukemi) are a standard piece of takedown training across grappling, and they make hard sessions possible without relying on luck.

2) Build a small set of tie-ups you will actually use

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, especially no-gi, you need ways to connect before you shoot or clinch. Choose a small number of tie-ups and controls that fit your game and drill them until you can get to them without thinking.

Common examples are collar ties, inside ties, wrist control, pummelling to underhooks and overhooks, and two-on-one control (often called a Russian tie). You are not trying to “win the hands” as a separate sport; you are trying to create reliable entries to takedowns and front headlocks.

3) Add two takedown paths: one leg-attack and one clinch-attack

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu includes a wide range of takedowns, including any takedowns used in wrestling and other grappling arts, such as direct attempts to take the legs. To keep your training focused, pick:

• One leg-attack path (for example, a single leg or double leg).
• One clinch-attack path (for example, a body lock into a trip).

Drill each path from your preferred tie-up. The key is not collecting finishes; it is learning to enter cleanly from contact, keep your balance, and complete the takedown without giving away easy counters.

4) Train takedown defence as much as takedowns

If you only practise shooting, you will still feel “bad at wrestling” when someone shoots on you. Make defence a normal part of your rounds.

Core defensive ideas include recognising the shot early, using a sprawl, and learning to work from positions that appear immediately after defence, such as the front headlock. This matters in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because defence can become offence: if you sprawl and end up in a controlling front headlock, you are already close to passing or taking the back depending on the scramble.

5) Make the takedown lead to top control, not a scramble

In submission wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, control and positional dominance are central, alongside submissions. That means your takedown practice should not end the moment your partner hits the mat.

Build a habit of landing with a controllable structure: head and arm control where appropriate, hips heavy enough to stop immediate guard recovery, and awareness of where your knees and feet are so you do not get entangled.

If your academy uses “position before submission” language, treat it literally in this phase: the cleanest wrestling improvements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu often show up as fewer messy scrambles after a takedown, not just more takedowns. See Position before submission — what it actually means if you want a clearer way to think about that trade.

6) Pressure-test it in live rounds that start standing

You can drill entries forever, but the part you are missing is usually timing, reaction, and the feel of resistance. Add rounds that start standing and keep the objective simple: get to your tie-up, attempt your takedown path, and then stabilise without rushing a submission.

This still counts as “rolling” in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu terms: sparring is a major part of how the sport is practised. If you want a definition of what counts as rolling and how gyms typically run it, use What is rolling in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?.

7) Keep safety explicit, especially with speed and impact

Grappling sports that include submissions treat safety as important: you are taught to recognise dangerous positions and submit before serious injury occurs. Wrestling-heavy training adds a different kind of risk: impact, awkward landings, and collisions.

So agree intensity, agree the space you have, and keep finishes controlled. If you are the person doing the takedown, you are responsible for your partner’s ability to land safely.

When improving wrestling applies (and when it matters less)

It applies most when your rounds or competitions start standing and reward being on top. That is especially common in no-gi, where wrestling-style tie-ups are a straightforward way to connect without relying on cloth grips. It also applies if you train in submission wrestling-style sessions, which are explicitly built from hybrid grappling influences including various wrestling styles, judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

It matters less when your rule set or your immediate training goal makes standing exchanges a smaller part of the session. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu includes pulling guard, which is not used in wrestling or judo, and some competitors build a strategy around going straight to guard rather than fighting for a takedown.

Even then, wrestling does not disappear. If you pull guard, you still benefit from better hand fighting to get to the guard pull you want, and better defensive reactions if your pull is resisted. If you pass, you still benefit from the ability to keep top position when your opponent tries to stand or scramble.

What people get wrong about improving wrestling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Treating wrestling as separate from the ground game

A common mistake is thinking “wrestling” ends when someone touches the mat. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission wrestling, the whole point is control that leads to submissions (joint locks and chokeholds) and dominant position. If your takedown reliably puts you into an immediate scramble, you have not improved the part that your grappling rules actually reward.

Copying techniques without adapting them to submissions and guard

Submission-focused grappling changes the risks. When submissions are available, leaving your limbs in vulnerable positions can be punished quickly, and landing in a loose top position can mean you fall straight into guard attacks. You need finishes and follow-ups that keep your posture, balance, and limb safety intact.

Only practising offence

If you never train defence, you will keep losing the first exchange against anyone who wants to shoot, snap you down, or body-lock you. The sprawl and front headlock positions exist in wrestling fundamentals for a reason, and they map cleanly into grappling where controlling positions and chokes are major winning routes.

Making it about strength instead of repeatable mechanics

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is often framed around leverage and technique rather than strength. If your takedowns only work when you can overpower someone, you will stall against people who are heavier, more athletic, or simply more experienced at hand fighting. Build mechanics you can repeat when you are tired.

If you want a clean way to keep yourself honest on this point, relate your stand-up training to the same idea you already use on the mat: Technique vs strength in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu applies to takedowns as much as guard passing.

Ignoring basic equipment and wear-and-tear

Wrestling-heavy sessions often involve more head contact and more friction in clinches. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling headgear is sometimes used to help prevent cauliflower ear. If you are increasing your wrestling rounds, that practical choice becomes more relevant.

A simple way to plan a week of “wrestling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”

If you are already training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu several times a week, you normally do not need to turn your whole schedule into a wrestling camp. Instead, you add a small, repeated standing block and then force yourself to start some rounds standing.

Keep it narrow: one tie-up you favour, one leg attack, one clinch attack, and one defensive reaction (sprawl to front headlock) repeated often enough that it becomes your default. The goal is not variety; it is that, in live rolling, you can reach your tie-up, attempt your entry, and land in control without creating chaos.

If you are still building a baseline training habit, you will get more value from consistency than from any special wrestling plan. Use How often should a beginner train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? for frequency, then layer the standing work onto sessions you can actually maintain.