In BJJ, Drills Are All About Being Unconsciously Competent. You Don't Think, You Just Move.

Deadweight Bridge to Closed Guard Drill

You begin this drill by laying on your back as if you are in side control. Next your partner lays down or your chest like a plank with his hands behind his back. Create a frame against your partner’s upper body using your forearms. Now you bridge up with your hips, then shrimp out to the side and slide in your legs to close the guard. I think that this is a great drill because it helps to strengthen the muscles around your hips and core (two very important areas for BJJ fighters). Also this position drills two very basic and important movements: shrimping and bridging. Both of these movements are used in countless techniques. Finally, I like how this drill conditions your legs and hips to almost snap into the closed guard. I find that having that movement is very helpful when you fight. There are times where I find that when I am in transition in a fight, I can snap my legs around his body I can catch him in either a closed or high guard.

The Master’s Series

That last drill was pretty defensively oriented so I think it’s fitting to also have an offensive drill. Once you get over the name of this drill, I think you will see why it is so fitting for newbies. Starting in closed guard, you through up a standard arm bar. Next your opponent pulls out his arm and you flow into an omaplata. Finally your opponent begins to sit up where you flow to a triangle choke. I like this drill a lot because it gives you a chance to practice three very common submissions in jiu jitsu. Also there are many variations to this drill, so the person doesn’t have to worry if they don’t know one of the submissions; they can simply flow between the two submissions they do know. Lastly, I like how this drill demonstrates what high level jiu jitsu is about; always having a plan B regardless of what your opponent does.

Light Flow

I found that when I started BJJ, I learned the most when I would lightly flow with someone. To clarify something, when I say lightly, I mean zero strength, all technique. There shouldn’t be any explosive movements. I found that this was the best venue to try out what I had learned in my bjj classes. It’s a great chance to experiment with techniques and learn to move on the ground. Another good thing is you are much more calm then you would be when your full out roll, so it lets you think more about how you can respond to your partner’s movements. I think that a lot of problems that newbies have when they roll are caused from them panicking in certain situations.

Once you've mastered these there is a structured ladder of drills more complex & more advanced for you to grow into. The key is to get started, too often people watch a bjj video on youtube and once they mentally grasp it, they think they're through and move onto the next technique and next video.