Move of the Day

Hip Escape to Recover Guard

The shrimp that keeps you from getting flattened — and puts you back on offense.

If you can only own one survival movement as a white belt, make it the hip escape. When someone is side-controlling you, they want your near hip pinned and your spine glued to the mat. The shrimp creates space, turns your frames into a wall, and lets you pull your bottom knee back in so you can rebuild closed or open guard.

The steps

1. 01Frame: near-side forearm across their hip or neck, far-side hand posting on their shoulder or biceps — elbows tight, not wide.
2. 02Look toward the far wall and bridge slightly into them to steal a half-inch of space.
3. 03Explosively shrimp: drive off the near foot, scoot your hips away, and turn onto your side.
4. 04Pull the bottom knee through the space you made and clamp it across their belt line.
5. 05Reconnect your feet or establish an open-guard frame before they smash back down.

Details that matter

• Shrimp from the hip, not by sliding the shoulders. Shoulders stay heavy on the mat.
• If you cannot get the knee in, shrimp twice. One big ugly shrimp beats one pretty incomplete one.
• Breathe out on the escape so your ribs can compress and your hips can travel.

Video walkthroughs live on the BJJ Everyday YouTube.

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