Move of the Day

Kids Guard Recovery Game: Shrimp & Frame

A playful version of the hip escape so kids learn space without getting smashed.

Kids do not need a lecture on frames. They need a game: someone is a slow-moving boulder, you are a shrimp trying to get your knees back in. Keep the partner on their knees, no dumping all their weight, and celebrate every time the bottom player gets a knee shield. Gray / kids classes live or die on this kind of constraint game.

The steps

1. 01Top player starts on both knees beside the bottom player — not in a full smash side control.
2. 02Bottom player frames on the shoulders and shrimps to make a 'door' for the knee.
3. 03If the knee comes in, freeze and high-five. Reset.
4. 04After three successes, let the top player move a little faster — still no full body weight on the ribs.
5. 05Switch roles. The lesson is the same both ways: hips make space, arms only steer.

Details that matter

• Coach the top kid to be a good partner. Winning the drill is not the point.
• If someone is gassed or upset, reset to a slower boulder. Ego does not belong in kids class.
• Name the frames ('fence posts') so they remember them next week.

Phone walkthroughs will land on the BJJ Everyday YouTube when they are filmed. The written steps above are the complete drill.

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