Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Shoulder Roll

I just finished posting a video where I mentioned that I was working my shoulder roll. There weren’t too many instances of rolling in that video, but during class, I used that tricky technique quite a bit.

The shoulder a roll can be a real challenge for your opponent. Once started, many times, guys just sit there and wait for you to finish, not knowing what to do. Last night, a buddy of mine said, “You just can’t defend against that thing!” The more I do it, the better I get at it and the more I make it work for me.

I generally use the shoulder roll to get into guard or to escape a sticky situation. Since I oftentimes start a match with my head down playing coy, I get stuck in an attempted guillotine, peruvian necktie or something similar. In order to defend, I wait for the right moment and roll out of it.

The shoulder roll takes tons of live rolling practice to get good at. It’s not something you can just try here and there because many times, you’ll have no idea where you are going to end up. You have to practice repeatedly to get that part of it somewhat predictable.

I’m going to post the best video I can find that demonstrates what the shoulder roll is. I’m also going to incorporate it more into my own rolling sessions so you can get a better look at how I use it.

Martial Arts of Naples, FL – Shoulder Roll