Jiu Jitsu Shoulder Roll

For the past few months, I’ve been working on the “rolling” part of rolling in Jiu Jitsu. I initially got interested in this after watching a video of a NAGA tournament where an instructor was rolling with one of his students (just for fun). The instructor used very few traditional Jiu Jitsu techniques, but utterly dumbfounded his student, simply by continuously rolling over his shoulders. His student looked fairly helpless for the majority of the match.

The Shoulder Roll offers something that’s not often found in other techniques – and that’s surprise. To this day, I get looks of, “What the heck are you doing?” as I try rolling over my shoulders during a sparring go-round. The beauty of this type of roll is that it’s quite challenging for your opponent to predict where your next one is going to come from – and as you climb in rank, you understand just how important prediction becomes.

Just last night, I was teaching a few guys the element of surprise by starting off a match with a quick shoulder roll into guard, then a scissor sweep into a simple armbar. It’s a nice effective combo, especially if you’re into expanding your game.

I took a look around Youtube in search of a good video that explains the inner workings of the Shoulder Roll and I think I found one. If you watch the below video in its entirety, I think you’ll get a grasp of what this area of Jiu Jitsu can offer and hopefully you’ll become interested in integrating it into your game. And of course, if you have any questions for me, please leave them in the comment area below and I’ll do my best to help.

Martial Arts of Naples, FL – Shoulder Roll