5 tips to improve your pressure jiu-jitsu style

5 tips to improve your pressure jiu-jitsu style

In Brazilian jiu-jitsuhow do you deal with heavy opponents in BJJ? -, in this article, we propose many tips to improve your pressure jiu-jitsu style, so you will feel heavier while on top in a grappling or BJJ match. Because of it such an important topic, and an immutable principle and some other martial arts, we decided to write a complete article about it.

As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, you find it very satisfying to hear a training BJJ partner say, “Man, you feel like 300lbs!” we love this kind of compliment (and I get it quite often).

It means he is using his weight pressure properly in a BJJ match. The reason he can make his body feel heavy on top is only that he applies all the rules in this BJJ article.

So what is the secret to making a 170 lbs body feel like 200-300 lbs? 

There are a couple of ‘rules of thumb’ for proper weight pressure in the purpose to progress your jiu-jitsu style. Here they are some.

source : Travis Stevens

Pressure jiu-jitsu style tip

  1. Choose a BJJ side attack

bjj half guard

To improve your weight pressure jiu-jitsu style you have to decide if you are going to put more weight pressure on your right or your left side.

Remember, if your weight is spread out evenly, 50% comes from the left part of your body and 50% comes from the right. If you weigh 170 lbs. (and let’s assume for this example that you will use all your weight at all times), then you will be using 85 lbs. on each side, right?!!

Now, restating an earlier example, let’s imagine that you decide to apply more weight on your right side maybe 60% of your weight. Now it is no longer 85 lbs.; it becomes 102 lbs. You are using 17 extra pounds on that side.

Those extra 17 lbs can help you if your goal is to control that part of your BJJ opponent’s body (or smash that side more, for defensive purposes in some jiu-jitsu positions).

  1. Use your body parts (hands and/or feet) to help increase your weight pressure.

pressure jiu-jitsu

Gravity can affect your pressure jiu jitsu style, it only make you so heavy. If you weigh 170 lbs, for instance, and if you could use all your weight (physically impossible), then you will only feel like you weigh 170 lbs. But why do some people feel so much heavier than they are?

One reason is that they use their hands and/or their feet to direct their weight to the desired point. So, pick a side and use your feet and/or hands to push from the mat to direct your weight onto the side you pick.

Thereby increasing weight pressure on your BJJ opponent. You can also pull your jiu-jitsu partner toward your body while putting your weight on him just be careful not to waste too much energy doing so.

  1. Set strong BJJ control points & manage your weight distribution

escape side control

In BJJ match you see several Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belts attempting to manipulate their BJJ opponent entire upper body using their body weight and strength, but they fail badly, why? Most likely because a BJJ white belt practitioner uses a fat body (flat chest while he is in jiu-jitsu side control position, etc.).  

The use of the bodyweight in BJJ doesn’t work efficiently until it specializes in specific key parts of the BJJ opponent’s upper body.  As a result, you concentrate your force and pressure on the BJJ opponent’s far shoulder forcing him to stay flat. 

So any time your Bodyweight is dispersed over a bigger area, the perception of weight pressure is going to be lessened.

  1. Using your hips properly.

bjj side mount

The body weight pressure and strength are similar in many other Martial arts disciplines; in Box fighting, you see a boxer’s punch generates the foremost impact from a corkscrew motion of the arm.

So if you apply these martial arts principles in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, you will discover that a corkscrew motion of your body in the BJJ side control position can maximize your ability to direct your force in a selected area of the BJJ opponent’s body.

Source: BJJ Fanatics

You see this most frequently in the BJJ side control when the person in the top is employing a strong cross face/ head control grip

Rather than the hips being square to the mat with both legs positioned an equivalent, the leg by the opponent’s head is going to be straightened, hip dropped to the mat and therefore the other leg bent.

This configuration allows the Person in the top to torque his hips and torso to chase away the mat and focus the pressure greatly on the top of the rock bottom.

  1. Maintain contact with your BJJ opponent all the time

To be heavier practicing your jiu-jitsu style, many practitioners will attempt to grab the opponent as tightly as possible and stiffen their bodies, as rigid as aboard.

In Brazilian jiu jitsu, you’ll find many advanced fighters try to maintain contact with their BJJ opponent’s body the whole time (almost surfing on the opponent) and ride the top of an unstable object.

This is the feeling that you simply are trying to find in a BJJ match, your opponent is carrying your body weight, but you’re fluid enough to adapt to their attempts to flee.

Apply these Brazilian jiu jitsu pressure rules and sure your BJJ opponent will ask you after the roll “How much do you weigh anyway!?!”



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