5 Rotational Exercises For Better BJJ Performance And Fewer Injuries

2022-06-25 4 min reading

Have you ever noticed that the most devastating submissions are not only a hyperextension of a joint but also a rotation as well? Kimura, Americana, Heel Hook …all twisting joint locks. Ever add some torque to a kneebar or armbar to get a quicker tap? Any time I’ve ever injured my lower back on the mat or in the weight room it was usually because of a flexing (think bending) and twisting of the spine. Ever throw out your back simply reaching for something on the ground that wasn’t directly in front of you? Thats torque on the spine. The amazing thing is that humans were designed to rotate. Walking, running, throwing and most athletic movements all involve a rotation of the spine. Hitting a baseball, passing a football, and throwing a cross in boxing is all pure rotational power. You are rarely ever not in rotation when doing jiu-jitsu. Your body is usually twisted in some way, either your lower body going one way and your upper body going the other. Sweeping, passing, takedowns, all involve rotation of the spine.

Strength and conditioning coach, Mark Wildman, explained in episode 11 how most humans don’t rotate to one direction well, which leads to asymmetry, disfunction, and potential injury. Jiu-Jitsu and Judo black belt, Jason Hunt, explained in episode 12 how he stays away from the “twisting” judo throws now that he’s older due to the high risk of injury. 53-year-old, Bill Maeda, from episode 13 stays injury free and maintains the body of a twenty-something by resisting rotation with asymmetrically loaded exercises. The good news is that you can start adding rotational movements to your training to start evening out your ability to rotate, and to create or handle torque in the body. This will have a two-fold impact on your performance. First, it will improve you ability to transfer power via your core for stronger sweeps, passes, escapes, and submissions. Second, it will promote symmetry within your body and help to prevent future injuries. Add one of these exercises to your training tomorrow to get these benefits.

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- Sit Through

The sit through is an easy way to start adding rotation to your training today. It’s low risk, doesn’t involve any equipment and builds rotational core strength, shoulder stability, and conditioning all at the same time.

- Rotational Med Ball Slam

The Rotational Med Ball Slam is a bit more advanced, requires a med ball, and I would only recommend this after you’ve mastered the sit through evenly in both directions and have created a solid connection to the rotational muscles of your core. The rotational med ball slam is a literally twist on the traditional med ball slam, rotating side to side each rep. It’s vital to contract all of the muscles of your core to protect your spine when lifting an object to the side of you. If not, this is usually when injury occurs. We are trying to build the stabilizing and bracing muscles of the core and spine to facilitate rotation. This will not only allow for more power in Jiu Jitsu but a strong fortified core.

- Rotational Kettlebell Clean

The rotational kettlebell clean is a more advanced exercise and I would recommend mastering both aforementioned moves plus the traditional kettlebell clean before attempting this one. There is a specific catch grip technique you must master with the kettlebell at the top of the clean in order to not screw up your arm, wrist and shoulder. You can try a rotational dumbbell clean that circumvents this if you aren’t trained in the KB clean The rotational clean is one of my favorite exercises to build all of the core fortifying rotational qualities a grappler needs but also to learn to generate and transfer force from the ground up. The rotational KB clean is now a weekly must in my regimen.

- Bulgarian Bag Spin

The Spin is a staple of the Bulgarian Bag. If you haven't worked with the bag yet then you are missing out on an excellent tool that strengthens the grip, core, and mind. It's used by wrestlers and grapplers all the way to the Olympic level and has tremendous carryover to the mat. The Spin forces you to turn equally well on both sides and quickly exposes any deficiencies when you rotate. It also works on shoulder and thoracic mobility in unison with forging an unwavering grip.

- Mace 2-Handed Mill

The most advanced exercise here is the Mill. You need to build up the foundational exercises of Mace swinging before you attempt the Mill. This exercises requires a lot of coordination, skill, timing and practice. But once mastered, you will be able to manipulate weight around your center line with ease and efficiency. The Mill is an excellent exercises to develop rotational strength and power, as well as fortify the core and hips for injury prevention.