Top Grappling Dummy BJJ Drills That You Can Do At Home

To become a professional BJJ fighter, you need to practice regularly. If you have a strict working schedule and are unable to join any training institute, then grappling dummies should be your ideal choice for BJJ drills. With the help of grappling dummies, you will never miss any BJJ drill and your skills will remain getting improved with time. BJJ drills with grappling dummies are also referred to as no-contact training.  This article will reveal the top grappling dummy BJJ drills that you can use to achieve your jiu-jitsu goals.

Grappling dummies are heavily stuffed fake objects that closely resemble human size. Grappling dummies are your ultimate training partners. If you do not have a live training partner to practice jiu-jitsu then you can use the grappling dummies to experience the best BJJ drills at your home. Practicing with the grappling dummy for just a half-hour session will surely elevate your progress rate in BJJ. The best part is that you can use the grappling dummies for both Gi and no Gi training. For the traditional gi training, if you want to practice the grip techniques against your opponent then simply put the BJJ gi or the rash guard on your grappling dummy. You will consider the dummy as your opponent and then you can practice various techniques by holding the collar and sleeve grips and can also apply the submission techniques. Striking, takedown, guard pass, escape or any kind of BJJ technique can be improved easily by BJJ drills with the grappling dummies. Without getting worried about the time availability of a live partner, you can perform the drills with dummies. According to your training ease, you can also make some alterations in the BJJ drills with the grappling dummies.

You can use the grappling dummies to practice the guard pass techniques at home. BJJ fighters employ different types of guard passing techniques depending on the situation. Each guard pass style can only be used for a specific target just like a single key can open a single lock specifically. Grappling dummies can be used for different guard pass techniques including under-the-leg guard pass, folding the knees pass, Leg drag guard pass and X guard pass.

Kimura is a widely recognized double-joint armlock that can be attempted by applying stronger pressure on the competitor's shoulder. Due to the painful pressure, competitors face difficulty in escaping. Grappling dummies can be used to practice this painful pressure to secure victory over opponents. You can practice the undertook control at the grappling dummy from the bottom side. Exert a pressure on the dummy’s head with your right foot and then drop your knee to the ground position. Then simply grab the legs of the grappling dummy at the knee position to take control. You can repeat this kimura drill to become an expert in this strategy.

Along with the kimura undertook control, you can also practice the kimura submissions with the dummies. Don’t forget that submission strategies are the best ways to secure victory in BJJ competitions.

Knee-on-belly drills are one of those techniques that can be easily practiced by using grappling dummies. If you want to perform the drill of full side control with the dummy then simply follow the few basic steps sequentially. First, establish the cross-face control over the dummy and then take the judo side control position. After reversing these first two steps, put pressure on the chest of the dummy with your left arm. Then place your left elbow in the left armpit of the grappling dummy. After that backstep your right leg to achieve the twister side control. Then again achieved the side control on the dummy’s opposite side.

If you don’t have a live partner for takedown drills and throws then grappling dummies are a good option for you. To practice these positions, you just have to place your dummy in an upright position. You can also tie up the dummy with any object so your grappling dummy will remain in a standing position. Then you can also perform the double-leg takedown grips multiple times.

Back mount drills are very important in jiu-jitsu as you take control over your opponent from the backside position. With this position, you can attack the neck of your competitor. In fact with the backtake position, you can also target various other dominant positions of your opponents. By simply taking control over the opponent’s back, you can easily attempt the submission. So it's extremely beneficial to use the grappling dummy for back-take BJJ drills.

Armbar submission is widely utilized by a large number of BJJ fighters. You can also perform the Armbar drills with the grappling dummies at your home. The Armbar technique involves holding the opponent's forearm and positioning your legs over the opponent in a way that their arm and elbow are between your legs. Then strongly pull the opponent’s arm by applying your legs pressure towards their body.

BJJ drills with grappling dummies are one of the best ways to gain expertise in BJJ without the need for a live partner. By having grappling dummies during training sessions, you can practice various techniques including takedowns, kimura, knee on belly, guard pass, back take, and armbar. So using the dummies during BJJ training sessions is worthwhile.

Photo Credit: @Stuart Tomlinson