For most of us, moving with speed and power on the mats isn’t something that comes naturally. At first trying to use explosive strength is usually accompanied by a lot of flailing of limbs and a general lack of grace, which leads to the term “spastic white belt” being used to describe your style.

Like I said in my last post, the Closed Guard is one of my favorite positions to use when I need to pull out my A game on someone. In my mind, a stronger Closed Guard posture is like a fortress that you can use to safely mount attacks on a faster, stronger opponent.

I’ve always thought of the Closed Guard is the quintessential BJJ position. For those of us old enough to have first been introduced to BJJ through the original UFCs, one of the most enduring memories is watching with wonder as a smaller guy on his back was able to mount attacks and finish people off.

Since your ability to use your hips to bridge is such a big part of escaping from Side Control or Mount it only makes sense to train this movement…a lot. Most schools use some form of bridging as part of their warm ups and I encourage Jiu-Jiteiros to include different types of bridging in their workouts.

One of the most important factors in creating space on bottom is how well you can use your hips. Sure, you need to have good frames and basic position but when it comes time to move and make the space you need to escape then the hips are where it’s at.