Knowing when to Scoot and when to Shrimp

This topic of goes along with last week’s blog on keeping your opponent in your “headlights” when in front of you.

Presuming that most BJJ students reading this blog post already know what the Shrimping movement is, and how to perform it, I will proceed forward with this discussion. Often times a student will Shrimp too soon. Or put another way, they Shrimp when they actually should perform the Scooting movement instead.

So let’s break this down a bit more. Shrimping is an escape movement. When someone is in your Guard, and they pass your legs to take Side Control or Mount, they are no longer in your “headlights”. You should be looking to escape or get them back into your Guard somehow. Being on your side and moving your hips away from your opponent will help in this situation. Freeing your hips allows you to get into a Guard position, or it assists you in getting to your belly and eventually up to your knees.

On the flip side, Scooting is a Guard retention movement. Meaning, though the opponent is actively trying to pass your Guard, they are still in front of you, still in your “headlights”. So keep them there, retain your Guard, and Scoot away from their pass attempts instead. Drop a hand or hands to the mat, bend your knees and push your hips away from the opponent. However, you’ll normally be doing this in a seated position. Many times you’ll push off of the opponent with a hand as you do this. Moving back or away allows you to prevent Guard passes from ever happening by giving you space. It also allows for you to Tech Stand and get to your feet.

Some minor examples could be:

· Shrimping vs the X-Pass (wrong choice)

o Your back ends up on the mat

o It gives the passer your hips to anchor and push on

o Plus, it takes longer than Scooting

· Scooting vs the X-Pass (correct choice)

o The opponent is already in your “headlights”

o Scooting is inherently faster than Shrimping

o Angular movement is better with Scooting

· If your opponent is using a tight Stack Pass, what would you do?

o Because you’re already on your back, and your opponent is attempting to elevate your hips to get around to Side Control, they have begun moving outside of your “headlights”. A Shrimp movement would be the best choice in this situation.

o Getting onto your side vs being on your back, and moving your hips away by Shrimping to take away control, would be the more efficient way to escape their position on you, vs trying to sit up and push away in a Scooting movement.

Learn. Drill. Roll. TRANSFORM!