The Pros and Cons of Drilling in BJJ + More

The Pros and Cons of Drilling in BJJ + More

7 min read

There are tons of different training methods in BJJ. Drilling, situational sparring, games, flow rolling, positional rounds, full live matches, etc. But they all fall into two major categories:


👉 Drilling


👉 Ecological


Both have their place. But today, we’re going to focus on drilling, its pros, cons, and when to use it in your training journey.


What is drilling exactly?


Drilling is the process of practicing techniques in a controlled, repeatable, and cooperative way. Usually, one partner performs the move while the other offers no resistance. You repeat it over and over again to build coordination and confidence.


“You pass my guard with a knee cut, then reset.”
“I shrimp out of side control 10 times.”
“We do 5 reps each of a triangle finish.”


Drilling focuses on muscle memory, sequencing, and control. It’s simple, structured, and highly focused.


What are the pros of drilling?


Drilling has several pros, especially when used at the right time in your development:


1. Technical Skill Development


Drilling is the fastest way to clean up mechanics and learn how a move works step-by-step. You get to slow things down, repeat the details, and build confidence in the position without chaos or pressure.


If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed during rolling, it's likely because you didn’t spend enough time drilling the technique first.


2. Low Physical and Mental Stress


Drilling is low impact on the body and brain. You don’t have to worry about pace, intensity, or decision-making like you do during live training. This makes it perfect for:

  • Recovery days
  • Learning new techniques
  • Training through minor injuries
  • Warming up before live rounds


3. Works Across All Skill Levels


Whether you're brand new or a black belt, drilling lets you tune your technique. Beginners can build coordination, advanced athletes can fine-tune angles, timing, or transitions.


4. Safe Environment to Explore Risky Positions


You can drill dangerous or injury-prone positions (like heel hooks or takedowns) at a low pace without danger. It gives you a chance to understand the mechanics before trying it in a live setting.


For example:

When learning heel hooks, you should not start with full resistance. You need to know how they work and what not to do (like spinning too fast) before sparring with them safely.


What are the cons of drilling?


Drilling isn’t perfect. In fact, it has some pretty big limitations if it’s all you do.


1. Unrealistic Match Simulation


Your partner isn't resisting. There’s no pressure, timing, or unpredictability, so you’re not building the reflexes you’ll need in a real roll. You might be able to hit the move perfectly in drilling, but still have no idea how to apply it when it actually matters.


2. No Development of “Soft Skills”


Soft skills in grappling are things like:

  • Timing
  • Balance
  • Reactions
  • Reading opponents
  • Scrambling


These are hard to develop through drilling alone because they come from live experience and decision-making, not repetition.


3. It is boring


Let’s be real, endless reps with no feedback loop can get old fast. Drilling too much can feel robotic and uninspiring if you’re not actively engaged or challenged. That can hurt motivation in the long run.


So when do you drill?


Drilling is a tool, not the whole toolbox. The key is knowing when to drill and when to use more live or ecological training.


Best times to drill:

  • When you’re learning a brand-new technique
  • When you want to polish mechanics or transitions
  • When you’re recovering from hard training
  • When a move feels “off” but you don’t know why
  • When working on risky positions like heel hooks or takedowns


A Good Framework:

  • If you’re unfamiliar with a move or position → Drill it first.
  • If you’re decent with a move and want to sharpen timing → Do constraint-based live rounds.
  • If you’ve mastered a move and want to pressure test it → Use full live rolling or games.


Example:

If you're brand new to armbars, spend time drilling the setup, mechanics, and finish from mount.


Once you're consistent, set up a game: "You get mount, and the goal is to hit the armbar while your partner tries to escape."

Then later, you test that in full rolling.


Bonus: What if you only drill?


Some people rely too much on drilling, especially early on. The result? They become technical robots. Great at clean reps, but lost when things get messy in live rolls.


If your game feels like it falls apart under pressure, chances are you’re not balancing drilling with enough live, resistance-based training.


Conclusion


Drilling is a foundational part of training, and it’s absolutely essential if you want clean technique.


But it’s just that: a foundation.


You need to layer on resistance, unpredictability, and pressure if you want to make those techniques work against a resisting opponent.


Balance is everything. Drill when you need to. Roll when you’re ready. And keep sharpening the sword, one layer at a time.


See you on the mats!

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FAQ

Porrada is a Portuguese term commonly used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and Brazilian culture to describe a tough, intense, and gritty style of training or fighting. The direct translation of porrada from Portuguese to English is "beating" or "brawl." It embodies the spirit of going all out, giving your maximum effort, and pushing through challenges. In BJJ, practicing porrada means training with high intensity and determination.
This website is a collection of resources curated by grapplers, for grapplers. Our goal is to provide you with all the information you need to succeed. Whether you want to learn about nutrition, training on the mats, lifting, or anything in between, we are here for you. We want to see you on the podium most of all, and we hope to help you do exactly that. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot us an email or DM us on any of our social profiles!
There are two main ways you can get started with training: 1) You can find a BJJ gym near you and do a trial day, or 2) you can create your own mini home gym and start training with friends. Option #2 is how our team at Porrada got started! We ordered 1-inch thick puzzle mats in a 10’x10’ square and began training using online resources. If you do start with the second option, we recommend eventually finding a gym down the road in your career. It will help you by allowing you to roll with more people and receive high-level instruction.
BJJ is quite similar to wrestling. Both start standing and use takedowns as a method to score points. Both use very similar mechanics overall. The main differences are that there are no pins (you can be on your back in Jiu-Jitsu), BJJ involves submissions, and the points system for each is very different. BJJ grants points for takedowns/sweeps, back control, mount, guard passes, and knee on belly. Wrestling grants points for takedowns, escapes, and back points (back exposure for freestyle).
BJJ is a very unique sport in many ways. There are so many incredible benefits to training Jiu-Jitsu. The biggest reasons we advocate for it are the mindset training and the added ability to defend yourself. In BJJ, you are forced to humble yourself over and over again, every single day. This sport is a great way to mature rapidly and generally become a better person (in our opinion). You will also have a better ability to defend yourself than 99% of the population—a pretty big bonus.
You’re never too old to start training! We see people on the mats of all ages and sizes. Large and small, old and young can, and should, train BJJ. If you are on the older side, it is perfectly acceptable to take it slow and learn at your own pace. You don’t always have to go full speed—don’t worry. There are typically also classes that separate people by goals. Certain classes are for those who want to compete, some are for general instruction, and some are specifically for self-defense teachings. There is a place for everyone on the mats.