A short, clear hip-escape (shrimp) tutorial for people who have never done the movement.
Movements
Hip Escape (Shrimp)
The fundamental movement of pushing off the feet to move the hips away from the opponent - the engine of most escapes and guard retention.
Also called shrimp, shrimping, hip escape, shrimp drill, elbow escape movement.
Where it shows up
Related techniques
Resources
21 resources
YouTube videos
The 3 Most Important Jiu Jitsu Techniques For A BJJ White Belt by John Danaher
Bernardo Faria BJJ Fanatics YouTube
Danaher's three most important white-belt skills, the 1.9 million-view lesson on what to drill before chasing submissions.
Danaher's mount-escape lesson: the elbow-knee escape and upa sequenced so you are not bridging into a higher mount.
John Danaher walks through the fundamental side control escape: elbow position, building the frame, the bridge to create space and the hip escape to get the knee back in. The definitive beginner lesson on the position.
Henry Akins on making the hip escape (shrimp) unstoppable, the movement underneath almost every solo programme.
Chewy runs through the five mount escapes he still uses at black belt, starting with the upa and the bridge-and-shrimp elbow escape. A good first video for anyone who keeps getting stuck under mount.
Chewjitsu shows how to escape when the top player has already settled with heavy pressure and you cannot get your frames in cleanly. Short and very practical for white belts.
Chewjitsu escaping a tight knee-on-belly: frames on the knee, shrimp, and not turning into the crucifix.
A mount escape Chewjitsu likes against bigger people, built on frames rather than a power bridge.
Chewjitsu shows a simple hip movement that makes it easier to slide the knee back in and recover guard after creating space under side control.
A twenty-minute Knight Jiu-Jitsu guide covering the upa, elbow-knee escape, heel drag and how to combine them against low and high mount. Thorough for a first study of the position.
Knight Jiu-Jitsu on escaping a heavy side control: where the frames go, how to bridge without exposing your arm, and getting the knee in to recover guard.
Knight Jiu-Jitsu covers escapes from side control, scarf hold and knee on belly in one lesson, showing how the same framing and hip movement ideas carry between the pins.
Gordon Ryan on the elbow-knee escape from mount with an emphasis on keeping the elbows inside and clearing the knee line. Short and dense; assumes you already know the basic movement.
Gordon Ryan shows a simple, direct side control escape he uses in no-gi, with the details on hip movement and frame timing that make it work against strong opponents.
Lachlan Giles explains how to pick the escape based on where the top player's weight sits: bridge when they lean forward, hip escape when they sit back. Good decision-making framework.
Why hip escaping with the top foot on the mat gives the passer the knee-to-chest space they want, and why the high pummel retains guard better. Lachlan Giles with Ariel Tabak.
Marcelo Garcia teaches his approach to getting out from under side control, including when to shrimp back to guard and when to turn in and come up to the knees.
A long set of beginner solo drills you can do at home: shrimp, bridge, technical stand-up and more.
Brian Glick compares the knee-elbow escape with the kip escape from no-gi mount and when each is the right choice.
A full class on teaching the shrimp drill, useful if your shrimp still looks like a sit-up.