Grip strength for BJJ: the ultimate guide

Grip strength is a massive factor in high-level BJJ and grappling. If you can’t hold onto your opponent and control their movement, you’ll struggle to advance position. If your opponent can easily break your grip, you struggle to submit. 

What’s more, so many common BJJ injuries like tendonitis, finger and wrist pain can be prevented and solved by intelligent grip training. Grip training for BJJ is essential. And most BJJ athletes don’t realise that their weak grip is their weak link.

Building my body for elite competitions like Quintet, Polaris and ADCC has always involved grip training. There’s a number of reasons for that. In many ways, it’s my grip strength that has often given me the advantage over my opponents.

What is grip strength?

Grip strength involves more than you think. It’s not just the ability to hold on for dear life and not let go. 

Most people don’t know how to properly train their grip because they don’t truly understand what grip is. Grip is often seen purely as the ability to hold something with strength, however due to the complex anatomical structure of the hand, fingers, wrist and forearm, grip becomes a broad term for many different types of movements and positions, such as:

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1. Crushing strength, which is the concentric closing of the hand with power. Think of this like crushing an apple with one hand until it explodes. This builds a good foundational ability to be able to hold onto an opponent's limb or gi. 
2. Vertical gripping, which involves strengthening the ability to grip whilst your hand is in a deviated position. Imagine grabbing onto a wrist or how you would climb a rope. 
3. Support strength, which is the ability for the hand to maintain its strength isometrically when it’s held onto something. This comes into play especially for gi grapplers who have to grip hold of lapels and keep them controlled.
4. Hooking, which involves developing a strong connection between the forearm and wrist to strengthen the ability to grip at or close to a 90 degree angle, very useful for nogi.
5. Finger strength, which relates to the strength of the fingers (in isolation from the rest of the hand) and involves the strengthening of the connective tissue more than muscles. This applies primarily to gi. 
   

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And that’s just the start - there are other in-depth factors at play when training grip, such as wrist pronation, deviation, flexion and extension. I explore all of this and more in my Grip Strength Masterclass online course, which is designed specifically to help you build a bulletproof grip for BJJ.

Why is training grip strength for BJJ so important?

Our goal is to move through our BJJ journey catching tonnes of submissions and remaining injury free. In order to do so, the wrist, fingers, arms and elbows have to be durable and strong throughout a range of positions. If there’s a weak link in that chain, injuries are bound to follow. 

Winning the grip battle is a huge part of dominating your opponent in both gi and nogi. Whilst these things are first a foremost a technical skill, if your grip strength is weak compared to your opponent then they have a greater chance of winning these exchanges. And we all know how frustrating that can be.

It’s simple - a strong grip can help us be durable, dominant and high-performing on the mats.

Can I train grip strength as an absolute beginner?

Absolutely. The beauty of grip training is that it doesn't place a huge stress on your body. Starting light and adding more resistance as your body adapts and gets stronger will allow you to train safely and effectively whatever your current level is.

Whether you have access to standard gym equipment, have all the fanciest tools or have absolutely nothing, you will be able to train your grip.

Can I build grip strength naturally just by doing BJJ?

BJJ will allow you to build a baseline strength and fitness, but that’s where it’ll end. If you want to become more dominant, you need to invest in yourself and work on your grip strength off the mats. And it’s key that you train the correct techniques to prevent wasting your time.

All the best BJJ competitors started as students who were hungry to grow at every opportunity. If your learning and growth stops when you leave your regular classes, you’re not becoming as good as you could be and that’s just a fact. Invest in your game, and you won’t believe the results.

What if I want to learn more about training my grip for BJJ?

My Grip Strength Masterclass online course is an in-depth look into training grip strength, specifically for grapplers. It features all the info I wish I knew when I started out, teaching you everything you need to know.

The lessons are designed to take you through every detail to guarantee you’ll finish this course as a stronger athlete. Good luck!