Balance is one of the key aspects of BJJ. It affects every part of your mat ability from keeping your base to passing to posturing for submissions and defending against them.

Oddly enough, strengthening ones balance is also one of the most neglected aspects when drilling, especially when it comes to newer practitioners. After all, it’s not one of those areas that you consciously think of drilling. It sort of just comes with the game right?

Wrong. There are ways for grapplers to drill on their own in order to improve their balance.

Enter the stability ball.

We’ve all seen them. The big inflated rubber balls you see floating around the gym. They are used for a variety of things. Usually you’ll see people stretching their backs on these things but by using them in a variety of ways, you’ll not only improve your balance, but your core as well. It helps the core muscles in your abs, hips and legs. There are also many different drills designed to improve your guard and mobility as well.

Do some research online. Find yourself a workout. Then grab a stability ball and start drilling them on your own.

Watch this video of Leo Viera and Andre Galvao drilling with the stability ball as an example of what I’m talking about.