Want to get better with more advanced Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate techniques? Learn jailing and shimmy to improve your game, whether you play Kombat League or just want to rule the local community.

Let’s start with jailing.

Intro to Frame Rates

To understand jailing, we need to quickly touch on frame rate and frame rate advantage. We’ll go more in-depth in a future article, but every move has a number of frames. One frame is 1/60th of a second. In other words, frames tell you the move speed. Fewer frames typically mean better moves. There is frame data for how long it takes a move to come out (startup), how long the move can damage opponents (active), and the amount of time until characters can act afterward (recovery).

You can see the number of frames if you turn on the frame data counter in tutorial mode or check your character's moveset in the pause menu.

What’s Jailing? MK11 Explanation

Let’s say your opponent’s down 1 move is 8 frames. That means they will spend those frames recovering until they can do something else. If you use a move that is less frames (quicker), you have a hit frame advantage and your opponent is essentially “jailed,” meaning they’re stuck in a disadvantageous position where their safest option is to block.

Note this isn’t a set in stone metric. Some characters like Jacqui Briggs have ridiculous hit frame advantages that make them easier to use in tournaments.

If an opponent always blocks, then go for a grab. Anticipation, adaptation, and mixups are crucial to success in any competitive scene.

MK 11 enthusiast Jolfvaka demonstrates effective jailing with a detailed explanation.

“Jailing means that you’re at such a high hit advantage that you’re able to follow up with your high and your high is going to hit even though the opponent is doing something else other than blocking,” Jolfvaka said. “If they’re moving, jumping, hitting, ducking, you’re going to jail them.”

What’s a Shimmy? MK11 Explanation

A shimmy might sound unfamiliar to casual players, but the technique is super important in competitive play. It is a form of bait where you move forward and back to bait a throw tech from your opponent for a free punish.

Mortal Kombat 11 pro The Kompetitor showed off the mental aspect of shimmies:

Cage does a combo and successfully dashes up and throws the opponent a few times. The other player tries to adapt to the throw by anticipating the move with a throw tech, however, The Kompetitor knows another grab won’t work. Here’s where the shimmy comes in.

The Kompetitor runs forward, except instead of going for the throw, they turn back. The opponent at this point is conditioned to expect the throw, so they take the bait and input the tech only to get hit or punished with another move. That’s a shimmy.

This rock, paper, scissors type gameplay is fundamental to fighting games and forms the foundation of the mental battle that keeps players engaged, while also making matches more enjoyable for viewers.

What about an Auto-Shimmy?

Not all characters have an auto-shimmy, but it basically means doing a move that looks like it’s going to go into a throw but instead opting for an alternate attack.

Cassie Cage is a great example. Her auto shimmy is her standing 1 1 1 combo. Her grab and jab have similar animations and happen so fast that they can be hard to differentiate.

If the opponent is expecting a grab Cassie can go into her next move and the block won’t work. Just like jailing, not all characters have options that allow them to effectively auto-shimmy.

Streamer Waz made a short video explaining the concept in more detail.

Shimmy into Tournaments

Jailing, shimmy, and auto-shimmy will definitely help you improve in Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate events such as the Open Series. Don't let your skills get jailed at the same level. Join the competition to continue to level up.