Submission Grappling Rules

Here are the rules our club has adopted for submission grappling (competition and practice/training). We also have general club rules that all our members must abide by.

A. Bout Winner decision

1. The winner of a bout is decided by the clear submission of his/her opponent in any one of the following manners;
   1. uttering the word "submit"
   2. tapping hard on any part of the attacker's body
   3. tapping hard on the surface of the mat
   4. decision of the referee indicating the loser of that bout

B. Match protocol

1. A competition match will be a single bout of no time limit until an opponent submits or a referee's decision.
2. Ground grappling must always involve both grapplers in active combat otherwise both grapplers must restart from the standing position
3. A grappler that commits three secondary foul moves will be deemed loser of the bout
   (A secondary foul is any non injurious moves e.g. delay tactics, failure to engage in combat, excessive force)
4. A grappler that commits a primary foul will be disqualified from the entire competition
   (A primary foul is any dangerous moves e.g irresponsible grappling, front throat chokes, attack to spine etc)
5. Decision of the referee during a match is final with no appeal

C. What a grappler CAN do:

1. Attack any part of the body
2. Apply bars to any limb
3. Choke to side of throat only
4. Prying two or more fingers off a hold

D. What a grappler CANNOT do

1. Any impacts e.g punches, karate chops, elbow knocks, kicks etc
2. Attack to the eye, groin, mouth, nose
3. Bend the head backwards excessively against the spine
4. Any moves that bends the spine backwards
5. NO chokes directly onto Adam's apple of throat
6. NO hold/choke and twist of the head
7. No holding onto opponent's clothing or hair
8. Prying or bending of a small joint e.g. finger, toe backwards

E. What to wear?

1. All clothing must have no zips, buttons or anything hard or sharp
2. During practice
   1. Recommended for Male: Tight fitting shorts, tight sleeveless tee shirt or vest and tight jocks/briefs with NO hard protectors
   2. Recommended for Female: Two piece tight fitting shorts, tight sleeveless tee shirt or vest with padded brazette with NO hard protectors
3. During Competition
   1. Male: Tight shorts, jock with NO hard protectors
   2. Female: Two piece tight fitting shorts, padded brazette top with NO hard protectors
4. Hair must be tied up
5. No jewellery or taped up
6. Finger nails must be cut back
7. Extra protection e.g knee/ankle pads, ear protectors optional but must not be hard surfaced.