Apparently to Rousimar Palhares this hand signal means crank harder.
One of the worst situations in combat sports is being caught by surprise. The most common way this happens in BJJ is during a match stoppage, especially when the referee is indecisive. If one competitor thinks the match is stopped and the other is still attacking, the situation goes FUBAR quickly. These scenarios are exactly what I want to look at in this post.
For this scoring breakdown, I want to look at the finals of the absolute division at this year's Mundials between Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida and Leo Nogueira.
I chose this match not because of any controversy, but because of how well it's scored by Tanquinho, the referee, despite some tricky situations. I'll make a future post about Tanquinho's penchant for exploiting his rules knowledge as a competitor, but for now I want to focus on learning from him as a referee.
The match starts off kind of slow, but it has an exciting ending. Here it is, the finals of the Mundials absolute division:
0:28 - Buchecha attempts a suma gaeshi while Nogueira is working a single leg. A failed sacrifice throw is treated just like pulling guard in that your opponent won't score unless he is controlling a leg or initiating a takedown in some way. In this case, Nogueira is holding the leg, so Buchecha is taking a gamble. The risk doesn't pay off and Buchecha ends up down an advantage.
In sport BJJ most of the standard judo and wrestling throws are legal despite how closely they might resemble a slam. While most organization don't explicitly define a slam versus a takedown, US Grappling has a rule stating, "Takedowns are NOT considered slams, but you
must deliver your opponent safely to the mat".
It's time for another scoring breakdown. This time I want to look at the rooster weight finals from the 2012 Mundials featuring Caio Terra and Bruno Malfacine. I picked this match because it makes a great case study for learning how advantages are scored, especially for sweeps.
I've linked to the specific times I want to discuss in my breakdown below, but the entire match is available here:
0:27 - The match starts with a double guard pull, but Bruno quickly stands and works a guard pass. The pass attempt forces Caio to turtle, exposing his back. Bruno scores two advantages. The first is for getting to the top from the double guard pull. The second is for forcing Caio to go to his knees with the guard pass.
While writing my last post on risky moves, I was reminded of the daddy of all borderline legal moves, The Can Opener, and I thought it warranted its own post. When I first started competing in grappling tournaments the rules for the Can Opener were very different than they are today.
The old rules for the Can Opener allowed it to be used as guard break, but not as a submission. You could only apply the spine lock to your opponent while his guard was closed. However, once the feet opened, you had to release the hold or else you would be disqualified.
Even though these rules have since been replaced in most grappling organizations, they still live on as a grappling urban legend. At almost every tournament that I work, someone asks me about the Can Opener. The myth of its legality stays alive to this day through hearsay and the occasional local tournament that has no regard for its customer's necks.
I was recently asked to look at a situation that took place at a US Grappling event involving a kneebar sweep. The tricky thing is that under the rules for purple belts, kneebars are clearly banned.
But what about a kneebar sweep?
I can't find anyone who knows how to handle this situation under IBJJF rules and I had to ask the head referee for US Grappling how this scenario should be handled because it is such a rare occurrence.
Basically, US Grappling's rules for kneebar sweeps are:
Using a kneebar pressure to cause your opponent to sit to the mat for a sweep is allowed.
Once he or she is on the mat, you must let go of the pressure.
If at any point during this sequence, your opponent taps, you will
be disqualified regardless of whether he or she is sitting or standing.
This makes the kneebar sweep an extremely risky technique to attempt as a purple belt (and below) because sometimes you'll get the 2 points but other times you'll get hit with the DQ.
No slamming allowed. Illegal slamming will be defined
as slamming your opponent to escape submissions and/or to pass the
guard; or standing from the guard and/or jumping from a standing
position to slam your opponent. Slamming will result in an automatic DQ. There are no exceptions to this rule. Takedowns are NOT considered slams, but you must deliver your opponent safely to the mat.
I would have preferred some text, but I guess those pictures should be the equivalent of 2000 words. I personally look for the competitor to apply force before I'll call a slam. If the competitor just drops his opponent, perhaps from a standing guard break, I'm much less inclined to call a slam.
