HOW LONG IS A JIU JITSU MATCH?
The art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the most popular forms of Martial Arts in the modern era. For a long time many high level athletes have been developing grappling techniques, and mastering the art of competition. Becoming an exceptional grappler does not mean an athlete needs to compete, but it does go a long way to helping them develop a formidable game style. The bjj comp system can be highly diverse, as people from all walks of life will choose to battle test their Jiu Jitsu in a more predominant, and realistic way.
What This Article Covers:
- BJJ Tournaments
- How Long Do BJJ Matches Go for
- Is There Overtime in BJJ Matches
- The Longest BJJ Matches in History
- The Fastest Wins in BJJ History
The systematic approach to Jiu Jitsu competitions is not something that just happens, it's an aspect that must be trained. Most BJJ academies have an experienced competition team, which is usually spearheaded by a high level competitor, or a group of enthusiastic students who thrive on competing. Competition is not just for the adult members of an academy, as youth jiu jitsu tournaments have become predominant in all BJJ competitions worldwide. There are many different styles of tournaments, each with their own unique ruleset, and with their own different time durations. The BJJ competition scene has become considerably popular all over the world, as record numbers are signing up to test their abilities on the competition mats.
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BJJ TOURNAMENTS
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament is designed to test the skills, and abilities of a practitioner. It has a goal of sorting out which practitioner is the best, as competitions like state titles, national titles, pan am brazilian jiu jitsu titles, and the world championship titles will give competitors a specific goal to build towards. The IBJJF are one of the most well known, and successful BJJ competition organisations in the world, as world class athletes like Marcus Almeida, Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, Gabbi Garcia and Rubens Charles have dominated throughout their careers. Another high level tournament that has become the most recognised in the modern era is the ADCC, as athletes like Gordon Ryan, Andre Galvao, Nick Rodriguez, and Kaynan Duarte have made significant waves in the no gi tournament.
Traditionally a BJJ tournament is governed by a set of guidelines, as the procedures are in place for the safety, and the well being of all competitors. There are certain movements that are deemed illegal in all levels of competition like slamming an opponent, spiking an opponent onto their head, small joint manipulation like fingers or toes, and spinal cranks. All competitors will sign up for competitions through the smoothcomp app, which is a platform designed to house a large range of worldwide BJJ tournaments. When a student signs up for a comp they will need to enter their specific rank, their weight category, and their age category. Students may wonder what is absolute division in jiu jitsu when they are registering for a competition, as this category is an open weight division that will sort out who is the best fighter within a specific belt rank. Once a student has filed all of their paperwork they are then set to prepare themself for the competition.
HOW LONG DO BJJ MATCHES GO FOR
BJJ tournament matches have different time durations depending on which belt rank is competing. A white belt student will only have 5 minutes during their match, where a blue belt will have 6 minutes. At the purple belt level athletes will have 7 minutes, and an 8 minute match for a brown belt. When a student reaches the black belt level they will compete in 10 minute matchups, this will only change for black belts competing in the masters division, as they will only get 5 minutes to compete. When a student begins Jiu Jitsu, 5 minutes seems like an eternity, but as they progress through the ranks they soon realise how short those matches are. When two white belts battle they tend to waste the first 2 to 3 minutes in an outrageous stand up battle of grips, where both students will use too much strength. As the fight hits the mat with only a couple of minutes to go, they will usually run out of time to get into the groove of Jiu Jitsu. It's not until the student progresses through the art that they begin to maximise their time, as they will attack in a more calculated manner, and execute techniques more efficiently.
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IS THERE OVERTIME IN BJJ MATCHES
In most competition matches there are no overtime periods, instead a points and advantage system is used. Points are awarded for different control positions like the mount, back control, side control, knee on belly, sweeps, and takedowns. The whole idea behind the advantage system is so when the fight is a draw, a winner can be determined. An advantage is given out to a competitor that attempts a submission, and only if their opponent uses their hands to defend it. Another way a competitor can be awarded an advantage is if they take their opponent down but they land out of bounds. There are also penalty points which are awarded when competitors stall in dominant positions, or while on their feet. A referee will give a few warnings out for stalling before handing out penalty points, if a student continues to stall it can inevitably end in a disqualification. At the end of the fight if the scores are tied, and they have the same amount of advantages or penalties, then the referee will decide who is the winner. This determination is usually from which fighter has been more aggressive in the match.
There are certain competitions that use EBI overtime periods, as these were invented by Eddie Bravo in his Invitational tournament matches. The rules are simple in an EBI overtime period, as competitors will flip a coin to decide who goes first. The winner of the coin toss will choose to start attacking from the back control, or the spider web position, which is a grounded armbar position. Competitors take turns to attack from their chosen position, as they get 2 minutes each to secure a submission. If one competitor submits, and the other does not, they are declared the winner. If both competitors escape without submission, then another overtime period is used. If there are no submissions at the end of the three overtime rounds, the competitor with the fastest combined escape time will be awarded the win. This type of overtime rule set has had some significant success, as many other competitions have adopted these rules.
THE LONGEST BJJ MATCHES IN HISTORY
There have been many jiu jitsu legends that have graced the international stage with their dynamic skills in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Helio Gracie was the father of BJJ, and has had many fights in his lifetime, with many of them lasting long periods of time. In November of 1932, Helio Gracie fought against a 205 pound wrestler named Fred Ebert. The fight happened in Rio de Janeiro, and at the time Helio was 67 pounds lighter than his opponent. The fight lasted one hour and forty minutes, but due to the nature of the fight, the boxing commission had to call the police to help end the event, because of the escalated violence. In 1935 Helio once again fought in a long and heated battle against the Japanese fighter Yassuiti Ono. Before the fight Yassuiti said he could easily defeat five members of the Gracie family on the same night. Yassuiti almost submitted Helio in the first round with an arm lock, as he continuously took Helio down to the mat. Neither fighter could finish the fight, and after 1 hour and 40 minutes, the match resulted in a draw. In 1955 Helio Gracie returned from retirement to fight one of his former students Waldemar Santana. The pair fought in a contest that had no time limit, and Waldemar who was 26 at the time, became the first man to knock out Helio Gracie, in the longest fight in recorded history, which lasted a whopping 3 hours and 43 minutes.
In a star studded event that saw Gordon Ryan defeat Pedro Marinho, WNO has just hosted its inaugural WNX Championship title. The up and coming Australian athlete, Izaak Mitchell took on Kyle Chambers, as they battled for the WNX championship belt. The Who's Number One promotion has had a multitude of recent success, as this match has made the history books. In a phenomenal match that saw guard passes, rear naked choke escapes, twister escapes, triangle escapes, and crucifix escapes. The match was forced to be paused at the 99 minute mark, as both fighters rehydrated and continued their match in the backstage area, to make way for the main event. After 2 hours of frenetic action between Crag Jones' B team prodigy and the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu phenom, Izaak Mitchell secured a belly down armbar on Kyle Chambers, forcing him to tap. The fight was a war between two extremely talented, and exciting young grapplers.
Adam Bradley and Tristan Overvig, both made the history books after their match at the Who’s Next Submission Fighter Challenge promotion. The two squared off in a record breaking two hour and fifty four minute fight, before a submission was secured. This was the longest individual contest that has ever taken place on the FloGrappling streaming service, and the longest recorded fight in BJJ history. The two talented athletes knew a victory would secure them a spot in the house for the rest of the season, as they were vying for the inevitable WNX title. This was an opportunity of a lifetime, and both fighters would push themselves to the extent of their physical abilities. At one time during the match Adam Bradley was stuck under Tristan Overvig's mount for a good 40 minutes, as he managed to defend countless head arm triangle chokes. Adam found a way to escape, as he called upon his high level experience and ended up winning the fight with a Bulldog choke. Adam Bradley is a member of the famous Atos team, as he impressed his coaches, and the BJJ community with his endurance, perseverance, and technical abilities.
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THE FASTEST WINS IN BJJ HISTORY
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an extremely dynamic, and exciting form of combat. The once self defense art has become heavily guided by the competitive scene. In the modern era some of the best no gi jiu jitsu fighters have showcased some of the fastest submission victories in history. The world record holder for the fastest submission during an IBJJF adult male black belt final is Mikey Musumeci. The 3 time world champion broke the world record by submitting Rodnel Barbosa Gabriel Junior in 12 seconds with a straight ankle lock. Musumeci became the 2019 world champion with his record breaking win, which has since been recognised by the Guinness World Records as the fastest submission. Musumeci has become the first athlete in two decades to break the previous record of 17 seconds set by Rodrigo ‘Comprido’ Medieiros. Rodrigo has held the record since 1999 when he also won the world championship.
In the WNO history books Nicky Ryan holds the record for the fastest submission victory. Nicky Ryan submitted Tony Ramos with an inside heel hook, as it only took him 21 seconds to dispose of the wrestler. The hype surrounding the grappler vs wrestler match ended extremely quickly, as Nicky Ryan showcased his exceptional skills. Mikey Musumeci also entered the WNO stage, as he squared off against the number #1 ranked 135 lb fighter Lucas Pinheiro. Mikey came out of the blocks fast, setting an unreal pace, as he secured his first ever heel hook victory. The fight lasted for 1 minute and 26 seconds, before Mikey would claim victory. Another exceptional athlete that has lit up the world No Gi stage is Craig Jones, as all three of his WNO matches have ended by inside heel hook. He defeated Ronaldo Junior in 4 minutes and 15 seconds, Roberto Jimenez in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and his fastest win was against Luiz Panza, who he defeated with another inside heel hook in only 48 seconds.
In the 2019 ADCC the submission specialist Gary Tonan made an outstanding impression, as he firstly defeated Renato Canuto. In his next match he took on the up and coming Edwin Najmi, who is known for his flying triangle maneuvers. The pair battled for grips, as Gary Tonan set up a death defying flying heel hook entry. Gary secured the tap in under a minute, as the crowd were stunned by the execution of the submission. Going back to the 1930's Helio Gracie’s took a fight in Coliseu Internacional against the national boxing champion Antonio Portugal. Helio Gracie stunned the crowd, as he quickly took down his opponent and finished the fight with an arm lock in 40 seconds flat. Helio Gracie has showcased many of his outstanding talents throughout his career, and solidified himself as the godfather of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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