Bold text and italics are taken from the IBJJF rule book (download PDF from https://ibjjf.com/books-videos). Regular text is my additional notes. The rules are complex, confusing, and at times contradictory. In my opinion, they still cover the majority of situations as well as any. YMMV. Not all referee decisions can be clear cut and the…
Category: Refereeing
IBJJF Rules – Takedowns
Bold text and italics are taken from the IBJJF rule book (download PDF from https://ibjjf.com/books-videos). Regular text is my additional notes. The rules are complex, confusing, and at times contradictory. In my opinion, they still cover the majority of situations as well as any. YMMV. Not all referee decisions can be clear cut and the…
IBJJF Rules and Knee Reaping – Gordon Ryan, Texas Cloverleaf
Gordon Ryan is a successful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor at elite levels. Much of his earlier success came in competitions with rulesets allowing use of a range of leglock techniques which are banned by the most popular sport Jiu Jitsu body, the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). Gordon Ryan trains under John Danaher, a…
IBJJF Referees rules meeting/course 2 April 2016 – 25 March 2017 – updated 17 Mar 2018
Updates made at the rules meeting on 17th March 2018 are in bold. The notes here are not designed to replace the rule book. I only note issues which I feel were discussed or explained at a level of detail not available from the rule book. The leader for the meeting in 2016/2017 was named…
Refereeing off the Mat
I spent yesterday refereeing at the Events BJJ Initiator Crown, after a really interesting and fun day on Saturday getting together with Machado brown and black belts at Langes MMA, and doing some Jiu Jitsu training. The competition was held at Ryde Aquatic Centre. If you think it was humid where you were yesterday, consider…
Refereeing
I’ve been refereeing Jiu Jitsu for a couple of years. Several hundred matches, at least. It might look like an easy gig, but it’s not. A good BJJ referee requires: Ability to concentrate and observe Ability to work closely with the scorer, timekeeper, and other officials Excellent knowledge of the rules and of jiu jitsu itself…