# Typical Length of Match



## Brownielox (Jun 3, 2017)

Hi all, 

Random question: how long do grappling/submission wrestling matches usually last in terms of minutes? And in professional settings, how many falls/rounds would that translate to?


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## Headhunter (Jun 3, 2017)

In jiu jitsu I believe it's 7 minutes


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## kuniggety (Jun 3, 2017)

It's incredibly varied depending on the organization running the event and beyond that the age and skill level brackets of the competitors. Kids/white belts are usually as short as 4 min with seasoned adult matches running as long as 7 min (or longer in some cases if its submission only). There's generally not multiple rounds in grappling only events.


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## Charlemagne (Jun 3, 2017)

As noted above, this really depends on the organization, the rank, etc.  It can range from a few minutes (<10) to there being no time limit at all.


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## Brownielox (Jun 3, 2017)

OK....I think I get it. 

Is there an accepted time to "stop" the match? Say, after one person scores a certain amount of falls? So, how is the winner decided? Whenever I used to wrestled for fun, we stopped when one person said "I give" and walked away.


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## kuniggety (Jun 3, 2017)

Takedowns, positional control, and sweeps earn you points. At the end of the time limit, the points are added up to determine the winner. At any point in the match, a person can catch the other in a submission hold such as an armbar or rear naked choke hold and make them tap out which is essentially then crying uncle or giving up. At that point, the match ends early with the submitter being the winner.


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## Brownielox (Jun 3, 2017)

kuniggety said:


> Takedowns, positional control, and sweeps earn you points. At the end of the time limit, the points are added up to determine the winner. At any point in the match, a person can catch the other in a submission hold such as an armbar or rear naked choke hold and make them tap out which is essentially then crying uncle or giving up. At that point, the match ends early with the submitter being the winner.



Oh...is that how it works in Jiu-Jitsu competitions? I thought that only applied to collegiate/ high school wrestlng. That makes me wanna learn all those things you mentioned even more.


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## JR 137 (Jun 4, 2017)

Brownielox said:


> Oh...is that how it works in Jiu-Jitsu competitions? I thought that only applied to collegiate/ high school wrestlng. That makes me wanna learn all those things you mentioned even more.


High school and collegiate wrestling don't have submissions.  The match ends earlier than the time limit if there's a pin.  I know people here say in wrestling you need to put both shoulders onto the mat for approximately 3 seconds, but that's not true; once both shoulder blades touch, it's a pin.  At least if it's in an obvious pinning combination.  Referees won't call a pin if both shoulders touch the mat in situations like when you're rolling.

There's also technical fall - the match is stopped after you get up by a certain number of points - I think it was 15 when I was wrestling and coaching, but it might've changed.  This is all NYS high school rules, and NCAA is pretty much the same with some subtle variations like points for riding time.

Do any BJJ tournies have some sort of technical fall rule (match is stopped once you're ahead by a certain number of points)?

Edit:  BJJ stops when you say something like "I give."  That's usually  tapping or being choked unconscious


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## Steve (Jun 4, 2017)

Never heard of a "technical fall" rule or the like.   As others have said, there are several different rule sets for grappling tournaments.   In most, you lose either by points, submission or if your opponent is unable to continue (unconscious or injured).   You can also,lose by dq.

Also, you can tap verbally, and yelling out in pain is often considered a verbal submission.


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## Tony Dismukes (Jun 4, 2017)

Most jiu-jitsu/submission grappling competitions don't have rounds or "falls". Typically there is a set time limit (which can vary by age and rank, typically ranging from 5-10 minutes). If neither competitor achieves a submission before the time limit, then the victor is determined by whoever has racked up the most points.

There are numerous variations on this concept though. There are submission-only tournaments, where the match goes until someone taps out. There are also "submission-only" tournaments where only submissions count during regular time, but if neither party achieves a submission during regular time, then there is a sudden-death overtime where the first point wins the match.

I've seen competitions where a competitor is awarded the victory if he gets a 12-point lead over his opponent at any point during the match.

In Judo and Sambo, the match can also be won by a single clean, hard throw that lands the opponent flat on his back.

In addition, Judo allows a match to be won by holding a pin for 20 seconds.

Your best bet is to makes sure you read up on the rules for any given tournament before you enter.


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## Brownielox (Jun 4, 2017)

JR 137 said:


> High school and collegiate wrestling don't have submissions.  The match ends earlier than the time limit if there's a pin.  I know people here say in wrestling you need to put both shoulders onto the mat for approximately 3 seconds, but that's not true; once both shoulder blades touch, it's a pin.  At least if it's in an obvious pinning combination.  Referees won't call a pin if both shoulders touch the mat in situations like when you're rolling.
> 
> There's also technical fall - the match is stopped after you get up by a certain number of points - I think it was 15 when I was wrestling and coaching, but it might've changed.  This is all NYS high school rules, and NCAA is pretty much the same with some subtle variations like points for riding time.
> 
> ...





Tony Dismukes said:


> Most jiu-jitsu/submission grappling competitions don't have rounds or "falls". Typically there is a set time limit (which can vary by age and rank, typically ranging from 5-10 minutes). If neither competitor achieves a submission before the time limit, then the victor is determined by whoever has racked up the most points.
> 
> There are numerous variations on this concept though. There are submission-only tournaments, where the match goes until someone taps out. There are also "submission-only" tournaments where only submissions count during regular time, but if neither party achieves a submission during regular time, then there is a sudden-death overtime where the first point wins the match.
> 
> ...



Thank you for all the advice. I guess that's the not the kind of grappling I had in mind or would prefer. I'd prefer to wrestle for at least 3 falls or tapouts. I still like the moves used in BJJ, but I guess I have a lot to learn?

Oh, and I'm by no means about to go into any tournaments any time soon. I'm just getting back from surgery and have only visited a BJJ/grappling gym twice lol


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## Tony Dismukes (Jun 4, 2017)

Brownielox said:


> I'd prefer to wrestle for at least 3 falls or tapouts.


Offhand, I can't think of any competition I've run across where you get multiple tapouts in a single match. Generally the whole point of the submission is that it would be a fight ender.

The closest I can think of is the old Pancrace rules in Japan. They had something called a "rope escape" where a fighter who was in trouble (such as being close to being submitted) could grab the rope at the side of the ring to earn a reset. 3 rope escapes meant you lost the match.


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