Bjj Rules : Point scoring

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  • The central referee awards points when one of the athletes maintains their position for 3 (three) seconds.

When an athlete manages to defend against a submission and this results in leaving the competition zone, the referee grants 2 points to the athlete who initiated the submission attempt (as mentioned in Section 1.3.7).


  • Matches are ideally meant to be a sequence of technical control positions leading to a submission hold. Thus, competitors who intentionally abandon a position to attempt scoring points with the same position that has already been rewarded will not receive additional points for achieving the position again (3.2).

  • Competitors who reach a point-scoring position while being subjected to a submission attempt will only receive points for the position if they successfully free themselves from the submission and stabilize the position for 3 seconds (3.3).

If the athlete achieves point-scoring positions but escapes the submission without maintaining these positions, they will not be granted any advantage for those positions.


  • Competitors who, in order to defend against a sweep, bring their opponent down on their back or sideways on the ground will not be awarded the two points associated with a takedown, nor an advantage point (3.4).

  • Competitors defending against a standing back-control, in which the opponent has one or two hooks in place and doesn’t have a foot on the mat, will not be awarded the two points related to a takedown or an advantage point, even if they manage to stabilize the position for 3 seconds (3.5).

  • Competitors who initiate a takedown maneuver before their opponent attempts to establish guard will be awarded two points or an advantage point, in accordance with the rules governing takedowns (3.6).

  • When a competitor grips their opponent’s pants and the opponent pulls into open guard, the athlete with the grip on the pants will be awarded two points for the takedown if they stabilize the top position on the ground for 3 seconds (3.7).

If the opponent pulls into closed guard and remains suspended in the air, the athlete must place their opponent’s back on the ground within 3 seconds and hold the top position for an additional 3 seconds to receive takedown points.


  • Competitors will be awarded cumulative points when they advance through a series of point-scoring positions, as long as the final point-scoring position, maintained for three seconds, is an integral part of the sequence of control positions (3.8).

In this case, the referee will only count the 3 seconds of control at the end of the sequence before signaling the points to be scored (for example, a guard pass followed by a mount held for 3 seconds grants 7 points).


In the case of transitioning between a back mount and a regular mount, or vice versa, and the positions are clearly distinct, competitors will be awarded four points for the first mount and an additional four points for the subsequent mount, as long as each position was maintained for a three-second stabilization period (3.9).


You can find all these rules in the official ibjjf rules on the ibjjf website!

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