Combat Jiu Jitsu Rules

Overtime Rules

Matches without a submission by the end of regulation time proceed to overtime, where each participant tries to submit their opponent or escape as quickly as possible, with a minimum of one and a maximum of three rounds. A coin toss decides who chooses to start in the offensive or defensive position.

Victory in overtime is achieved by:

• Securing a submission faster than the opponent can.
• If no submissions occur by the third round’s end, the win goes to the competitor with the shortest total escape time.

Each overtime round consists of both an offensive and defensive attempt for each competitor, allowing for up to three rounds in total.

• Strikes are allowed during Overtime.
• If there is no submissions, nor escapes for all three rounds, a fourth round is created. 
• The timer is not stopped if fighters roll off the mat. Thus there is no incentive to go out of bounds.

Overtime Round Structure Example:

In the first part of an overtime round, Competitor A starts on offense and Competitor B on defense. Then, roles reverse with Competitor B on offense and Competitor A on defense.

Assume 6 minute is racked up during penalty time when fighters are not engaged. Therefore all overtime round segments will be: 2 mins + (6 mins / 6 segments) => 3 minutes. So the every round will be 6 minutes in total. 

Each segment of the overtime round has a default two-minute limit + (penalty time / 6) accrued. At segment 6 (or round 2, segment 2) a tally of all the escape times are made. The person with least escape time wins. If neither competitor achieves a submission or escape within 6 segments, they proceed to the next segment pair of overtime. The same tally is calculated. Thus at segment 6 or greater, the match can be won with the fastest escape time or fastest submission. (view the logic in the code here)

For instance, if during the first round’s second part, with Competitor B attacking and Competitor A defending, no submission or escape occurs within two minutes + (penalty time / 2), they advance to the beginning of the second round.

Overtime Offense Options and Rules:

In overtime, the attacking competitor can choose to start in either back control with a seatbelt grip (positioned at the middle of the defender’s chest) or in an armbar position. The rules for each are as follows:

• For back control, the defending competitor must only use “pull up” grips on the attacker’s arms without interfering with the attacker’s grips, maintaining an upright posture until the round starts.
• In the armbar setup, known as “jūji-gatame,” the attacker threads one arm through, hand on the mat, with the defender lying flat, feet on the floor. The defender may use only a figure-four or gable grip defense initially.

Transitioning to other submissions from these positions is allowed once the round begins, provided it moves directly into a fully secured submission.

Scoring and Winning in Overtime:

• If a submission occurs in the round’s first part, the other competitor must achieve a submission in less time during their offensive turn to win.

  Example: If Competitor A submits Competitor B in 30 seconds during the first part of the round, Competitor B must then submit Competitor A in less than 30 seconds in the second part to win.

• A submission in the round’s second part instantly wins the match for the executing competitor, as their opponent didn’t achieve a submission in the first part.

Escape Definition and Guidelines:

An escape occurs when a competitor is completely released from a submission hold, as judged by the referee. Key points include:

• For defensive competitors, an escape is only recognized once the elbow is freed from control across the body.
• Transitioning from a submission attempt to a mount position by the offensive competitor signifies the end of the submission attempt, qualifying as an escape.
• Achieving a submission while in a defensive position is classified as an escape rather than a submission.

Competitors are advised to continue their escape efforts until the referee officially declares the escape complete. Premature gestures or appeals to the referee suggesting an escape has occurred do not constitute a successful escape. Continuous movement and escape attempts are essential until the referee confirms the escape.

Second Referee Timing Application

An application has been created that codifies this ruleset, making it easier to track time, anyone should be able to run this application from a web browser on their phone.