Competition Rules

Last year the Gracies put on a different kind of competition down in San Diego.

There were no points awarded, nor decision victories. The only way to win was to submit your opponent, or it was a draw.

They also doubled the usual competitive Jiu-Jitsu limit from ten minutes to twenty.

They also streamed the event on the internet for the extremely low price of $20.

There were six matches in all, featuring an elite crew of competitors. Of the six matches, three were decided by submission and three were drawn.

After each draw, I was quite content for there not to be a winner. Each was darn close. In each, both guys won.

This year they've put the event on again. For some reason they decided to fix something that wasn't broken. The new rule change had each inconclusive match go to a panel of three judges for a decision. I really don't see why.

Did it matter? I think it did. This year the participants were much less aggressive. I attribute this to their need to look impressive for the judges.

This time only one of the six fights ended in a submission. Of the remaining five, the judges called a winner three times, with two being called as drawn.

Let's recap.

Old rules; 3 submission victories and 3 draws.

New rules; 1 submission victory, 2 draws, and 3 decision wins.

I hope they put the old rules back, but I doubt they will. They already have another bright idea to name one of the matches a “Championship”. What the heck?