In order to meet the needs of the athletes and professors along with sharing our knowledge of jiu-jitsu rules among as many people as possible in a simple and understandable way, the IBJJF now offers the Rules Course in a new online platform through an interactive Rules Webinar.

The Rules Webinar ensures that, regardless of the athlete’s location, everyone can access the IBJJF educational material with the same quality and content of our in-person courses.

“I understand that in my position as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach and/or parent, I should always lead by example and be morally straight; that all my actions are to be held accountable to influence the generations to come.
I shall promote fair-play among my peers.
I shall be courteous to other coaches, parents, athletes and supporters.
I shall respect and follow the rules and regulations, and understand that they are there to protect myself and others.
I will do my best to promote the good name of our art.
I shall be honest, fair and just”

Coaches and Parent conduct code applicable to NZBJJF sanctioned events

• Athletes registered in the Mighty Mite and Pee Wee divisions are allowed to have one coach/guardian with them in the barricade area. Athletes in the Junior and Teen divisions will not be allowed to have a coach within the barricade area.”
• There will be 2 chairs located by the scorekeepers table per ring area, behind the publicity panels, where the coach/parent will be seated (if available)
• The coach/parent is responsible for the athletes conduct from the moment you enter and exit the event.
• The coach’s/parent’s action inside the competition area is limited to the communication with the athlete. Tactics and strategies advises, motivating, instructions to unpredictable situations, injuries.
• The coach/parent must remain seated during the whole match.
• No comments are to be made towards the referee at any time during the match.
• At any time, there will be no inappropriate language allowed towards the referee, opponents, event officials or spectators.
• Hitting, tapping, kicking the publicity panels or other equipment inside the competition area is prohibited.
• There are no inappropriate gestures towards the opponents, coaches, parents, referees, or any event official.

Dress Code

• It is mandatory to wear a t-shirt inside the competition area at all times.
• It is not allowed to use any garments showing inappropriate wording or images.
• It is not allowed to use garments that the referee, or event director may see as inadequate for the competition area.

Penalties

Any coach/parent that does not follow any article of this code, in or outside of the premises, will be prevented from joining their athlete(s) inside the competition area during the event. The coach, athlete or the academy are subject to penalties, such as suspension of membership, participation in other events, or can be banned from NZBJJF sanctioned event sites.

Here you can download the updated Rules Guide V 5.2.

The new rules updates, including Heel Hooks and Knee Reaping for Black and Brown Belt adult NoGi Divisions, will be valid starting on January 1st, 2021.

In the early morning hours of Sunday August 7th, the IBJJF and the jiu-jitsu community learned of the tragic passing of Leandro Lo. Lo was not only an incredible champion on the mats but also an exemplary black belt, martial artist, and leader off the mats. His global influence, passion, and dedication to jiu-jitsu will forever be remembered and honored. Lo’s jiu-jitsu career started with humble beginnings at a social project in Sao Paulo, and he remained humble throughout all of his incredible achievements. He changed the culture of our sport, and his passing leaves a void in our community that we’ll feel for years to come.

As a competitor, Leandro Lo was one of the greatest to ever step on the mats. In 2012, Lo won Pan, Brazilian National, and Worlds gold as a lightweight, setting the stage for a decade long trajectory in competition. Another lightweight title in 2013 followed by middle and medium-heavy titles in 2014 and 2015, respectively, solidified Lo’s name in the history books. But despite all of his accomplishments, he showed no signs of slowing down. Over the next seven years, Lo would continue to win major titles, ultimately winning the Worlds in five different weight classes, a feat that has never been matched by another competitor.

Although Lo’s titles stand alone as incredible achievements, he was equally as revered for the way in which he competed. Whether he was competing in his first match of a tournament or the final of the Worlds, Lo always gave everything he had in each and every match. Even when it seemed that he had no gas left in the tank, he’d always find a way to pull off a mesmerizing technique, leaving the crowd chanting his name as he got his hand raised.

Despite all of his accolades and dominance as a competitor, Lo’s biggest contribution to jiu-jitsu was in the way he brought the community together. When he stepped on the mats, it didn’t matter what team you represented or what country you were from, you were cheering for Lo and celebrating his grit and tenacity. Those close to him will remember him for his smile, his positive energy, and the way he made everyone around him feel. Lo had a unique way of building strong bonds and friendships with not only his training partners and teammates, but even with his rivals on the competition mats. The jiu-jitsu community as a whole became stronger and more united because of Leandro Lo.

Rest in peace Leandro Lo Pereira do Nascimento. The jiu-jitsu community was extremely blessed to have you as our champion and you’ll forever be an idol to martial artists around the world. Our sincerest condolences go out to Leandro Lo’s family, friends, and everyone he impacted in the jiu-jitsu community.

For the fifth time in the organizations history, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation returned to Australia for the 2022 Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, this two star event is the premier tournament in Australia and draws the top teams and athletes from the land down under. Australian Elite Team, who brought 107 gi competitors and 68 no-gi competitors had a great performance and took home gi and no-gi first place trophies. This edition of the event also saw highly accomplished athletes return to competition, namely Tomoyuki Hashimoto and Pablo Lavaselli.

Pan, European, and Asian Open Champion Tomoyuki Hashimoto returned to competition for the first time since the 2022 Worlds back in June. As one of the premier guard players in the rooster weight division, Tomoyuki looked to rebound from his loss at the Worlds. “I lost by DQ at the Worlds so I had bad feelings about competition. But this time I could show my good performance and I got gold, so I am happy now,” explained Tomoyuki. “I had two matches and two submissions. I used my top game and bottom game in my two fights. I could feel my growth. It was good.” Now Tomoyuki will begin preparation for his next challenge, this time without the kimono. “I will compete next at the No-Gi Worlds. So after this trip I will train no-gi more. I will try to improve as much as possible and then next year I will compete at the Europeans. So I’m trying to be better in the gi also. I enjoy the game and the process leading up to it.”

Current #1 ranked lightweight gi athlete Pablo Lavaselli jumped all the way up to medium-heavy in Australia. 2022 has seen Pablo win gold at Brazilian Nationals, American Nationals, and Jiu-Jitsu CON. In addition to his phenomenal performances on the mat, Pablo also relocated to Costa Mesa, California to train at the Art of Jiu Jitsu academy alongside Tainan Dalpra, Johnatha Alves, and many other champions. “It’s been four incredible months at AOJ and I’m learning a lot. But if you think about it, the time is still very short. I’m already making a lot of changes in my game, trying to be a pro-active guard player and getting better at passing. We are aware that it’s a long process and still needs training time to be developed. Next year, I will be competing in a lot of opens as I’m currently doing now and I will do my first Europeans and Pans as a black belt.”

The female open class champion in Australia was Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths of Immersion Mixed Martial Arts, who turned in one of the best performances of the event. She competed in the medium-heavy and the open class divisions, winning all her matches by submission. “I had one match in my weight division with a submission by armbar. I then had two more matches in the open weight with an armbar and and a knee bar for double gold in the gi. My next comp will be the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds at the end of the year.”

Ariel Tabak of Cicero Costha International took second in the lightweight division in the gi but came back to the open class in search of gold. “I had four matches total with one submission. The weight class was a small division where I had two bouts. As for the open class, I honestly had a very good draw for my side of the bracket. My first bout was a bye and in my second bout I had a medium-heavyweight guy from Alliance. Then my final was against a super heavyweight from Gracie Barra. I was happy with the fact that I was able to take out a medium-heavyweight and a super heavyweight in the same run, as a new light weight. My guard retention felt on point, as well as my berimbolos. This was my first open weight since 2017 as a purple belt too. So it felt good to remind myself that I can jump in with the big boys and do okay. My next IBJJF competition will be the Europeans in January.”

Duke Didier of Australian Elite Team won the no-gi open class with three victories. After losing in the ultra heavy division, Duke bounced back in impressive fashion in the open class, getting a submission win in the final via armbar.

2022 Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Championship team results:

1.   Australian Elite Team

2.   Gracie Barra

3.   Art of Jiu Jitsu

2022 Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Championship No-Gi team results:

1.   Australian Elite Team

2.   De Been 100% Jiu-Jitsu

3.   Absolute MMA Australia

2022 Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Championship Kids team results:

1.   Gracie Barra

2.   Australian Elite Team

3.   High Rollers

One of the most important and often overlooked benefits of jiu-jitsu is how it enhances our social lives. Although it can be very intimidating walking into an academy for the first time, these feelings soon dissipate as you train more consistently and build relationships with your training partners. Effective training requires constant communication which often leads to strong bonds being formed in the academy. Many practitioners are in their academies multiple times per week and end up seeing their training partners as often as their own families. These bonds are important because they keep us motivated to continue training, improving, and giving back to newer students at the academy. Training jiu-jitsu helps us make new friends, meet people from all walks of life, and connect with practitioners all across the world.

Make New Friends

Throughout childhood and young adulthood, it’s pretty easy to form friendships. You go to school with other classmates who are the same age and share similar interests. But as you get older it becomes increasingly more difficult to make new friends. Responsibilities with work, family, and other hobbies can take up the majority of your time with little leftover for socializing. When you join a jiu-jitsu academy, however, you’ll quickly realize how important good communication is to learning and improving your skillset. By communicating with your training partners, you’re able to discuss what’s working and what you can improve upon more quickly. These interactions bring training partners closer together. Additionally, it’s very common to stay after class to talk about technique or simply catch up with your training partners. The time spent on the mat and the time spent after class socializing about commons interests builds deep and lasting friendships.

Meet People From All Walks of Life

In addition to making new friends, you’ll also meet a variety of people from all walks of life. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, construction workers, police men and women, and people from nearly any profession can be found on the jiu-jitsu mats. This diversity not only exists when it comes to occupation, but also to ethnic group and national origin. Jiu-Jitsu is a world wide sport that is practiced everywhere so it’s common to meet people from very different backgrounds throughout your journey. Whether a visitor comes to your academy’s open mat or you drop into an academy while traveling, you’re bound to meet people from a variety of walks of life when you train. Being exposed to different people with different backgrounds and ideas is vital to our growth and evolution as individuals.

Connect With Practitioners All Across The World

Jiu-Jitsu is a global sport. With more and more academies opening and thriving each year, jiu-jitsu is on a steady growth trajectory. Whether you’re traveling for work or vacation or relocating for a new job, it’s very likely that there will be a jiu-jitsu academy in your area. Knowing that you have a place to go improve yourself and be surrounded by individuals with a common interest wherever you go gives you confidence and peace of mind. Participating in open mats, tournaments, and seminars can help you meet new practitioners and build friendships that will be valuable throughout your jiu-jitsu journey.

The IBJJF’s General Graduation System serves to provide jiu-jitsu practitioners access to the organization’s officially recognized graduation process. In accordance with section 3.1.3, the IBJJF has updated the minimum graduation periods for adult blue, purple, and brown belt athletes. If a blue, purple, or brown belt is an adult World Champion, he or she will no longer have a minimum period at that belt. This change applies only to adult athletes age 18 and up. Please note that the graduation periods for white and black belts remain unchanged. It is important to remember that the General Graduation System may change as the sport continues to grow and evolve. To access section 3.1.3 and the rest of the General Graduation System, please visit ibjjf.com/graduation-system.

More and more people around the world are training jiu-jitsu than ever before. With all the benefits you can gain from regular jiu-jitsu practice, it’s no surprise that academies and tournaments are seeing an increase in the number of practitioners every year. One of the best parts about jiu-jitsu is that it truly is for everyone and doesn’t discriminate based on age, gender, or background. As the sport has grown we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of youth practitioners, with this year’s Pan Kids in Florida being the biggest since the event was founded in 2010. Kids programs at academies around the world continue to grow and with all the benefits jiu-jitsu has for kids, it’s likely these programs won’t be slowing down any time soon. The following are five reasons why kids should train jiu-jitsu.

Learn Self-Defense

The first reason kids should learn jiu-jitsu is because it is the most efficient form of self-defense. Why is it important to learn to defend yourself? Although many physical altercations can be avoided, some simply cannot. Bullying, and specifically cyber-bullying, has become a real issue for many kids and makes it difficult to want to go to school or take part in extra curricular activities. Self-defense skills can not only keep kids safe in case of a physical altercation, but they can also give kids the confidence to avoid these situations. Many kids programs discuss proper course of action in a self defense situation, often advocating for using your voice before allowing the altercation to become physical. While it would be great if kids never had to defend themselves, having the skills to do so will benefit them immensely.

Build Social Skills

Being part of a group that is striving for a common goal is one of the best ways to build better social skills. Although jiu-jitsu is unlike traditional team sports, it requires communication and cooperation between partners. If we didn’t have cooperative training partners, it’d be impossible to train jiu-jitsu. Exposing kids to other kids close to their age early on is essential for overall health and well being. When training jiu-jitsu, kids are repeatedly put in situations where they must work together doing warm up exercises, drills, and sparring rounds. Building better communication and social skills will benefit kids in every aspect of their lives.

Build Leadership Skills

As kids start to gain skills and confidence in jiu-jitsu, they’ll often be put in positions to work on their leadership skills. For example, kids who have more experience in jiu-jitsu will often times be partnered with a new class member during the drilling portion of the class. This will allow the more experienced practitioner to guide the newer student and make him or her feel more comfortable in the class. The confidence gained from these experiences will often be built upon as kids move from the kids class into the teen and/or adult classes. Being a leader is also about helping those around us. The better someone gets at jiu-jitsu, the more opportunity he or she will have to help those around them.

Build Healthy Habits

Healthy exercise and eating habits are essential for a long and prosperous life. The earlier these habits are ingrained in someone, the more likely they are to stick with them for life. Jiu-Jitsu is an incredible tool for building healthy exercise and eating habits. Because the art is so technical, learning it often feels just as much of a mental exercise as a physical one, often causing practitioners to forget that they’re even getting a physical workout. This combination of mental and physical exercise is invigorating and keeps practitioners coming back for more. In addition to the physical exercise habits, jiu-jitsu is also useful for building better dietary habits. Kids learn quickly that if they fuel their bodies properly, they feel better while training and are able to train more often.

Less Screen Time

These days it’s often a challenge to spend less time in front of a screen, regardless of your age. With unlimited access to entertainment and work, we’re spending more time in front of screens than ever before. Having planned time away from our devices is often the best way to ensure we remain active and spend less time consuming mindless entertainment. Even though much of the content on the internet is educational, it’s still important for us to be intentional with our movement practices. Jiu-Jitsu classes generally range from one to two hours and force kids to exercise, work on their communication skills, and stay off their devices.