Freestyle grappling

Freestyle grappling is a variation of grappling sports such as wrestling and Brazilian Ju-Jutsu. It is played on a large mat that has a 10-foot circle drawn in the center. Two combatants wrestle for points. Opponents are matched up by weight, age, and experience, to make the fights as evenly matched as possible.
Scoring
An advantageous position maneuver is 1 point, an escape is 1 point, a takedown is 2 points, a reversal is 3 points, a pin is 5 points and a submission is 5 points. Pins occur when a combatant holds his opponent's shoulder blades down to the mat for a total of 5 seconds, or 15 seconds cumulatively, if the pinned wrestler escapes the pin briefly.
There are three two-minute rounds. The wrestler with the most points at the end of the three rounds wins.
A wrestler automatically wins at any time during the game if s/he gains a fifteen point lead. If two submissions or pins are successfully made within 20 seconds by the same combatant, then s/he wins. Victory can also be attained when one combatant surrenders to his/her opponent.
Freestyle grappling combines elements of judo, Brazilian Ju-Jutsu, Freestyle Wrestling, Collegiate Wrestling, and various forms of Sambo. Both men and women are allowed to train and compete, though they compete in separate leagues. Typical attire includes grappling shorts and kneepads for men, and grappling shorts and a rashguard top for women. Singlets are allowed, but not typical and gis are not normally allowed in competition.
Freestyle grappling is practiced throughout America. Although there are very few Freestyle Grappling schools, competitions are common. Grapplers' Quest, Revolution, and other tournaments are held throughout the year.
Common techniques
Because Freestyle Grappling combines elements from many different disciplines, the types of techniques are quite varied.
Takedowns
- Trip throws as in judo such as the Ouchi Gari, Kouchi Gari, and Kosoto Gari.
- Shoulder throws, like Judo's Ippon Seoinage.
- Hip throws, as in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Pick ups from wrestling like the suplex, single leg, double leg, and high crotch.
All of these as well as various snap-downs and sacrifice throws.
Ground techniques
When the fight goes to the ground, Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are the dominant styles.
- Armbars, triangle chokes, rear naked chokes, the guillotine choke, kimuras, and kneebars are most common for submissions.
- Inside cradle, ball and chain, figure four, half nelson, various stacks, and the hammerlock are common for pins and ground fighting.
Aside from these takedowns and finishers, there are many other techniques used to establish control on the ground.
Advanced rules
Points given for takedowns are awarded when one combatant takes the other down and clearly finishes the technique by ending with some sort of control over his opponent. If a takedown is performed, but no control is established and both combatants end up on the ground with no control, no points are given. Points given for gaining an advantageous position are only given when one combatant has, after going to the ground, gained a controlling position over his opponent such as the mount, side control, hip control, or top referees. Reversal points are given when a combatant in an unadvantageous position reverses the situation through transitions or an escape, to gain the dominant position over his/her opponent. Points are given for escapes when a combatant in an unadvantageous position escapes to standing neutral position through transitions. The first round is started with both combatants in neutral position, whereby after the first round, the combatant who is behind in points is allowed to select the starting position, either neutral, bottom referees, top referees, both down, or to defer. If there is a tie in points, then a coin will be tossed to determine the chooser. At the start of the third round, the same process is repeated, with the losing combatant choosing the position etc. If the fight goes on for all three rounds, then whichever combatant is ahead in points at the end will be the victor. If at any time during the match one combatant gets ahead by 15 points, then he/she will be the victor. If there are either 2 submissions or pins performed successfully within 20 seconds by the same combatant, then he/she is the victor. The final method of victory is if one combatant concedes victory to his/her opponent, either because of injury or the opponents obvious domination of the match. Penalties are given when there is stalling, bad sportsmanship, or illegal moves are being performed. For stalling, the chain of penalties goes, warning, one point against, two points against, 3 points against, disqualification. Bad sportsmanship goes one point against, two points against, disqualification. Illegal moves goes warning, two points against, disqualification. Illegal moves include eye gouging, fish hooking, groin shots, any striking at all, choking the neck using your hands, covering the mouth to choke, and small joint manipulation(fingers/toes). If any injury is brought on by using illegal moves, then the offender is automatically disqualified.
Divisions
Contestants are grouped into classes by age, weight, and experience level to ensure even matches. The age divisions begin at 12 years of age and end at 50 years of age, for paricipant safety. Age classes are further divided by weight classes, which are then divided by experience level. These can be:
* Beginner: less than 6 months training
* Novice: 6 months to a year of training
* Rookie: A year to a year and a half of training
* Intermediate: A year and a half to two and a half years of training
* Advanced: Two and a half years to 3 and a half years of training
* Expert: Three and a half years to 5 years of training
* Masters division: 5+ years of training.
These divisions are for general competitions and matches, but at a large scale(state, regional etc.) tournament the combatants are divided only by age and weight. If there is only one combatant in a division then that combatant will be bumped either up or down a weight class within his/her age group so that they may have a match. If there are still no other combatants for that competitor to battle, then s/he will be moved up an age group in his/her original weight class. This process will be continued until a match is found. However, this process may only be done twice so that the competitor does not get in too high of an age group. If there is still no match found, then the combatant will accept the forfeit and the victory.

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