In this post, we will look at which submissions are legal in the upcoming kid’s tournament in respect to arm locks and chokes. The included video shows some of these submissions. Let’s start with the stuff that isn’t legal on the arms – finger and wrist submissions aren’t legal. The reasoning here is mostly about safety. Fingers and wrists break easier and quicker than shoulders and elbows. It is easier to feel when you should tap on an armbar than a finger lock. In addition, it is easier to go slow and ease into a shoulder lock than it is to ease into a wrist lock. Next, let’s talk about what is legal on the arms: armbars and shoulder locks. An armbar is any movement that threatens to bend the elbow the wrong way. A shoulder lock is anything that threatens to move the shoulder beyond its standard range of motion – the Armericana and Kimura are the standard ones that come up most often and are in the video below. Given these perameters, students who choose to do submission grappling during the tournament should be familiar with the feeling of both these movements – they should know when and how to tap. In addition, when applying these submissions, students are expected to secure the lock and apply the submission slowly NOT explosively. Moving on to chokes, students are encouraged to try to find blood chokes and not wind chokes. This sounds super scary to parents but blood chokes are actually safer than wind chokes. Wind chokes are when pressure is applied to the wind pipe – these kinds of moves can be quite painful and dangerous. Blood chokes, on the other hand, temporarily stop the flow of blood in the carotids and are easier to know when to tap to. If students are wearing a Gi, they are welcome to use the Gi to choke their partners with. In addition, if their partner is wearing a Gi, they can use that as a tool as well to submit with. Safety will be he judges primary concern but it should also be on the minds of students and parents. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you don’t understand what is going on.