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The IBJJF has made several changes to Jiu-Jitsu’s rules for 2013, which will come into effect starting with the European Open Championship coming up January 24-27 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The new, updated Rule Book will be released on the week of the European Open Championship.

The main changes are as follows:

Takedown Score:

Starting in 2013, the referee will award two points for a Takedown after the athlete who initiates the Takedown stabilizes the position on the opponent on the ground for three (3) seconds.

Classification of penalties:

Terminate the category “Minor Penalties”. All situations that were classified as “Minor” will now be classified as “Serious”.

Marking penalties on the scoreboard:

All penalties noted by the referee shall be marked on the scoreboard. Ends the concept of gestural penalty. Starting in 2013, counter penalties could go up to three (3) and the fourth penalty will result in a disqualification.

Adding new “Severe Penalty

An athlete will receive a “Severe Penalty” in situations where the athlete intentionally attempts to get his or her opponent disqualified by reacting in a way that places his or her opponent in an illegal position.

Adding new “Serious Penalty”

An athlete will receive a “Serious Penalty” in situations where an athlete unintentionally reacts in a way that places his opponent in an illegal position.

Referee proceedings:

In situations where there IS NOT a submission hold in place, the referee may stop the matchwhen an athlete puts their opponent in a position that is liable to penalty (illegal hold). The referee will return the athletes to a regular position.

In situations where there IS a submission hold in place, the referee will not stop the match when the athlete under attack puts the opponent in a position that is liable to penalty (illegal move).

In matches with three (3) referees, the disqualification of an athlete will not happen until at least two of the three referees agree with the decision.

Restricting registration for athletes with experience in other sports:

Starting in 2013, athletes with experience in wrestling at the University level in the USA or with a professional career in MMA cannot subscribe to compete as a white belt. Besides the USA, wrestling competitors with experience in National tournaments around the world are also restricted from competing as white belts.