BJJ points explained

First, the thing that overrides the scoreboard

A submission ends a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match no matter what the score is. Someone can be nine points down and win in the last second. That is the single most useful thing to know as a spectator, because it explains why a competitor who is comfortably ahead will often stop attacking and why the crowd never relaxes.

The rules recognise a concession in four ways: two clear taps with the hand on the opponent, the ground or themselves; two taps with the foot when the arms are trapped; a verbal withdrawal; and a shout or noise of pain while caught in a hold.

Everything below only matters when nobody submits.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

The three second rule, which explains most of what you see

Points are awarded when a competitor stabilises a scoring position for three seconds. Not when they arrive in it, when they hold it. This is why you will see someone scramble into mount and get nothing, and why referees sometimes seem to wait before signalling.

There is an important exception in the other direction. If you reach a scoring position while caught in a submission, you are only awarded the points once you have escaped the hold and then held the position for three seconds. If you escape only after losing the position, you get nothing for it.

If the three second count is interrupted because your opponent locks in a submission during it, you are awarded an advantage for each scoring position you reached instead of the points.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

The scoring positions and what they are worth

Four points: mount, back mount and back control. These are the dominant positions, and the rules treat mount and back mount as distinct, so a competitor can score four for each in a sequence provided they stabilise both for three seconds.

Three points: the guard pass, which is getting past the legs into control of the upper body.

Two points: the takedown, the sweep and knee on belly. A takedown requires starting with both feet on the ground and establishing top position for three seconds. A sweep is the bottom competitor reversing the position. Knee on belly is the knee on the torso with the other knee off the mat, held for three seconds while the opponent is on their back or side.

Points accumulate through a sequence. The rulebook's own example is a guard pass followed by mount, which adds up to seven points, with the referee counting three seconds only at the end of the sequence.

One rule catches newcomers out: you cannot score the same position twice by deliberately giving it up and retaking it. The sport is meant to progress toward a submission, not to farm the scoreboard.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

Advantages: the tiebreak that decides a lot of matches

An advantage is awarded for nearly completing something. If a competitor reaches a scoring position but cannot hold it for the full three seconds, that is an advantage. If they attempt a submission that puts the opponent in real danger, that is also an advantage, and how close it came is the referee's judgement.

Advantages do not add to the points total. They are only consulted when the points are level, and then the competitor with more advantages wins.

This is why a match that looks like a draw has a winner, and why commentators talk about a competitor who is behind needing a real attack rather than a busy-looking one.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

Penalties and the referee decision

If points and advantages are both level, the competitor with fewer penalty points wins. Penalties cover stalling, grip and position infringements, and leaving the match area, among others, and the illegal moves list varies by belt and age division.

If points, advantages and penalties are all level, the referee declares a winner. The rules direct them to consider which competitor showed greater offence and came closest to a scoring position or submission.

There is one more mechanism worth knowing about: if a competitor's correct defence to a submission takes them out of the match area, the referee awards two points to the person applying the hold.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

What to watch for in your first match as a spectator

Watch the legs rather than the arms. Almost every scoring event is about whether one competitor gets past the other's legs, so the question to hold in your head is simply whether the legs are still in the way.

Watch the referee's hands. Points are signalled with the number of fingers raised, and an advantage with a flat hand extended, so you can follow the score without the board.

Count to three whenever someone lands in a dominant position. If they get moved before you finish, no positional points were awarded, though an advantage can still be given for getting that close. The apparent unfairness of that is the whole design of the sport.

Check which rule set the event is running before you follow the score, because the numbers are not shared across promotions: ADCC and IBJJF rules compared sets the two side by side, including ADCC's no-points opening period.

Which rules these are, and which they are not

Everything above is the IBJJF rule set, which is the most widely used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Other promotions run different rules, including submission-only formats with no points at all, and the professional no-gi circuits each have their own scoring and overtime systems. Do not carry these numbers into a match run under another banner without checking.

On version: the IBJJF download page labels the current rulebook v6.0, while the PDF's own page footers read version 6.1 and its final page reads 6.2. The file is dated June 2024. We have quoted it as published and linked it below so you can check any point yourself; confirm the edition in force before you compete under it.

These are competition rules, published for tournaments, not a description of how any particular class is run. This academy is not run as a competition team, and whether a given drill or round uses a score is a question for the coach taking it. The points are worth knowing because they describe which positions the sport considers dominant, which is the same map a class teaches.

If you want the positions themselves rather than their values, start with the beginner terminology guide.

Sources: IBJJF rulebook downloads · IBJJF Rule Book (PDF, June 2024). Checked 3 November 2026.

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