BJJ Competition Rules Explained (IBJJF & AJP): A Kiwi’s Honest Guide

BJJ competition rules can feel straightforward until you actually compete. Points, advantages, penalties and legal techniques can change how you approach a match, and different organisations do not always handle everything the same way. This guide explains the parts of the IBJJF and AJP rulesets that are most useful to understand before competition day, without expecting you to memorise an entire rulebook.

For the equipment side of competition, start with our Competition Legal BJJ Gi Guide, which covers uniform inspection, fit and gi requirements in detail. Our BJJ Gi Buying Guide NZ is the main equipment pillar, while the BJJ Gi Size Guide NZ covers fit and sizing.

Shockingly Complicated for Something That Claims to Be Simple

I’ve been a brown belt since 31 March 2019, and even now I couldn’t stand up in front of my team and confidently say I know every detail of the rulebook.

The IBJJF rules page alone feels like you’ve accidentally enrolled in a correspondence law degree.

If you want to punish yourself:

IBJJF: IBJJF Official Rulebook
AJP: AJP Official Rulebook

Everyone says they take the rules seriously. But most of us?
We’re reading them the night before.
Some of us are reading them over breakfast.
Some of us are hoping our opponents don’t know the rules either, so it evens out.

My First Competition: 16 Years Old and Learning the Rules the Hard Way

My first comp as a juvenile white belt… I had all the arrogance and none of the technique. My coach at the time, who has been training for over 20 years and still sits at brown belt himself, told me:
“Compete heaps. It’s how you learn.”

Coming from rugby league and rugby union, that sounded normal.
Train all week.
Compete every weekend.
Have no emotional awareness or concept of anxiety.
Perfect.

I assumed everyone else was competing constantly too.
Turns out they had jobs, kids, relationships, responsibilities — all the boring adult stuff no teenager considers.

The Fast Promotions and Then the Eternal Plateau

Before I even trained in the gi properly for a full week, my coach sent me to cross-train somewhere else. I rolled at their open mat, tried my best not to embarrass him, and next week when I officially joined — blue belt.

Six months later — purple belt.

I’d love to pretend I had some secret formula, but honestly, I think I was just enthusiastic, young, and too ignorant to realise how much I didn’t know.

Fast forward years later…
Still a brown belt.
A very committed, loyal, decade-long brown belt.

If there’s any sandbagging in my story, it’s definitely not the early part.

135 Matches at Brown Belt and Still Learning

Between 2019 and 2023, I racked up 135 matches on SmoothComp. A solid number. Enough to know what competition feels like. Not enough to pretend I’m some enlightened martial monk.

What those matches taught me:

1. Submissions are great, but points run the world

A clean pass can feel better than a choke, especially when the crowd reacts.

2. Rulebooks matter less than momentum

You can memorise all the illegal grips you want — when the match starts, instincts kick in and the rulebook evaporates.

3. Community shapes the sport more than any organisation

Regions, gyms, referees — they all add their spin.

4. The Golden Rule applies, even when you’re trying to choke each other

Treat your opponent well. They’re helping you grow, even while they’re trying to strangle you.

The Easiest Way to Understand BJJ Competition Rules

No one actually “knows all the rules.”
Anyone who claims to is lying or a very committed white belt.

Here’s the real system:

Train realistically before you start treating guard-pulling like your default setting.

Learn to control someone standing.
Learn to take them down.
Learn to hold them down.

Because honestly — what are you going to do if someone tries to rob your mum on holiday in South Africa?
Sit down and start scooting at them?
Tell them you’ve got a very threatening spider guard?

You need at least some top pressure in your toolkit.

Your guard is your insurance policy, not your whole identity

A great guard wins matches.
It saves you when you’re losing.
It gets you from fourth place to podium.

But it shouldn’t be your opening move in life unless the ground is extremely comfortable — and let’s be honest, only jiu-jitsu people ever think the ground is comfortable.

Know what’s legal at your belt

Half of competition success is simply not disqualifying yourself by accident because you saw something cool on Instagram.

Then show up and go for it

You’ll forget half the rules anyway.
Your lungs will betray you.
Your forearms will explode.
Your team will slap your back and tell you it looked great whether it did or not.

The Hard Work Happens Long Before Competition Day

People think competitions are hard.
Competitions are the holiday.
It’s comp-prep classes that traumatically age you.

Shark tanks.
Endless drills.
Round after round where the coach forgets the concept of mercy.

That’s the real suffering.

So the last thing you need is a gi that weighs you down, sticks to you like wet cardboard, or makes your life harder than it already is. You want something light, sharp, fast, and reliable — something that helps you get through those tough prep sessions without feeling like you’re dragging a duvet around your shoulders.

Check out our range here:
https://gogettergi.co.nz/shop/

Train in something that actually helps you, not hinders you.

Final Thoughts

Rules matter, sure. But they’re not the heart of jiu-jitsu.
Experience, intent, and effort shape you far more than any paragraph in a rulebook.

Whether you’re doing IBJJF, AJP, ADCC, or the local smoker comp down the road, the mission remains the same:

Show up.
Do your best.
Treat people well.
And learn something every time you step on the mat.