Whether brand new to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or a seasoned veteran, there are some moves and submissions that you should be aware of when thinking about your safety and the safety of others. Whilst BJJ can be practiced in a safe way, it is ultimately a combat sport which means injuries will inevitably happen. Having said this, some moves and submissions are more dangerous than others.
This means you can use this list to learn and educate yourself about the possible dangers when training BJJ and how to avoid potential injuries. Remember, all submissions can injure, but some injure far significantly when compared to others.
As a disclaimer, we will not be mentioning most chokes. Obviously, chokes can kill if held for too long so chokes would easily be the most dangerous move. For the record, we’re talking about moves that can seriously cripple the opponent if done badly and also moves that have the ability to harm others at a significantly higher rate when compared to other moves and submissions.
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Flying scissors takedown (Kani basami)
Legendary coach John Danaher claims this is the most dangerous form of takedown and as a result, he doesn’t allow this when sparring under his supervision. Whilst his students such as Garry Tonon have successfully done this in competition, you can imagine this is from drilling the move due to the ban from Danaher. Also known as the Kani basami in Judo, this is done by jumping into a leg entanglement from standing. The issue with this move is that if done incorrectly, it can blow out your opponent’s knee.
With this said, if you are to perform this move, make sure your opponent is ok with it. In brief, if it’s executed incorrectly you can put your opponent’s knee backward whilst their leg stays forwards, forcing the knee to take the weight of your falling body.
Even if done correctly, the reaction of an opponent may be to fight the move which may also lead to a broken knee. As you will see on this list, damaged knees are a common issue as they can be a nightmare to repair. In some extreme cases, you could even be crippled for life if the flying scissors destroys your knee. Unsurprisingly, this move is banned in most competitions and isn’t encouraged in many gyms either.
Trachea chokes (crushing the trachea)
For obvious reasons, chokes can be deadly. As mentioned in the introduction section, we’ve decided not to mention chokes because of this. However, there is the possibility of killing someone by crushing the trachea. Perhaps the most common ways of doing this are by doing a botched Ezekiel choke or simply forcing your forearm into the opponent’s windpipe.
The Ezekiel choke should always be executed as a blood choke that squeezes the blood circulation from the carotid arteries. However, newer practitioners may think it’s just forcing your forearm into the opponent’s windpipe. This will definitely choke them and usually may create a sore throat. However, this can potentially crush the throat of the opponent.
If done harshly enough, this could kill the opponent. Alternative problems include requiring throat surgery or even a severely damaged throat which could keep you away from sparring for months. For instance, it’s possible to break a small bone in your throat by doing this crushing method. Not only this, but activities such as swallowing and eating can become incredibly painful for several months whilst recovering. Because of this, trachea crushes are frowned upon in BJJ and also promote bad technique.
Neck cranks
Some people may try to tough out neck cranks as they’re seen as lacking in techniques. The issue with this is they can cause extreme damage to your neck or spine. One example of this could be people mocking Conor McGregor who tapped to a neck crank from Khabib. This may not have choked him but could have easily broken his jaw and even his neck if applied for long enough. In short, your neck is fragile and should be treated with respect.
Another issue is that it may not cause instant damage, but instead cause damage which builds over time. Issues such as slipped discs and shoulder surgery can result from years of tapping late to neck cranks. In brief, whilst a neck crank may not hurt immediately, it probably will later on and can become chronic pain if you tap too late to them.
A more short-term injury from neck cranks can be done by refusing to tap to a dragon sleeper submission. This is also known as a reverse guillotine which is where you apply a guillotine whilst the opponent’s throat is facing upwards instead of the back of their neck. This submission is banned in most gyms and can break the neck quickly. Similarly, the twister submission can easily break the back if applied with too much force which again is often banned outside of competition.
Jumping guard and slams from closed guard
This move is banned from white belts in competition. The problem with this is that it’s structurally similar to the flying scissors take down. For example, if you jump guard on a standing opponent, in theory they should either fall into your guard or stay standing. The issue is that in practice, the opponent may fall back due to your body weight.
At the same time, your weight is forcing the opponent’s legs forwards. Because of this, their legs can easily snap and cause a nasty break. Again, jumping guard is banned from John Danaher’s classes and there are a number of videos that show how bad they can be.
Like many big knee injuries, some people never really recover and return to BJJ the same. Because of this, it’s important to learn good posture when getting a guard jumped on you, but even then if the opponent is far heavier then this may not be enough. Similarly, some people can knock themselves out by jumping triangles or armbars from standing. Whilst this won’t hurt your opponent, if done correctly you can land on your neck and cause a concussion. Several years back there was a notorious video of a Russian grappler who did this and was paralyzed as a result.
Heel hooks
Heel hooks are notoriously dangerous and should be treated with caution. However, these days most gyms will treat them with respect. One way of practicing heel hooks safely is by doing the ‘catch and release’ method which is tapping when the hold is applied without it really being put on. Or, if the heel is caught, then the submission is put on incredibly slowly.
Of course, there’s no guaranteeing your opponent will respect these rules and catch and release doesn’t exist in competition. Because of this, heel hooks are probably the most common submission injuries in BJJ. In brief, the tendons in your knees are small and fragile. Unlike your elbows, for example, they will snap far quicker and there will be little warning of pain beforehand.
Not only this, but the nature of the heel hook can be crippling especially with inside heel hooks. This is because the hold twists the ligaments and creates a messy break. In comparison, a knee bar break may snap your knee in a more straight, clean way. Whilst it’s not good to get hit with a knee bar, the difference in recovery time between the two is massively different. Like many knee injuries, some people are never the same after getting hurt with a bad heel hook.
The Kimura
The Kimura is one of the most common submissions in BJJ and is widely used in all gyms and competition settings. Having said this, it can seriously damage the shoulder in a similar vein to the heel hook does to the knee ligaments. If the knee bar is a more clean break compared to a heel hook, then the armbar is the upper body version of breaks compared to the Kimura.
In short, the Kimura twists the shoulder in such a way that it isn’t a clean snap, and is instead a messy, twisted break which pulls the shoulder out of the socket.
Not only this, but the shoulder is a key part of your upper body. For example, whilst breaking your elbow with an armbar is bad – it only affects the arm from the elbow downwards. However, the Kimura is from the shoulder downwards. Further, a horrible Kimura break could even affect your neck. As mentioned with neck cranks, a lot of muscle groups are connected, so even though the Kimura hits the shoulder area, it could also damage the neck and back muscles too.
Perhaps the main reason why Kimura injuries are rare is that most practitioners respect and fear the submission. In some rare cases, most injuries occur when someone simply doesn’t respect the submission hold. Unlike the heel hook or other positions listed above, Kimura injuries are usually from the stubbornness of those getting hit with the move, rather than the attacker ripping them on.
