When it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are certain things that are legal and certain things that aren’t. As well as this, it depends on the rules which differ from organization to organization. For example, in ADCC you can heel hook. However, in IBJJF from below the rank of brown belt, you cannot. This brings us back to the original question, is smothering legal in BJJ?
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Is smothering legal in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
Under IBJJF rules, smothering is illegal. Looking at the rules, it can be found under the 6.3.2 Technical Fouls list. Here, it states it is illegal “When an athlete blocks the passage of air to his/her opponent’s nose or mouth using his/her hands” This results in an instant disqualification.
Is smothering legal in EBI rules?
In the EBI format, smothering is fully legal. BJJ veteran Vagner Rocha has actually won a few matches by doing this and it’s also known as ‘the python muffler’. In recent times, the EBI competition has changed to Combat Jiu Jitsu. Once more, smothering in this fashion is fine.
What constitutes to smothering in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
Most of the time, smothering means clapping your palm across the face of the opponent, either covering their mouth or nose. Similarly, pinching the nose is also illegal. In short, this form of choking is usually taboo. By the same token, smothering with your foot covering someones mouth would also be illegal (and highly impractical).
However, there are some grey area smothers that will often go unpunished. For instance, the ‘mothers milk’ choke relies on smothering with your chest from the mounted position. This is usually allowed as it’s very difficult to judge whether the opponent taps from suffocation or whether it’s just pressure. Especially whilst done in a gi which physically covers the smother, this move will often be allowed. For what it’s worth, the mothers milk is quite a rare submission.
In the 2020 black belt Pan-Ams tournament. Oliver Taza got disqualified for smothering his opponent. Whilst many grapplers came to his defense, this was technically a DQ under the IBJJF rules at the time.
Is smothering seen as taboo in BJJ?
Let’s say you’re at your gym where things aren’t taken as seriously and you’re sparring with a new opponent and you decide to smother them. This can be seen as quite disrespectful and is generally viewed as bad etiquette. Obviously, doing this whilst joking with a friend is different and has different connotations. At the same time, you’re probably not going to get kicked out of the gym for doing this – albeit it may gain you enemies and a bad reputation. Of course, different gyms have different rules.
Summary
In BJJ, smothering is usually illegal. This is because most places abide by IBJJF rules, or something similar. Not only this, but smothering and suffocation is held in a negative light. Perhaps even more important than the legalities though, is the rarity of smothering. As a general rule, smothering requires either a large skill gap, weight gap and a different approach to typical BJJ. With this said, the likelihood of seeing a smother choke is incredibly rare in the first place.
