This article is about the use of safewords in contact sports. For their use in BDSM, see Safeword. For the television game show, see Safeword (game show).
A safeword, as used in sports, is a code word used by a player to avoid impending injury.
In certain contact sports, such as rugby and professional wrestling, when a player feels an opposing player's actions will cause the player serious injury, the player may utter a safeword to tell the opponent to stop the actions.
Professional rugby union footballers recognize the safeword "neck". A player may say "neck" during a scrum due to fear of a possible neck injury. Players on both teams will recognize this and immediately release any downward pressure.[citation needed]
A more common example is "matte" (pronounced "mah-teh", meaning "Wait!") in most Japanesemartial arts, including judo, which indicates surrender, usually due to an arm lock or a choke. In professional competition, saying "stop" or "help" does not indicate surrender and the opponent may continue combat. In catch wrestling and early competitive professional wrestling, a wrestler would say "uncle" when put in a submission hold to signify that they give up. This has largely been replaced by the more popular "tapping out" that is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opponent with the hand as seen in mixed martial arts.
Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling is a broad term that encompasses many disciplines. These various martial arts can be practiced both as combat sports and for self-defense. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat, also known as a submission or tap out.
Pankration was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques, but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint-locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern mixed martial arts. The term comes from the Greek παγκράτιον [paŋkrátion], meaning "all of power," from πᾶν (pan) "all" and κράτος (kratos) "strength, might, power."
Professional wrestling is a form of theater involving wrestling matches whose progress and outcome are planned in advance, typically between performers with established character roles. The wrestling matches are based on classical and "catch" wrestling, with modern additions of striking attacks, acrobatics, feats of strength, fast-moving athleticism and occasionally, improvised weaponry. Professional wrestling also liberally incorporates melodrama. Much like some of the real prizefighters they imitate, the characters in professional wrestling have large egos, flamboyant personalities, and turbulent interpersonal relationships. These personas are scripted much like the matches. Performances mainly take place in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing. In televised wrestling shows, many additional "backstage" scenes are also recorded to supplement the drama in the ring.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art and combat sport based on ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. It focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, controlling one's opponent, gaining a dominant position, and using a number of techniques to force them into submission via joint locks or chokeholds.
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports and martial arts from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate.
Puroresu (プロレス) is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "professional wrestling" (プロフェッショナル・レスリング), which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in the traditional US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese pro wrestling is distinct in its psychology and presentation of the sport. It is treated as a legitimate fight, with fewer theatrics; the stories told in Japanese matches are about a fighter's spirit and perseverance. In strong style, the style most typically associated with puroresu, full contact martial arts strikes and shoot submission holds are implemented.
Submission wrestling, also known as Submission fighting, Submission grappling or Sport grappling, is a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the use of submission holds. The term "submission wrestling" usually refers only to the form of competition and training that does not use a gi, or "combat kimono", of the sort often worn with belts that establish rank by color, though some may use the loose trousers of such a uniform, without the jacket. Not using a gi has a major impact on the sport : there are many choke techniques which make use of the lapels of the gi, thus rendering them un-usable and grappling in general becomes more difficult when the opponent doesn't have a gi to grab hold of.
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent or by disabling the opponent. Combat sports share a long pedigree with the martial arts.
A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking) or blood (strangling) from passing through the neck of an opponent. The restriction may be of one or both and depends on the hold used and the reaction of the victim. While the time it takes for the choke to render an opponent unconscious varies depending on the type of choke, the average across all has been recorded as 9 seconds.
The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ("gi") or training uniform.
A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension.
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pressing their elbow into your thigh, and the triangle armbar, like a triangle choke, but you press their elbow into your thigh. An armlock that hyper-rotates the arm is known as an armcoil, and includes the americana, kimura, and omaplata. Depending on the joint flexibility of a person, armcoils can either hyper-rotate only the shoulder joint, only the elbow joint, or both the elbow joint and shoulder joint. Generally, armcoils hurt more than armbars, as they attack several joints at the bone and muscle.
Catch wrestling is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain c. 1870. It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents. Catch wrestling derives from various different international styles of wrestling: several English styles, Indian pehlwani, and Irish collar-and-elbow wrestling. The training of some modern submission wrestlers, professional wrestlers and mixed martial artists is founded in catch wrestling.
A nelson hold is a grappling hold which is executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpit, and secured at the opponent's neck. Several different nelson holds exist, and they can be separated according to the positioning of the encircling arm(s). A nelson is used to control an opponent or to turn them over onto their back and execute a pin.
A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat. The submission – then also referred to as a "tap out" or "tapping out" – is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opponent with the hand or in some cases with the foot, or by saying the word 'tap' to signal the opponent and/or the referee of the submission. In some combative sports where the fighter has cornermen, the cornerman can also stop the fight by "throwing in the towel", which may count as a submission.
A grappling hold, commonly referred to simply as a hold that in Japanese is referred to as katame-waza, is any specific grappling, wrestling, judo, or other martial art grip that is applied to an opponent. Grappling holds are used principally to control the opponent and to advance in points or positioning. The holds may be categorized by their function, such as clinching, pinning, or submission, while others can be classified by their anatomical effect: chokehold, headlock, joint-lock, or compression lock. Multiple categories may be appropriate for some of these holds.
A spinal lock is a multiple joint lock applied to the spinal column, which is performed by forcing the spine beyond its normal ranges of motion. This is typically done by bending or twisting the head or upper body into abnormal positions. Commonly, spinal locks might strain the spinal musculature or result in a mild spinal sprain, while a forcefully and/or suddenly applied spinal lock may cause severe ligament damage or damage to the vertebrae, and possibly result in serious spinal cord injury, strokes, or death. Spinal locks and cervical locks are forbidden in IBJJF Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions, amateur MMA, multiple forms of no Gi Jiu Jitsu, Judo, and other martial arts. However, professional MMA and some Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions do permit spinal locks and, particularly, neck cranks, and such moves are trained in various MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu schools.
Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very different tactics and strategies. Similarly, shoot wrestling organizations, such as Shooto, expanded their rulesets to integrate elements of Vale Tudo into their sport. However, for the most part, fighters accustomed to one rule set can easily acclimate to the others.
The Art of War Fighting Championship was a Chinese professional mixed martial arts promotion based in Beijing, China. The Chinese title "英雄榜" literally translated means "Gathering of Heroes." Art of War FC has no relation to the defunct US MMA promotion Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship. Art of War I was held at the Beijing Sports University on November 6, 2005. The inaugural event made it the first professional mixed martial arts contest in the People's Republic of China. To date, AOW has held 15 events in mainland China. Its largest event was Art of War 12 - Invincible, held at the National Olympic Sports Center Auditorium in Beijing on May 23, 2009 to an audience of around 6,000 fans. The event attracted many international guests, including former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer, and experienced referee "Big" John McCarthy.
Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) is the first and only professional mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, Philippines on November 23, 2002. The URCC is under the supervision of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the government agency that sanctions games such as billiards, boxing and basketball. The URCC was founded in 2002 by Filipino BJJ Black belt Alvin Aguilar. The matches and events of the URCC are currently aired on ABS-CBN Sports and Action and ABS-CBN Sports and Action HD, URCC's official broadcast partner.
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