Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a BJJ site?

No — and the distinction matters. InGrappling is a site about no-gi submission grappling, which is a sport in its own right. It draws technique from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, sambo, judo, catch wrestling, and other combat sports traditions. Treating it as BJJ without the gi understates what the sport has become and imposes a lineage-based framework on a discipline that has developed well beyond any single tradition.

That said, BJJ practitioners will find this site useful, and most of the technique content is directly applicable to no-gi BJJ competition. The difference is in framing: where BJJ instruction tends to organise content around guard styles and lineage-specific systems, this site organises around mechanical principles — the invariables — that apply regardless of where a technique came from.

So you think BJJ is wrong?

No. The position here is not that BJJ is wrong — it is that submission grappling has earned the right to be described on its own terms. The sport has produced its own technical vocabulary, its own competitive ecosystem, and its own body of knowledge that is not reducible to any single parent tradition. Acknowledging that is not a criticism of BJJ; it is a recognition of what submission grappling has become.

If you train in a gi, compete in BJJ, and primarily think of your no-gi training as a supplement — this site is still useful to you. The invariables do not require you to abandon your lineage or framework. They are mechanical principles that apply to the techniques you already know.

Where does wrestling fit in?

Wrestling is one of the primary contributors to modern no-gi grappling — particularly in the standing game, the scramble game, and the physical culture of the sport (intensity, athleticism, the expectation of live resistance from day one). The site reflects this: takedown content draws heavily from wrestling tradition, and the competitive meta section acknowledges the influence of wrestlers-turned-grapplers at the elite level.

The framework is deliberately multi-lineage. No single tradition owns submission grappling, and the invariables are designed to be neutral — they describe mechanical realities that apply to techniques regardless of where those techniques came from.

Who is behind InGrappling?

The site is built around a framework developed with intellectual input from practitioners whose work has demonstrably shaped the sport's technical and pedagogical development. The site does not promote individual instructors, schools, or product lines — the community standards explicitly prohibit this to protect the integrity of the content. See the about page for more on the site's intellectual foundations.

What is an invariable?

An invariable is a mechanical principle that holds across all contexts in no-gi submission grappling — regardless of position, body type, or grappling lineage. Where most grappling instruction is technique-first (here is the armbar, here are its steps), the invariables framework is principle-first: here is the mechanical law, here are the techniques that express it.

There are currently 47 codified invariables, organised by context (universal, guard, top position, submission, standing, leg entanglement). Each has its own page. They are cited throughout the technique content — every technique page references the invariables it expresses, which means a student who understands the invariables can learn new techniques faster, diagnose why techniques are failing, and transfer knowledge between related positions more easily.

See the invariables index for the full list.

Are these your rules, or is this established theory?

The invariables are not invented for this site — they are codified from principles that are demonstrable in technique, consistent across practitioner body types, and present in the work of the coaches and athletes who have done the most to develop the sport's technical foundations. They are described as invariables because they describe mechanical realities, not preferences. A technique that violates an invariable will fail — not because the invariable says so, but because mechanics work the way they work.

The codification — the naming, numbering, and systematic documentation — is original to this site. The underlying principles are not.

What if I disagree with an invariable?

Engage with it mechanically. If you believe a principle is wrong or incomplete, the argument needs to be mechanical — not "my coach does it differently" or "I've seen this work on YouTube." The invariables make falsifiable claims about how techniques work. If one of those claims is wrong, it can be shown to be wrong through application and mechanical analysis.

The site treats these as living documents. If a principle requires revision as the sport develops, it will be revised. See the living standards document for how updates are handled.

Why doesn't this site use belt ranks?

Belt ranks are a gi BJJ convention that has been carried into no-gi grappling by association rather than by logic. In no-gi competition, belts do not appear on athletes. The competitive results that determine elite standing have nothing to do with belt rank. Many of the sport's most accomplished practitioners have complicated, contested, or simply irrelevant belt histories relative to their actual competitive ability.

More fundamentally: belt rank is a social credential that has been corrupted by commercial incentives in ways that make it unreliable as a measure of ability. The progression framework used here — Foundations, Developing, Proficient, Advanced, Elite — describes what a practitioner can actually do, assessed against mechanical criteria, rather than what credential they hold. See progression frameworks for the full rationale.

I have a belt. Does that mean anything here?

Yes — it is evidence of training history, and training history matters. A BJJ black belt who trains no-gi seriously will almost certainly be operating at Proficient level or above in this framework. The ability levels are not designed to replace belt rank within the BJJ context — they are designed to describe no-gi grappling ability in a way that is portable across traditions and lineages.

A wrestler with ten years of competitive experience and no BJJ belt might be Proficient or Advanced in this framework. A BJJ blue belt who primarily trains no-gi might outperform a black belt in no-gi competition. The framework acknowledges these realities rather than forcing them into a single credential system designed for a different context.

Why is tapping culture emphasised so heavily?

Because it is the mechanism that makes training possible. Grappling involves two people applying force to each other's joints and airways at high intensity. The tap is the signal that makes this safe: without a reliable, socially-neutral tap, training cannot be conducted at the intensity that produces competent practitioners without producing injuries.

Tapping culture is covered in depth in both the health section and the social dynamics section because it is both a physical safety mechanism and a cultural norm. Physical safety instructions alone do not produce a tap culture — the social norms around tapping (no shame, no ego, no exceptions) are what make the physical instruction functional.

Why are heel hooks gated behind prerequisites?

The inside heel hook in particular operates on an injury timeline that can outpace the tap reflex. The knee joint can sustain significant damage before the practitioner on the receiving end registers enough pain or mechanical resistance to tap. This is not a reason to avoid the technique — it is a reason to ensure that anyone applying it has the positional fluency and tap discipline to use it safely, and that anyone receiving it has the escape knowledge to manage the position before the submission is tight.

The gate conditions in the developing curriculum are specific and non-negotiable: demonstrated competence in all prerequisite leg entanglement positions, functional escape ability assessed under moderate resistance, and assessed tap discipline across multiple sessions. Time in the gym is not the gate. Competence is.

The health content references medical research. Should I treat it as medical advice?

No. The health content is written to be accurate and evidence-based, but it is educational material, not medical advice. If you are injured, consult a qualified medical professional — ideally one with experience treating grappling injuries. The return-to-training protocols in the health section are guidelines based on general injury management principles, not prescriptions for your specific injury. They are not a substitute for professional assessment.

Where should I start?

It depends on where you are. If you are new to grappling, start with tapping culture, then read the foundations curriculum to understand how the learning path is structured. If you are an experienced practitioner looking to use the site as a reference, the invariables index and the position map are the most efficient entry points.

Audience-specific start pages are also available: for students, for coaches, for school owners, for competitors, and for parents.

Is everything here free?

Yes. All content on this site is free to read. There are no paywalls, no premium tiers, and no content locked behind registration. The curriculum pages, invariables, technique library, health content, and standards documents are all freely available.

The site's position is that the sport benefits from widely accessible, high-quality educational content. Gating foundational knowledge behind a subscription would work against that goal.

Can I use this content to teach my students or build a curriculum for my gym?

Yes — that is one of the explicit use cases this site is built for. The curriculum section and training track guides are designed to be used by coaches directly. The invariables are designed to be used as a coaching vocabulary. The progression frameworks and school standards are designed to be adapted by schools.

Attribution to InGrappling where content is drawn from or adapted for teaching materials is appreciated but not required. Commercial use — including building a paid product directly from this content without significant original development — is not within the intended use case and should be discussed with the site before proceeding.

I found an error, or I disagree with something. How do I raise it?

Use the contact page. Disagreements with technique content should be framed mechanically — what is the specific claim, and what is the mechanical argument against it. Factual corrections (broken links, incorrect references, missing information) are always welcome.

The site is a living document. Content is updated as the sport develops and as errors are identified. See the living standards document for the update protocol.