Just Tap Already (part 2)

There has been some recent blogosphere discussion/internet chatter on the art of tapping. I want to clarify my position: TAPPING IS GOOD FOR BOTH BODY AND SOUL.

My first post, Just Tap Already, is all about tapping when a submission is sunk. To do otherwise is to invite injury. Once a mistake has been made (the submission is sunk), there is no return. But there is a "reset button" - the tap. If you make a mistake and you get caught, hit the reset button and start over.

Where people seem to have gotten confused is where I appear to be advocating "fighting a submission." I'm talking about "fighting" BEFORE the submission is sunk - making your training partner work on getting the details correct.  I'm not advocating being a testosterone superfreak and using strength to hold off an armbar or bulling up your neck to avoid the choke.

If you are an upper belt, you are not going to war with the lower belts you are going to bring them with you. Lighten up and let them work the sub but make them get the details - don't pull out your super secret 4 stripe purple belt decoder ring and slip away (hhmmm, did I really just say that? I see a possible future with a lot of purple belts lining up to "teach" me the finer points of tapping). Seriously though, most of the purple and brown belts I've had the opportunity to roll with have been great at this (thanks guys!).

This is in the context of training rolls, we're both trying to learn something, not competitive rolls that might be part of tournament preparation (or your everyday reality if your gym motto is "every roll is a tournament roll"). You have to have a certain level of trust (and control) with your training partner if you are going to work on the details of a submission together during a roll. For the most part the guys I train with bring submissions on slowly always trying to maintain control and being careful of each other. That's the training vibe at my gym. Your gym might have a differnt vibe so you might need a different training outlook to stay safe.

My second post, Don't Believe You're Own Hype, is about the bad things that might happen to you when you think too much in the middle of a roll and hesitate too long before you tap.

Now for some additional tapping theory and practice. If you don't know your training partner well, he is new, or you train at a gym that advocates/allows grabbing a bodypart and cranking things and hoping something sticks, tap early. In fact, tap anywhere you feel a good additional yank by your partner could cause injury. True "cranks" are notoriously low percentage for submissions but very high percentage for serious injury (which is why they are highly restricted in most tournaments).

If your partner has a significant weight advantage, be very aware of where your various appendages are. Tap any time one of those said appendages gets in a position where that weight could fall awkwardly. Even if your partner doesn't outweigh you be careful if your fingers/hands/toes/etc. get tangled in the gi. Tap, get untangled and restart in the same position.

If you have an injury, tap even earlier. Let your training partner know, reach agreement on how hard you are going to go at it and if a position/technique/limb is off limits. Before things even get close to becoming an issue, tap. If your training partner can't reasonably respect the "limits" you put on the roll - DON'T ROLL.

If your gym doesn't have a policy on what is "legal" (such as IBJJF rules by belt) when you roll - expect everything. If you are rolling with a visitor from another school expect everything. If you are rolling with a new guy or a guy who says he hasn't trained in years expect everything. Tap early, tap often, tap like Fred Astaire (that's right, tapping is that classy).