To Get Points in a Jiu-Jitsu Competition

This is a faithful and mindful simplification of the gold standard 52-Page Rule Book from the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF).

It is intended as a reference for athletes, parents of athletes, and referees.

To Get Points:

You Get 4 Points For:

• Mount

• Back Mount

• Back Control

Note: You may often hear these positions referred to as Dominant Positions

You Get 3 Points For:

• Guard Pass

You Get 2 Points For:

• Takedown

• Sweep

• Knee On Belly

Definitions:

Mount (4 Points)

• Sit on their belly, chest, or side, free from their legs, with at least one knee on the ground, and hold it for 3 seconds.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete is on top, clear of the half-guard, sitting on the opponent’s torso and with two knees or one foot and one knee on the ground, facing the opponent’s head and with up to one arm trapped under his/her leg – and thus remains for 3 (three) seconds."

Side Mount:

• If they turn sideways, it still counts as Mount. See the official language above.

Back Mount (4 Points)

• Same as Mount, but they're belly-down.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: The official language for Back Mount is exactly the same as for Mount. See above.

If You Go Back & Forth:

• You get points for each Mount, as long as you hold each for at least 3 seconds

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "In the case of the mount, when there is a transition straight from back mount to mount or vice-versa —for being distinct positions— athletes shall be awarded four points for the first mount and another four points for the subsequent mount, so long as the three-second stabilization period was achieved in each position."

Back Control (4 Points)

• Control their back, gets hooks (put your feet inside their thighs), don't cross your feet, and hold it for 3 seconds.

  
  

• OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete takes control of the opponent’s back, placing his/her heels between the opponent’s thighs without crossing his/her legs and in a position to trap up to one of the opponent’s arms without trapping the arm above the shoulder line – and thus remains for 3 (three) seconds."

Guard Pass (3 Points)

• From Guard Top, get past their legs to side-control, north-south position, or another dominant position, and hold it for 3 seconds.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete in top position manages to surmount the legs of the opponent in bottom position (pass guard or half-guard) and maintain side-control or north-south position over him/her for 3 (three) seconds."

  
  

  If you go directly to Mount or any other Points-Scoring Position:

• You get points for the pass and the position.

  
  

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "Athletes shall be awarded cumulative points when they progress through a number of point-scoring positions, as long as the three-second positional control from the final point-scoring position is a continuation of the positional control from the point-scoring positions from earlier in the sequence. In this case, the referee shall count only 3 (three) seconds of control at the end of the sequence before signaling the points be scored. Ex: Guard pass followed by mount shall add up 7 points (3+4)."

Takedown (2 Points)

• From standing, put them on their back, side, or butt, and keep a top position for 3 seconds.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When one of the athletes, starting the movement with 2 feet on the ground, causes the opponent to land on his/ her back, sideways or seated, establishing top position for 3 (three) seconds."

  
  

  SPECIAL NOTE: Read the above carefully. Officially, to receive points, the athlete "starting the movement" must "cause the opponent to land..."

  
  

  So if an athlete fails a takedown attempt and ends up on bottom, it should not be counted as a Takedown for their opponent.

  
  

  This is because their opponent neither started the movement, nor caused their opponent to land on bottom.

  
  

  In practice, referees have been known to award the takedown to whichever athlete ends up on top, after a takedown attempt, regardless of who started it. They do this either because they're not clear on the rules, the rule doesn't make sense to them, or some combination of the two.

  
  

Takedown to All Fours or Belly-Down:

• It still counts as a Takedown as long as you "control the back", and keep at least one of their knees on the mat for 3 seconds.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "...points shall only be awarded once the athlete performing the takedown controls the opponent’s back without the requirement of placing hooks and keeping at least one of the opponent’s knees on the ground for 3 (three) seconds."

Sweep (2 Points)

• From Guard Bottom, get to the top and keep a top position for 3 seconds.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete on bottom with the opponent in his/her guard or half-guard inverts the position, forcing the opponent who was on top to be on bottom – and maintains him/her in this position for 3 (three) seconds."

The Arm Drag Counts as a Sweep:

This may not be intuitive, but the rule is that if you start in Guard Bottom, then get to a top position and hold it for 3 seconds, it counts as a sweep. If they end up Belly Down or on All Fours, it still counts as long as you "control the back" and keep at least one of their knees on the mat for 3 seconds.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete on bottom with the opponent in his/her guard or half-guard inverts the position and the opponent turns his/her back on all fours and the athlete who initiated the reversal controls the opponent’s back without the requirement of placing hooks and keeping at least one of the opponent’s knees on the ground for 3 (three) seconds."

Knee on Belly (2 Points)

• Place your knee or shin that's closes to their Hip on their belly, chest, or side and hold it for 3 seconds.

  
  

  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: "When the athlete on top and free of the opponent’s guard, places the knee or shin(closest to the opponent’s hip) on the opponent’s belly, chest or ribs, without the opposite knee touching the ground, maintaining the position stable for 3 seconds, while the opponent is lying on his/her back or side."

All the best,

Coach Gabe

*The Rule book referenced for this post is the official 52-page rule book from the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation website (IBJJF.com). v6.0, last updated 06/2024, and was accessed on 10/2025. If it's not in the rule book, it's not an IBJJF rule. All the rules listed here are a faithful simplification of the IBJJF rule book, and serve as a suitable quick-reference guide for referees.