Is the knee reaping legal?
Rules for the knee reaping in 5 rulesets.
Rules change. Check the official rulebook for your event before competing. This site is not affiliated with IBJJF, ADCC, NAGA or Grappling Industries.
- IBJJF: legal for adult brown and black belts, no-gi
- ADCC: legal for adults, beginner and intermediate and above
- NAGA no-gi: legal for adult novice and beginner (white belt) and above
- NAGA gi: depends on the division
- Grappling Industries: legal for blue belt, and purple belt in the gi and above
IBJJF
| Division | Status |
|---|---|
| Ages 4 to 12 | Illegal |
| Ages 13 to 15 | Illegal |
| Ages 16 to 17 (all belts) and adult/master white belts | Illegal |
| Adult and master blue and purple belts | Illegal |
| Adult and master brown and black belts, except adult no-gi | Illegal |
| Adult brown and black belts, no-gi | Legal |
Reaping: the thigh is behind the opponent's leg, the calf crosses over the body above the knee, and the foot passes the opponent's midline, putting pressure on the knee from outside to inside. Nobody needs to be holding the foot.
ADCC
| Division | Status |
|---|---|
| Kids 12 and under | Illegal |
| Teens 13 to 14, beginner and intermediate | Depends |
| Teens 13 to 14, advanced | Depends |
| Teens 15 to 17, beginner and intermediate | Depends |
| Teens 15 to 17, advanced | Depends |
| Adults, beginner and intermediate | Legal |
| Adults, advanced | Legal |
| Masters, beginner and intermediate | Legal |
| Masters, advanced | Legal |
| World Championship and Trials | Legal |
At the Opens, teens 13 to 17 may reap only unlocked. Adults and masters may also reap locked, except from belly-down cross ashi. The World Championship allows any leg lock.
NAGA no-gi
| Division | Status |
|---|---|
| Kids 13 and under | Illegal |
| Teens 14 to 17 | Depends |
| Adult novice and beginner (white belt) | Legal |
| Adult intermediate and expert (blue belt and up) | Legal |
NAGA sets no reaping restriction for adults. Teens may not reap on a straight ankle lock.
NAGA gi
| Division | Status |
|---|---|
| Kids 13 and under | Illegal |
| Teens 14 to 17 | Depends |
| White belt | Depends |
| Blue belt | Depends |
| Purple belt | Depends |
| Brown and black belt | Depends |
Not covered by NAGA's gi chart. NAGA says its gi divisions follow IBJJF rules, so expect reaping to be illegal.
Grappling Industries
| Division | Status |
|---|---|
| Under 18 | Illegal |
| White belt | Illegal |
| Blue belt, and purple belt in the gi | Legal |
| Purple belt in no-gi, brown and black belt | Legal |
Below the legal level, the first reap without a submission is a penalty, and a second reap or a reap with a submission is a disqualification.
See also
Data from bjj-data by Grapple Flows (grappleflows.com), licensed CC BY 4.0; reformatted into tables on this page.
Data: bjj-data (Grapple Flows) (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.