ADCC legal techniques: masters, beginner and intermediate
9 legal, 1 conditional and 5 illegal techniques for this ADCC division.
Rules change. Check the official rulebook for your event before competing. This site is not affiliated with IBJJF, ADCC, NAGA or Grappling Industries.
Legal (9)
| Technique | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel or punch choke | Legal | |
| Standing guillotine | Legal | |
| Knee reaping | 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. |
| Straight ankle lock | Legal | |
| Knee bar | Legal | |
| Toe hold, Aoki lock, Estima lock | Legal | |
| Calf and bicep slicers | Legal | |
| Wrist lock | Legal | |
| Suplex (not onto the head) | Legal |
Depends on the event or position (1)
| Technique | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Neck crank, can opener, twister | Depends | The Opens grid allows neck cranks "except cervical", can openers, and twisters for adults and masters. The World Championship rules allow can openers and twisters but ban neck cranks that trap both shoulders and push the neck down, like a full nelson. |
Illegal (5)
| Technique | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Heel hook | Illegal | Adult beginners may heel hook at ADCC Opens. Masters beginners and intermediates may not. |
| Jumping to closed guard | Illegal | Not addressed in the World Championship rules. |
| Scissor takedown (kani basami) | Illegal | Not addressed in the World Championship rules. |
| Slam | Illegal | Illegal at every Opens division. At the World Championship a slam is only allowed while you are already locked in a submission, and you must stop if they let go. |
| Spiking the opponent on the head | Illegal |
Other ADCC divisions
- ADCC: Kids 12 and under
- ADCC: Teens 13 to 14, beginner and intermediate
- ADCC: Teens 13 to 14, advanced
- ADCC: Teens 15 to 17, beginner and intermediate
- ADCC: Teens 15 to 17, advanced
- ADCC: Adults, beginner and intermediate
- ADCC: Adults, advanced
- ADCC: Masters, advanced
- ADCC: World Championship and Trials
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.