Table 5.
Identification and description of sociomotor sub-roles in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
| Sociomotor Role: Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter | |
|---|---|
| Sociomotor sub-role corresponding motor interaction classes | |
| ON ALERT (em alerta) | This sub-role implies a predisposed, alert, attentive attitude on the part of the fighter, ready to intervene at any moment with the opponent, before the search for a grip on the kimono or other contact with the opponent (body) that aims at some control of fists, hands, neck, etc. The fighter, usually, is in the initial moments of the fight, standing up or after a dispute for a position in which both do not have a grip on the opponent's body or kimono. The fighter is in this sub-role until they seek another driving interaction with the opponent. |
| GRABBER(agarrador) | The fighter tries to interact with the opponent in search of a grip on the kimono or an initial grip on the opponent's body in a way that allows initial control. When the fighter tries to grip with no definition of which motor interaction will occur next. The fighter seeks to gain initial control over the opponent through the grip on the opponent's kimono or a grip on the opponent's body. When the fighter tries to grab to control the hands, wrists, ankles, shins, knees, etc., without subsequent direct interaction. This motor interaction was identified as a sub-role, as it is not possible to deduce another strategic intention of such a grip through the observational analysis of its motor behavior, since in all of them the grip breaks down. It remains in this sub-role until it finally changes its motor behavior. Contrary to this, there are cases in which the fighter takes hold of the kimono and immediately tries to pull the opponent to their guard or even grabs the kimono to try to take down or to try to dominate the back. In these cases, each of these interactions is considered as a separate sub-role, in which the grab of the kimono is a partial element, that is, it is part of a dominant interaction, with another strategic objective, another sub-role. In BJJ, grabbing the opponent's kimono is part of many driving interactions. But in the case of the sub-role that was called “grabber”, specifically, what can be observed is the search for the grip on the opponent's kimono or body for an initial domain; the fighter can also be observed changing grips from one collar to another, or from one sleeve to another, or from one pantleg to another, usually with both fighters standing. Whenever this grappling interaction does not evolve immediately into a possible motive interaction of taking down, grabbing the opponent's back, pulling guard, etc., it is characterized as the grabber sub-role. |
| DODGER(esquivador) | The fighter unfolds their body with the intention of not being grabbed by the opponent who seeks to control their kimono or have some control over their fists, hands, arms, or neck. They unfold, and dodge being grabbed by the opponent. Movements of the arms, hands, and legs can be used to avoid the opponent's grip. |
| FINISHER(finalizador) | The fighter seeks to apply a driving interaction that objectively can lead their opponent to submission or giving up (chokes, keys on joints and bones). Attempts to finish the fight before the expected regular time of the fight. If they succeed in submission, the duel ends, declaring them the winner. |
| SUBMISSION DEFENDER(defensor de finalização) | The fighter who suffers a finishing motor interaction, tries to defend themselves preventing the opponent from succeeding in submission, explicitly seeks to escape or defend themselves from the blow. If the fighter is not clearly defending themselves from the blow, they should not be considered as in this sub-role. Giving up gesture: the fighter taps twice with the palm of the hand on the opponent, on the ground, or on themselves, manifestly and visibly giving up the fight; or when the athlete taps their feet twice on the ground when their arms are trapped by the opponent. If they fail to defend themselves from submission and issue a gesture of withdrawal or even a cry of pain, the combat ends, declaring them as defeated. |
| GRAPPLE BREAKER (quebrador de pegada) | This sub-role involves trying to rip off or break the grips the opponent makes on their kimono or some part of their body, seeking to break the grip dominance that the opponent maintains. This sub-role should not be confused with interactional situations in which breaking the grip is part of a sub-role, such as, for example, breaking the grip to try to pass guard, or to attempt a takedown. In this sub-role, strategic intent is restricted to breaking the hold caused by the opponent's grip. |
| THROWER(quedador) | Starting from an initial movement with both feet on the ground, this sub-role seeks to throw the opponent to the ground. This sub-role can be scored (two points) when: “one of the athletes, starting with an initial movement with both feet on the ground, throws the opponent to the ground on their back, sideways, or makes them fall sitting down, keeping the fight on the ground, and stabilizing the position on top for three seconds” (16). |
| THROW DEFENDER(defensor de queda) | The fighter, in a standing fight, tries to balance themselves and lock their body, stabilizing their body in a standing position, in order to avoid being thrown to the ground. Alternatively, when already thrown to the ground, they try to get up again, trying to stay on their feet, avoiding as much as possible attempts by their opponent to control the fight on the ground and receive points for the interaction of taking down, for example. |
| GUARD PULLER(puxador de guarda) | This sub-role intends to pull the opponent into their leg guard in a ground fight. It could be a transitional interaction from standing to ground fighting. Or every time both are already engaged in the fight on the ground and the opponent who is usually on top moves away, causing the fighter to try to grab to get closer to the opponent, pulling them back to their leg guard; after this interaction, the sub-role changes. The fighter in the fight on the ground and underneath seeks to grab the opponent who moves away from their control of the legs to have the opponent under their guard again. |
| SWEEPER(Raspador) | This sub-role can be scored (two points) when: the fighter starting from a leg guard position (closed guard, half guard, open guard) manages to reverse the position, forcing the opponent who was on top to stay on the bottom in the fight on the ground and manages to stabilize that position for three seconds to earn the score (16). A good indication of the beginning of this interaction can be seen every time the sweep manages to unbalance their opponent with the intention of sweeping/reversing the opponent, causing their opponent to manifest a visible motor behavior in defense of the sweep, that is, they force the opponent who is on top stuck in the guard changing their leg positions to rebalance themselves, opening their base with their legs, for example, or fall with the body sideways, trying to defend and come back, not accepting the sweep/inversion by the sweeper. At the end, it is necessary to analyze which driving interaction will occur, always considering the guard relationship between the opponents to define which sub-role will be assumed. If, at the end of the inversion, the opponent turns their back up, on all four supports, and the athlete who started the inversion controls the opponent's back without the need to place the hooks, but keeps the opponent with at least one knee still on the ground, thus it is configured as the end of this interaction. If, during the inversion, the opponent stands up, but the sweeper maintains control of the necessary grips to continue the sweep even if they need to stand up and take the opponent down, it is also considered as a sweeper sub-role. It is noticed that even having used a takedown, its tactical intention refers to the interaction of a sweep, according to the rules of the modality. When both fighters are sitting down doing 50/50 guard (both fighters sitting on the ground with one of their legs intercrossed with the opponent's), the one who tries to get up and stay on top will also be considered as a sweep interaction. |
| GUARD CONTROLLER(controlador de guarda) | In a ground fight, the fighter who is on the bottom with the opponent in guard or half-guard or open leg guard tries to prevent the opponent who is on top from crossing their leg guard. The fighter seeks to keep the opponent under their leg guard control and does not demonstrate behavior with the objective of sweeping the opponent according to the sweeper sub-role. This sub-role sometimes presents itself as a behavior of little movement, just control/offside, especially with the legs, on the opponent who is trapped in its guard. Hand grips on the opponent are crucial for this domain, but the dominant interaction comes from controlling the opponent's legs, preventing them from passing their leg guard and interacting directly with their torso. |
| GUARD PASSER(passador de guarda) | The fighter seeks to break through the opponent's leg guard, overcome their guard, and cross the opponent's legs that control them, with the intention of seeking some free domain of the opponent's leg guard; this demonstrates motor behavior that they really want to cross or pass the opponent's legs in search of approaching the opponent's trunk without direct interaction with their legs. This sub-role is subject to scoring (three points): whenever the fighter manages to overcome the opponent's leg guard, controlling the opponent's guard-free trunk and stabilizing in that position for three seconds, the score will be marked. |
| SWEEP DEFENDER(defensor de raspagem) | The fighter demonstrates imbalance and seeks to rebalance, defend, and prevent the sweeping interaction performed by the opponent who is below. Or when both fighters are sitting down doing 50/50 guard, the one who tries to prevent the opponent from going up gets up and stays on top, avoiding the sweep interaction; in this case, it should be considered as in the sweep defender sub-role. |
| TRUNK CONTROLLER(controlador do tronco) | A fighter free from the opponent's leg guard seeks to maintain control of the opponent's torso on the ground; this control can be transverse or longitudinal in relation to the opponent's body. It is trunk control that does not refer to sitting/mounting the opponent's trunk from the front or back, nor to dominating the opponent's back, nor to controlling the trunk using the knee on the belly. This description point deserves an important consideration regarding this sub-role and others referring to different domains on the opponent's torso that the fighter seeks throughout the BJJ fight: whether to subdivide the different domains of the opponent's trunk or not. Would they all be the same sub-role (trunk controller)? After examining in detail the internal logic of BJJ, through its rules and the influence of the scoring system, it was understood that one cannot consider all domains on the trunk as the same sub-role, since one of the characteristics pertinent to the concept of sub-role says respect, first, the influences that lead fighters to take initiatives and motor decisions (which may succeed or fail); second, to characterize a sub-role, it must be considered that it has its own unity both within the internal logic and the strategic logic of the fighter. Therefore, in this case, both definitions of the motor action theory induce the researcher to deduce that it is necessary to subdivide the different domains of the trunk. The scoring system encourages/channels the fighter to make different motor decisions based on this interaction. From this torso control interaction, the fighter will be able to try to sit/mount on the torso from the front, from the back, put the knee on the belly, dominate the opponent from the back, or force the opponent to submit. The interaction itself is already different (sitting down, placing a knee, controlling the back), as such interactions are worth points, leading the fighter to take initiative and make motor decisions. In addition, the rule punishes the fighter who is controlling the opponent's torso in this situation for more than 20 s, forcing them to look for other sub-roles. This understanding of the sub-role concept that leads the fighter to make different motor decisions and seek other domains will also weigh in the characterization sequence to define the different escapes of each of these domains, since the fighter who suffers the interaction of each one of these sub-roles should not accept such an interaction, as it will reflect on the score, leading them to decide strategically and seek initiative again by not accepting, therefore, that the different domain interactions take place. |
| FRONT TRUNK MOUNTER(montador do tronco de frente) | The fighter who tries to sit on the trunk of the opponent who is facing them. The criterion for dividing the sub-roles took into account the scoring system, as it leads the fighter to make decisions. The rules allow points to be accumulated by going from a front mount directly to a back mount. This sub-role can be scored (four points) when: the athlete who is on top and already free of the leg guard sits on the opponent's torso facing forward and keeps both knees or one foot and one knee on the ground, facing the opponent's head and with up to one arm of the opponent trapped under their legs, keeping it that way for three seconds (16). |
| BACK DOMINATOR (dominador das costas) | The fighter who seeks to dominate the opponent's back (control/immobilize the opponent from the back). Situations in which the fighter already has their opponent on their back and seeks to evolve to control and dominate their opponent even more through grips and dominance of the back. It appears in all situations in which the fighter is faced with the opponent's back to them at the same time that they seek to evolve in that domain of the opponent's back. This is a scoring sub-role (four points) when: the athlete dominates the opponent's back, placing the heels on the inner part of the opponent's thighs, without crossing the feet, and being able to imprison even one of the opponent's arms without the leg that imprisons the arm passing the shoulder line, and keeping it under control for three seconds (16). |
| GUARD RECOVERY PREVENTER (impedidor da reposição de guarda) | The fighter, after losing some free control of the opponent's leg guard (back control, front and back mount, placing knee on belly, lateral trunk control), demonstrates motor behavior of not accepting/preventing the opponent's guard replacement, defends the replacement to stay free of the guard. It is not possible to identify which domain will do, what is predominantly observed is the attempt to prevent the replacement of guard that the opponent tries to do. An important detail: in the guard-passing sub-role, a similar situation happens; however, the dominant interaction is passing the guard and then seeking some control. The final phase of the pass also appears something like preventing the replacement, but in the case of the pass it is the final phase of the interaction, that is, they are still in the sub-role of passing guard until there is some dominance over the opponent free of guard. Therefore, the replacement impeding sub-role is a transitional position of the fighter who had control over the torso but the opponent has already defended themselves against these controls, freeing themselves to try to replace the guard. The fighter who prevents the replacement, tries to look for some free domain of the guard, when they demonstrate observable behavior of one of these domains, they change the sub-role. |
| ESCAPER FROM THE DOMAIN OF THE BACK(escapador do domínio das costas) | The fighter tries to avoid, to defend, or to get out of the opponent's back grip (remove the hooks, rotate the torso, escape/displace the hip). This sometimes presents itself under strong immobilization or little movement. |
| FRONT-MOUNTED ESCAPER(escapador da montada de frente) | The fighter, in an attempt to prevent the opponent from mounting their trunk from the front, or when already mounted, defends themselves by pushing the opponent's legs, unbalancing the opponent in an attempt to escape. This sub-role sometimes uses hip strength, pushing the opponent upwards, trying to move away from the opponent to find some space. The fighter looks for some grip on the opponent's body that gives them the minimal control to perform an exit from that control. This sometimes presents itself under strong immobilization or little movement. It is a sub-role that can be quickly switched to the guard repositor sub-role, for example. |
| BACK TRUNK MOUNTER(montador do tronco de costas) | The fighter seeks to mount on the trunk of the opponent who is on their back. This constitutes a different sub-role from the previous one, as the rules state that both situations can be sought in a direct transition from the front mount to the back mount. Again, through the analysis of the fight videos, the internal logic of BJJ indicates that equivalences will only appear within each of these controls and domains, not all of which can be considered as a single sub-role. It is necessary to look at both the scoring rules and the relationship with the opponent (target space: part of the body to be dominated, controlled, crossed, transited, or avoided). This is a scoring sub-role (four points) when: the athlete who is on top and already free of the half-guard sits on the opponent's torso with their back and keeps both knees or one foot and one knee on the ground, facing the opponent's head opponent and with up to one arm of the opponent trapped under their legs, keeping it that way for three seconds (16). |
| KNEE-ON-BELLY PLACER(colocador do joelho na barriga) | The free guard fighter has the clear intention of placing their knee or shin over the opponent's belly, chest, or ribs to dominate them. This is a scoring sub-role (two points) when: the athlete who is on top and free from the guard, places the knee or shin (of the leg closest to the opponent's hip) on the opponent's belly, chest, or ribs, and who must be either standing upright, on their back, or on their side, keeping him/herself stable in this position for three seconds without the opposite knee touching the floor (16). |
| TRUNK CONTROL ESCAPER(escapador do controle do tronco) | The fighter tries not to accept control/immobilization of their torso by the opponent, pushes and moves away from the opponent but does not demonstrate any other tactical intention besides avoiding being immobilized. They can even try to reverse the position from bottom to top in relation to the opponent to escape. This sometimes presents itself under strong immobilization or little movement. After escaping from the immobilization, they can demonstrate a motor behavior to leave that position with a visible intention of restoring their guard; thus, they are already in another sociomotor sub-role. |
| GUARD RECOVERY(recuperador de guarda) | The fighter no longer has the opponent under their guard and tries to have their opponent between their legs again, aiming to have their opponent under their leg guard. They work to embrace at least one of the opponent's legs with their legs, seeking space by pushing, pulling the opponent, evading the hip, or rolling over their shoulder in an attempt to find space to imprison the opponent between their legs again. |
| BACK-MOUNTED ESCAPER (escapador da montada de costas) | The fighter, in an attempt to prevent the opponent from mounting on their trunk from the back, or when already mounted, defends themselves by pushing the opponent's legs, unbalancing them and trying to find space to escape and seek another motor interaction. This sometimes presents itself under strong immobilization or little movement. |
| KNEE-ON-BELLY ESCAPER(escapador do joelho na barriga) | This sub-role specifically seeks to remove the opponent's knee from the fighter's belly, escaping the opponent's domain (pushing the knee, straddling the hip to get the opponent's knee off their belly, etc.). |