I always cringe when I hear people say they "only tapped because..." as if it somehow lessens a submission.
Ok, if someone hits a submission which is illegal (or presumed illegal in training) then it's a cheap move, but just tap and move on. There is no need to talk about or justify getting tapped.
But worse is the "I only tapped because your arm was over my mouth" stuff. Anything like that is just silly. A tap is a tap, it doesn't matter whether it was done because of smooth technique, fluke, strength, crazy flexibility, smothering... or for any other reason. If you couldn't escape the position and had to tap, it's a done deal. If you "didn't need to tap but..." then why did you tap? Fight harder to get out. If someone wants to just hold you still for a full round in training then try to get out the full round, it's good training for you and not every round is going to be like that. If you choose to tap, you tapped.
"It wasn't a choke, just his elbow putting pressure on my shoulder"... nobody cares, tell your mum when you go home.
I have a chronic neck injury that means under certain circumstances I will have to tap when other people probably wouldn't have. I generally try to let people know that my tap was due to that when it happens, and with other people they may have to put more pressure on, or adjust the technique. It doesn't make it illegitimate, but it's not a full test of their ability to apply the technique necessarily because I have a weakness that other people don't have.
ReplyDeleteI think that's fair enough, medical conditions definitely change things.
DeleteNobody cares, tell your mum!
ReplyDeleteYeah - I see on forums sometimes people will complain about tapping to things that aren't "legitimate" submissions. Yes, sometimes I've grumbled internally because someone was going harder than I was or because someone ground an elbow or knee into me, but it was more about the move than the submission - and I certainly don't complain about it to them or to the internet!
ReplyDeleteWhere I could see saying something to them is if they were bragging about it or were a bit too self-congratulatory - which is douchey. Thankfully I don't run into that.
I would have to agree on this post. A fight won by submission was fought fair and square. The fighter on the receiving end of a submission has only two choices: struggle and continue fighting or tap out.
ReplyDeleteTapping doesn't make you a lesser fighter, it only means that you have to train some more. Learn from the loss and win on the rematch.
Exactly... roll, tap, learn, roll more :)
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