Tapping out

[Eric Daniel]

In Martial art's we tap out for a couple reasons, 1)tap out for submission indicating giving up and the other person won the match, (this is an example of tapping out in a grappling match.) 2) tap out for pain. This might be you being taught a technique like chinese arm bar, the opponent tap's and you release the technique immediately. If your training partner taps out and you don't release the technique immediately than there might be an injury to your partner and your partner will probably never want to train with you again and he will have to take time out of class to heal from injuries.

Sometimes in training a technique that you know is going to include pain, you may tap out early because you don't want to feel the pain. I think this is the wrong thing to do because if you tap out early than you are assuming that the technique is working and this will not help you or your partner in training. If you tap out early, your parner thinks that he is applying the technique right and that you are feeling the pain from the technique.
There are also people who know the technique has a pain part of it and they want to prove that they are going to take the pain and not tap out. Doing this can cause injuries.

When you train in martial arts the most important thing is safety. If you feel pain, tap out and if you are giving pain and you hear a tap release the technique immediately. If you do this there is not going to be as many injuries in the dojo.I also think it's good for beginers and advance students alike too because when you are a beginner you may not know that when you feel pain you should tap. They just take the pain because they think it's part of their training in martial arts. This can lead to injuries so when students are begining there training in Martial arts that deal with submission holds such as Jujutsu or martial art with some sort of pain locks like aiki- ju- jutsu, they should first learn that when they feel pain to tap out.

What are your opinions on this? Please let me know. Does this apply to to only control manuvers and not striking arts? Why or why not? Do you use submission holds and have the partner tap out in MMA? We do when we grapple. To let me know your opinions on this either post here or send me an email at dnl_rc@yahoo.com

[OmaPlata]

Thats one thing that sucks about training with a begginer when you are a beginner, is that they dont know how well they have the hold and they just crank it. It better to train with advanced students who know when they got the hold and how far they can crank it.
Ive seen guys' arms break because they wouldnt tap, Ive put guys to sleep also for the same reason.
The more advanced you get the more you know when the hold is sunk and when someonme has sunk the hold on you.
I got caught in a kimura once with my mouth full of a guys GI, my other hand trapped under his leg and there was no way I could tap. I was trying to kick and screamed as best I could, but the jackass kept cranking it for some reason, and I got hurt.
Another student, a 18yr old kid with rubber bones absolutely will not tap no matter what. I get the guy in a kimura or armbar and his bones about to snap and Im like dude you better tap and I hold it there.....then I just know his shitts going to break so I just release it and start over and count it as a tap, what else can i do??
There is no shame in tapping, its all practice, we're all on the same team in our individual schools.

[bOoRadley]

Originally Posted by OmaPlata

Thats one thing that sucks about training with a beginner when you are a beginner, is that they don't know how well they have the hold and they just crank it.

I'm a beginner and I have the exact opposite problem...I find that I have no idea how much pressure is too much and out of fear of injuring my training partner I don't go far enough. I don't have a feel for how much a knee, elbow or throat can take before damage is done.

The more experienced guys in my class don't seem to have the same problem. I'm usually tapping out pretty damn quickly.

[kuk sool won]

I suppose it does count when striking aswell, i know how much my partners can take because iv'e known them for a while, when it comes to people i haven't fought before, i always wait to see how hard they want to spar, i'll equal it, if it seems to me that im hurting them i let the pace down a bit, unless it is a competitive fight or a street fight theres no choice other than to go all out, sometimes there isn't that time at the beginning to see how much your opponent can take, especially if the objective is a KO or worse...

[OmaPlata]

Originally Posted by bOoRadley

I'm a beginner and I have the exact opposite problem...I find that I have no idea how much pressure is too much and out of fear of injuring my training partner I don't go far enough. I don't have a feel for how much a knee, elbow or throat can take before damage is done.

The more experienced guys in my class don't seem to have the same problem. I'm usually tapping out pretty damn quickly.

Time for promotion: I give you 1 stripe Padawah

[Spanner]

I don't wait for pain on armbars, I tap when I feel it going on. I have injured it in the past and it doesn't hurt at the same point that it used to, so I just pre-empt it because I don't want any more damage to the joint.

There needs to be a balance, though, as you need to practise escapes too. If you tap too early for things then you never get a chance to work them properly.