Submission League

Defence Unlimited Submission League, Manchester, March 9th 2003.

Sunday March the ninth saw a new grappling competition begin, a submission league designed with aspirations (and the potential) of becoming the UKs equivilant of NAGA Grapplers Quest or the Abu Dhabi qualifiers.

The UK has had various grappling compeitions for some time- KSBO and San Gokui have provided many amateur submission fighters a way of testing their skills, yet nothing had even touched the scale of what took place here in Manchester.

The Submission League is just that- fighters accrue points depending on their performance, and a national league is then created. Being the inaugral event, no-one knew quite what to expect but after witnessing the silky smooth proceedings and flawless organisation everyone is focused intently on what the next one will bring.

A round robin format was utilised- a fighters dream (depending on who you got in your group) as everyone got at least three or four fights. Top performers from each robin were invited into a contest for medal placings. The colour of the medal does not affect ones standing in the league, it was to create winners for each weight category.

With around 75 to 80 competitors the Submission League took off without a hitch on and off the mats, and proved to be a great day for competitor and spectator alike.

The Fights

With each match fought over four minutes- the rules were simple; no submission no win. A draw was called in all league matches to keep things fair. Decisions were utilised to create winners for medal placings later on, however this was seldom needed as almost all matches contained an exciting finish.

The emphasis was on skill- no heel hooks or neck cranks were allowed, nor was slamming an opponent in guard or similar techniques. This was made all too clear during the fighters briefing by the blunt words of organiser Karl Tanswell "Its crap, we want to see some decent fights, so don't do it."

Expecting exciting matches, we weren't dissappointed. A strong influence of wrestling was evident in most fighters but there was also a large contingent utilising a distinctive BJJ game.

The lightweights and the childrens divisions were first to fight- with two mats in operation it was hard to keep track of which one to concentrate on, as both contained some excellent displays of skill and technique.

Irish BJJ purple belt John Kavanagh had the task of taking to the mat first- some feat considering he had fought (and won) a proffessional vale tudo match against tough light-weight Robbie Oliver the night before at Cage Evolution 2! With only two hours sleep John went on to display his extremely fluid guard game, taking his first match to a draw.

Throughout the course of the day, the various weight categories all took to the mats for their initial point scoring matches. Due to some excellent organisational skills from Rosi Sexton (cunningly disguised as an unapproachable stressed out dangerwoman) everyone knew exactly who they were fighting and when. Fighters were ready to step onto the mat as soon as the last ones were finished, and there was no break in action for almost the whole day.

As for the fights, I was lucky enough to get to watch most of them- I was treated to the strong wrestling skills of the Atherton Fighting Fit club, and was wowed by the super-efficient BJJ of Gracie Barra Birmingham. Clubs from Nottingham, Lancaster and elsewhere were all in attendance. I saw nothing but the greatest of sportsmanship in all the matches. Accidental clashes were always apologised for and fighters would shake hands before and after every match.

The quality of the matches was excellent if varied. As there is no division between fighters with little or extensive experience matches were always guaranteed to be worth watching, as literally no-one knew what was in store. We were treated to a flawless display of BJJ technique by the excellent brown belt Braulio Estema- this guy was untouchable and simply rolled through the under 85kg field, tapping people with armbars from every position.

Everyone gathered around mat number one to watch the fights for the medals in each weight catergory- some hard fought matches took place, with people meeting up to settle scores after the intial round robin. All the winners were applauded and with good reason- only a handful of fights required a judges decision at this point, and while fighters were dissappointed there was absolutely no argument.

So with strong performances in every weight and real skill demonstrated across the board, it is safe to say that the second installment of the Defence Unlimited Submission League will be highly anticipated, and marked out in everyones diaries as a date to look forward to. Expect the unexpected!

Hywel Teague

Related link : Carl Fisher's Sub League report