As the biggest tournament of the year, IBJJF World Championship 2014, is getting close, athletes are doing their last-minute drills fine-tuning their best escapes and submissions. The competition in women’s jiu-jitsu is tougher than ever, and last year’s victory does not make winning this year easier. The ones who strive to be better even when they are the best will prevail. The true champions must also be prepared to live with the failure. Having the courage to step on the mat knowing that there is a possibility of defeat separates them from the rest of us.

Winning by advantage points is getting more and more frowns lately. Some believe that the only way to really win is to submit your opponent. Others believe that a win by points or advantages is just as valuable. Many times the competitors are so even that the referee has to decide which competitor had greater offense, and came closest to scoring a possible point. Leaving it to the referee’s hands will most likely make the loser replay the match in her head over, and over, wondering what she should or could have done. Anyone who trains knows how hard it is to submit someone who has been training as hard as you, if not more. It takes great timing, technique, and the right amount of intensity to catch your opponent. There is nothing gentle in a submission but it’s beautiful and admirable.

It is exhilarating to win by submission. It is even greater if a photographer captures the exact moment when the opponent’s hand is tapping. Here are some of our favorite submission shots. We hope you like them!

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