Guys who grab fingers during rolls

[TaylorWolf]

This is by far my biggest pet peeve on the mat. I have been training about two years now and I have never done this. (although sometimes I catch myself peeling when defending RNCs)

I'm talking about the guys who just grab at fingers from open guard. Today when I was rolling with the two highest belt-level guys, both of them grabbed at my fingers from open guard. The shit hurts later and is almost like a minor injury that needs a few days to heal fully.

Is this just something you need to be prepared for at the higher levels? Is this just a product of intense competition?

I was thinking about it today and realized maybe this is a product of training in the Gi. I have never put on a Gi, and I am always looking for that solid wrist control if not an underhook or overhook.

Is is all that grabbing at sleeves and handles making people desensitized to grabbing at fingers?

[John Mejia]

Depends on how many fingers they're grabbing. As long as it's more than three it's completely legit. You'll see Sean Roberts in the BJJ Kumite (LLoyd irvins event) use it a bunch. I've seen tons, of dudes do it. I put it on the same level as nasty shoulder pressure or crossfaces. It's shitty and sucks, but for the most part it wont hurt you too bad.

The best defense to it, is to just relax into it, don't rip away. Roll your wrists and it should open back up.

In my opinion the worst is when you're playing mercy on the feet or in guard, that shit's lame and it sucks.

[TaylorWolf]

Depends on how many fingers they're grabbing. As long as it's more than three it's completely legit. You'll see Sean Roberts in the BJJ Kumite (LLoyd irvins event) use it a bunch. I've seen tons, of dudes do it. I put it on the same level as nasty shoulder pressure or crossfaces. It's shitty and sucks, but for the most part it wont hurt you too bad.

The best defense to it, is to just relax into it, don't rip away. Roll your wrists and it should open back up.

In my opinion the worst is when you're playing mercy on the feet or in guard, that shit's lame and it sucks.

Ah, thanks for the advice. I guess it just makes getting that wrist control or overhook/underhook that much more important.

Yea this analogy makes sense because these guys in this gym like to put down more intense shoulder pressure than most gyms I have visited.

[Brent Smith]

I grab at least 4 fingers. It's a super effective way to control. More effective than wrist control

[Enrique "Kiko"]

Annoying? Sure. Potentially dangerous? Definitely. Still better than this though....

[Mike Nall]

It's not a gi or no-gi thing. It's a d-bag thing. D-bags in gi or no-gi both will grab small digits, and cool people won't. Sometimes if someone is really new they might do it and not be meaning to be a jerk but if it gets explained to them they will knock if off if they're cool.

Sometimes people think it's a problem when someone grabs all 4 fingers at once, but that's typically okay. Same when you have a seatbelt and someone reaches and grabs the inside of your palm, below your thumb. That's also fine. Obviously if they grab your thumb itself and start yanking it around that's a bit of a jerk move. or if they try to split your fingers apart. Shit like that.

But in general most people that get it explained to them won't do it. And 4 finger grips or grabbing the inside of the palm under the thumb to peel away grips both are fair game. I have pretty small hands and there's someone that will grab my entire upper palm and lower fingers to defend darces, marces, guillotines, and RNCs. It's frustrating but it's sharpened up my offense and he's technically not doing anything wrong or douchey IMO.

[TaylorWolf]

Yea… I'm getting that its kind of an "I went for four fingers but oops I only got one and still yanked on it" kind of thing.

Just part of shit that happens with aggressive and high level players.

I still wanna blame the Gi though lol

[Mike Nall]

Yea… I'm getting that its kind of an "I went for four fingers but oops I only got one and still yanked on it" kind of thing.

Just part of shit that happens with aggressive and high level players.

I still wanna blame the Gi though lol

Lol! The one thing I do run into with people that don't train much no-gi if they're a white or blue belt is the occasional reflexive shorts/rash guard grab. Doesn't seem to happen much with purples on up. I actually run into it even worse I think. I wear gi pants a lot when I roll so when people that barely do no-gi show up they're even more likely to accidentally grab the gi pants during a pass attempt. Most of the time they let go right away but it can be annoying sometimes.

[Kevin Gibbs]

I grab hands all the time, I try to get some of the hand but even with just the fingers I will grab and control. As Brent said, its way better than wrist control. I don't bend or twist fingers but I will crush them. I'm also a fan of cranking necks and playing knee on face when the situation asks for it so maybe I am a bit of a d-bag.

[Mike Nall]

I grab hands all the time, I try to get some of the hand but even with just the fingers I will grab and control. As Brent said, its way better than wrist control. I don't bend or twist fingers but I will crush them. I'm also a fan of cranking necks and playing knee on face when the situation asks for it so maybe I am a bit of a d-bag.

Sounds fair game to me dude