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A submission is a

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppo ...

term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat. The submission – then also referred to as a "tap out" or "tapping out" – is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opponent with the hand or in some cases with the foot, or by saying the word "tap" to signal the opponent and/or the referee of the submission. In some combative sports where the fighter has

cornermen In combat sports, a cornerman, or second, is a coach or trainer assisting a fighter during a bout. The cornerman is forbidden to instruct and must remain outside the combat area during the round. In the break, they are permitted to enter the ri ...

, the cornerman can also stop the fight by "throwing in the towel" (usually by literally throwing a towel into the ring), which may count as a submission. Submissions are generally classified into one of two categories. The first are

joint locks A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension. In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 ''kansetsu-waza'', "joint lo ...

, which can include armbars, kimuras, americanas, anklelocks, kneebars, etc. The danger here is overextending the joint, so submitting protects the joint from damage. The next kind of submissions are chokeholds; these include rear naked chokes, guillotine choke, triangle choke, etc. The danger here is passing out due to lack of blood to the brain, so the fighter is forced to submit to retain consciousness.

Technical submission

A technical submission may occur when the referee stops the fight because a fighter has sustained an injury like a broken limb or is rendered unconscious while in a submission hold. An example would be a fighter's arm breaking in an armbar, or a fighter passing out in a choke hold. In both cases the fighter is unable to tap out, and an official decides that the fighter cannot safely continue to fight. Such a match outcome may be called a technical submission or a technical knockout (TKO) depending on the rules of combat used for the match. In UFC, a submission to strikes counts as a technical knockout.

Technical submission

See also