Submission grappling is the umbrella term for any grappling where the goal is to make an opponent tap. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the most developed system inside that umbrella. In practice, when a gym says "submission grappling" it almost always means No-Gi jiu-jitsu blended with wrestling, judo, and sambo takedowns. That blend is exactly what we teach in Ashburn. If you want to grapple, you are looking for the same class either way.
I have trained jiu-jitsu for twenty years and competed under both banners, so let me save you some confusion.
The umbrella and the system
Submission grappling is a category. It covers every style where you win by submission: joint locks and chokes that force a tap. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling, sambo's ground game, judo's newaza, and the modern no-gi scene all fall under it.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a system inside that category. It has a curriculum, a belt structure, a lineage back to Japan by way of Brazil, and a century of refinement focused on the ground.
So every BJJ practitioner is a submission grappler. Not every submission grappler trains BJJ in the traditional sense.
What people usually mean today
In 2026, when a gym or a tournament says "submission grappling," it almost always means this: No-Gi jiu-jitsu positions and submissions, plus takedowns borrowed from wrestling and judo, plus leg locks that traditional gi jiu-jitsu was slow to adopt. It is BJJ with the borders taken down.
That is the style you see at ADCC, the biggest no-gi event in the world, and at most submission-only competitions. It is also the style we teach in our No-Gi classes, because our coaching staff is a mix of jiu-jitsu black belts, wrestlers, and a combat sambo fighter. We also run a gi program, so Apex covers both columns of the table below. We stopped pretending those were separate sports.
A practical comparison
| Traditional BJJ (gi) | Submission grappling (No-Gi) | |
|---|---|---|
| Uniform | Gi and belt | Rash guard and shorts |
| Takedowns | Judo-style grips | Wrestling shots, clinch, judo throws without the gi |
| Leg attacks | Restricted at lower belts in most rulesets | Central to the modern game |
| Rulesets | IBJJF points | ADCC, submission-only, EBI overtime |
| Best for | The classical belt path | Wrestling and MMA crossover, modern competition |
Which should you train?
If you want the classical experience, belts, gi tournaments, and the slower grip-based game, look for a gi-focused BJJ school.
If you want grappling that works without a jacket, connects to wrestling and MMA, and prepares you for the events that matter in the modern scene, you want submission grappling, which means our No-Gi classes. At Ashburn, adults train morning, lunch, and evening five days a week, with a dedicated beginners class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; kids and teens have their own No-Gi classes by age band.
Common questions
Do you still get belts in submission grappling?
Yes. No-Gi academies award the same belt ranks, worn as ranked rash guards or simply recorded. The standards are the same: time on the mat, technical knowledge, and performance.
Is wrestling part of submission grappling?
Wrestling is the takedown half of it. Our wrestling program runs from age 4 through adults, and the crossover with our No-Gi classes is intentional. Grapplers who cannot take the fight to the ground are only half a grappler.
Is submission grappling good for self-defense?
Very. The ability to control a resisting person, take them down, and end the situation with a hold is the most reliable self-defense skill there is. No-Gi trains it in the clothes people actually wear.
What about MMA?
Submission grappling is the ground game of MMA. Every MMA fighter at our Ashburn academy trains in the No-Gi classes; it is where the ground skills come from.
See it for yourself
One free class answers more than any article. Kids, teens, and adults train at both our Ashburn and Sterling academies. Pick the one closer to you.
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