I do tons of these, have long considered if I should do it at a camp and film it for inaction :D

Here is one of my favorites:

- Kind of like dodge ball, everyone can move around freely
- Person with the ball can not move
- Throw the ball at someone and hit them (without hitting the floor or anything else first) and they have to do 10 pushups, situps, etc. whatever you come up with
- TWIST! Throw the ball at someone and it hits them while they manage to do a front roll OR jump in a split to get the ball flying between their legs, YOU have to do the pushups

People jumping and rolling EVERYWHERE = Guaranteed laughs for warmup :D

yes please do it at camp and show us a little bit of it. the game sound fun!
thanks for the idea!

Tag team matches, king of the hill and my personal favourite: you both put socks on and the winner is the person who gets the other persons socks off first.

we do dodge ball with the kids at the end of class and the adults seems to always come in early and takeover before the beginning of theirs. its fun.

we also do the 6 out and 6 people rotate in and pick a position to who score and submits and then rotate out. for 4 mins.

Also been playing around with a team king of the mat.. mostly split the teams up based on ability or size and then have them pick an opposing person to go against other opposing persons pick. its gets really interesting. if you lose you out. and the winning team gets to pick if their winner stays in or sends another person in.

I use King of the Hill but with a different rule set for each night. Like we will start at a certain position and give them objectives to compete to win. Like you've got to move to 3 different positions before trying to submitting.

I use King of the Hill but with a different rule set for each night. Like we will start at a certain position and give them objectives to compete to win. Like you've got to move to 3 different positions before trying to submitting.

ive always run "bulldog" in my judo classes, you pick some "mat enforcers" and they are the bulldogs.. everyones on all fours, the bulldogs catch one of the people who arent bulldogs and they gotta try turning em over into a pin. if they get the pin, they become a bulldog too, if the bulldog gets pinned, they cant be touched by the same bulldog next, the bulldogs gotta find someone else first. the last person to not be turned over is the winner lol

another is called racecar, sitting, hug your partner with equal grips.. start rocking, at a random start, the go to the pin or sub.

a judo style standing game for foot sweeps. this ones fun, and BURNS the grips out lol, so if you need people to work in a light hearted way, this ones fun... get EVERYONE in a giant circle with sleeve grips.. they foot sweep people around them (or if your sneaky, cross the circle to foot sweep someone on the other side of the circle, but be careful! if caught at the right time its easier to get foot swept there!) if someone falls, theyre out. last one standing is the winner, when it comes to the last 2, all takedowns go

lastly is another standing one, 2 standing, 2 ground games for yah... the last one is sumo. two partners take off their belts, and create a circle. this is their sumo ring (also great for noobs cuz they learn to tie their belts!) make whatever sumo sounds you want, then take grips, take your partner down or out of the ring (BOTH feet, one wont do it. if there are no feet in the ring, then that person loses, so if you got one foot in the ring, and lift that foot up, you lose!) be warned when going for a shot, if you do and there is a good sprawl, 2 knees on the mat COUNTS as a takedown in this game.

of course, you can modify the games to your liking, but this is how theyve worked well for me. 4 games, 2 standing specific, 2 ground specific. hope you like!

Honestly not a fan if they involve a bunch of people... Besides being just generally traumatized about team sports during my school years, "People jumping and rolling EVERYWHERE" mayhem = guaranteed somebody gets hurt. In my experience it's way more dangerous than grappling. I always end up twisting a leg or having somebody bump their head into my face whenever I participate. :D

Of course anything more organized, where just two people go at it at a time (or any kind of tag team/shark tank variations), I'm all for.

Kneeslap game for standup freestyle wrestling.

For the kids, tug of war using a gi top with sleeve grips

Thank you going to take that immediately and incorporate into kids open mat on Saturday.

(My kids sit on the gi jacket and i just run around backwards sled-dragging them with sleeve grips... good workout)

It doesn't work as well with the adults. They aren't as willing to volunteer their gi tops. Lol

I volunteer my gi jacket for my kids :) That's the format in our "Saturday With Kids On The Mats".

Some of the kids games our coach has the kids do:
Pancake game - kids lay in pairs on their backs, side x side. Coach says "go", kids rush to get to a dominant position on each other. One on top wins.
Freeze tag - We play with a foam sword to do the freezing, but could just as easily be done w/just hands. One kid (or multiple kids) is it, tries to tag all other kids. To get unfrozen, an unfrozen kid has to perform the 'takedown of the day' on the frozen kid. Play until all are frozen or just 'time to swap' if it's taking a while.
Belt race - pair kids up, one on each end of mat, on all fours. lay belts midway between them, They race to get belts
Circle of throws - Everyone (coaches included) circle up and join hands. Coach says go, try to foot sweep person next to you. If someone gets taken down or lets go of hands, they do 10 pushups, and circle closes. They get back in at a random spot when they are done.

Jiu jitsu / wrestling (or combined) virus is great. In a limited space ppl move around with one person the "virus" trying to take others down either from buttscooting and/or kneeling positions. Whoever gets taken down becomes another "infected". There are no winners - in the end everyone perishes.

Haha, this is a very topical theme atm :D

One thing we have been doing lately to "lighten the mood" is a cross between capture the flag and flag football. you can do one on one with grappling or teams/free for all with no grappling. It is a break from the norm while still tricking us into a quick bit of cardio... (doh!)

Thanks for all the great ideas! before this i was just limited to just king of the mats after awhile it gets old

I play this one at xmas. It's developed a bit over the years, but I've just about got it into a format I like now. ;)

https://www.instagram.com[...]asbjjgame/

Brazilian Bulldog!

Like British Bulldog, but you have to Butt Scoot (or whatever you call it) across the Mats, People in the middle have to get guard on you.

Super great for even little kids (ie: 4-7 year olds!)

Could you please explain in more detail? What does it mean to "get guard" on a buttscooting person?

We do grappling based games/drills. Pass, sweep, submit or get to knees/feet game. Belt tug of war. Ear touch game etc. Not too many other games to be honest.

Jiu Jitsu Soccer: https://www.facebook.com/[...]061305365/

Could you please elaborate on the rules you use for the game?

Jiu Jitsu Soccer https://www.facebook.com/[...]9061305365

Two teams (of any number of members) start from opposite ends of the mat. The goal is to get the “ball” (a rolled up, knotted kids belt is best) past the opposing team to the opposite wall (or off the mat at the other end). Team members are not allowed to stand, run or crawl. The whole wall or edge of the mat is the goal. Designated goal posts are not needed, and in fact, will slow down the game.

Players are to use push-forward and push-back techniques (scooting). They can only touch and move the ball with their feet. If a player does stand, run or crawl a penalty is called and the opposing team is awarded a free kick. Forward and backward rolls, with or without the ball between the feet are allowed at any time. (A great way to cover a lot of ground).

If the ball is immobilised for 10 seconds or more due to being stuck anywhere, the referee calls “my ball” retrieves it from the scrum and tosses it in the air towards a clear space on the mat.

To stop the progress of a team toward their goal, members of the opposing team attempt to put an opposing player in side control, mount or back control ONLY if that player is attempting to kick, or is close to, the ball. However, if there is a bit of “behind play” grappling going on, this rule can be overlooked for a few seconds as long as an instructor keeps an eye on it. No submissions. Control only.

No grabbing around the neck. Proper control techniques (seatbelt, hooks etc.) are expected. If the player who has been attacked cannot escape, the attacker must let them up once the play has moved down the mat, or if that player taps due to pressure, whichever comes sooner. (If a player tries to game the system by tapping as soon as they are tackled, they must come off the mat until the next round.)

Once a goal is scored (one point), the teams go back to their end of the mat, and the referee tosses the ball into the middle of the mat for the start of the next play. Time limit can be whatever fits the need on any day, the winners being the team with the most points at the end of play.

I think that’s it. Feel free to ask me if something needs clarification, or you have any other questions. This is a great game for pretty obvious reasons, and is suitable for any age group.