Tapping is an acknowledgement of opponent’s skill but even more so it’s an acknowledgment of reaching your own limits. Every beginner gets warned at one point or another that they should tap, often well before they feel the excruciating pain.
The sequence of opponent tapping and the other side letting go is almost behavioral conditioning in the world of bjj.
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In this video, Nick Albin aka Chewy answers a BJJ competition question where a competitor was in a situation where he had his opponent in an armbar and the guy didn’t tap. The arm popped so he stopped applying pressure instead of continuing. He ended up losing the match by a referee decision.
His question was whether or not he should have broken the arm or not in competition.
A famous incident where this happenned was the final of the 2004 Mundials between Roger Gracie and Jacare. Gracie was down on points and caught Jacare in a tight armbar from the closed guard. Jacare didn’t tap and Roger broke his arm but the match continued. Jacare had 1 minute left and was fleeing the fight, got 2 points penalty and ended up winning on points as time ran out. He was crowned 2004 Open black belt world champion and made history.
