Safeword (sports)

A safeword, as used in sports, is a code word used by a player to avoid impending injury.

In certain contact sports, such as rugby and professional wrestling, when a player feels an opposing player's actions will cause the player serious injury, the player may utter a safeword to tell the opponent to stop the actions.

Professional rugby union footballers recognize the safeword "neck". A player may say "neck" during a scrum due to fear of a possible neck injury. Players on both teams will recognize this and immediately release any downward pressure.^{[citation needed]}

A more common example is "matte" (pronounced "mah-teh", meaning "Wait!") in most Japanese martial arts, including judo, which indicates surrender, usually due to an arm lock or a choke. In professional competition, saying "stop" or "help" does not indicate surrender and the opponent may continue combat.

See also