Attacking the Turtle
Posted by Corey Kuropas on
Attacking the turtle can be a difficult thing for those who are not familiar with the position. The opponent will seem tight, hard to attack and can usually roll away from any attack that does come his way. But if you know some proper ways of attacking the turtle, then it is no different than any other position in Jiu Jitsu. If you want to learn how to beat the turtle position, check out these three ways of attacking it.
Arm locks from the turtle
There are a couple different ways of attaining an arm lock from the turtle position. An opponent while turtling up, will try to stay as tight as can be. The reason for doing so is to avoid any submission attacks. But once you create a little bit of space with the arm, arm lock attacks become available. It becomes hard to defend an arm lock from the turtle once you arm is separated from your body. Travis Stevens shows a highly effective way of getting an arm lock from someone defending the turtle position.
Gi chokes from the turtle
The disadvantage of playing the turtle position is that the person who plays defense from there, usually worries about their arms being attacked. When the happens, gi chokes become available for you, the attacker. There are plenty of really great gi chokes to get from here. The clock choke is great, you can hit a bow &arrow choke, but my favorite is the helicopter choke. This one is a little flashy, but it does work and works to a fine degree. Take a look and see if this fun choke is something you could get in rolling.
The truck position from turtle
This is single handedly my favorite way of attacking the turtle position. Popularized by Eddie Bravo and his school of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, this is a dynamic way of attacking the turtle. When you hit the truck, either from a rolling to your back or hitting an over the shoulder ninja roll, there are many options. You can take the back. You can hit the twister. And calf cranks become available. Geo Martinez and Garry Tonon are two individuals who use it frequently in high level competition. It works all around.
Attacking the turtle can be frustrating. But keeping yourself calm and seeing what techniques you can use from there is a part of Jiu Jitsu. You will run into people defending from the turtle quite often on the mats. Pick your favorite avenues and force your opponent out of it. If you are curious on more attacks to the turtle, check out Travis Stevens DVD. It’s full of great ways to attack it and defeat it.
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