A tight turtle position may be hard to attack at first, but you can take advantage of their rigid structure to disrupt their base and open up the position. Breaking your opponent’s balance and separating their upper from their lower body will make it easier for you to get control and take the back.
Attacking an open turtle position starts with getting a proper seatbelt grip on your opponent’s upper body. With this kind of control, you’ll be able to easily attack the back when your opponent turns into you. However, you may run into some trouble when your opponent is able to disrupt your valu...
With a tight seat belt control, you’ll often be able to get your near-side knee between your opponent’s knee and elbow (with your knee pointing towards your opponent’s feet). From there, you can sag your shoulder, shovel your knee into the space created, and complete your back take.
When you have seatbelt control, one option for your opponent is to drop their far hip to the mat. In this case, you’ll need to throw your knee across your opponent’s back to perform a far-side chair sit. When you complete the roll to the other side, you’ll be able to lock in both leg hooks and se...
