Turtle

What it is

Turtle is a defensive shell on your knees and elbows, with everything tucked tight so there is nothing to grab or choke. It is a transition, not a home: a brief stop while you recover guard or stand up. Staying there invites the seatbelt and the back take.

What you want from here

• On bottom: you are about to be passed and would rather turn to your knees than let them settle in side control.
• On bottom: a takedown or a sprawl has left you on your knees, and you need to get back to guard or to your feet.
• On top: control the hips, take the back with the seatbelt, or break them down flat to side control.
• On top: do not leave your arms inside their turtle, where they can roll you or trap an arm.

Key details

• Elbows glued to your knees and hands protecting the neck, so there is no space for a hook or a choke.
• Chin down and head low. A lifted head gives them the collar or the chin.
• Hips low and knees wide, so you cannot be rolled or pulled over easily.
• Keep moving. Turn toward them and sit through to guard, or stand up, the moment they reach for the seatbelt.
• On top, chest on their back, hips behind theirs, hands at the hips or in a seatbelt, never under the arms with nothing else.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: staying still with your elbows out. They slide a hook in and the back is theirs.
• Mistake: lifting your head to look at them. The clock choke or the guillotine arrives.
• Mistake: posting a hand far from your body. They pull the arm through and roll you to side control.
• Mistake: on top, reaching deep under their armpit without the seatbelt. They trap the arm and roll you over.

How it is escaped or passed

• Seatbelt and a hook, then rolling them into back control.
• Breaking them down flat with a crossface or a far hip grip, then taking side control.
• In the gi, the clock choke when the head and collar are exposed.