Turtle position – the OTHER bottom position of Jiu jitsu: When people talk about playing bottom position in Jiu Jitsu, they almost always mean to play from GUARD position, which is defined as a situation where you face your opponent in bottom position with at least one of your legs between you and him as a barrier. There is of course, a second bottom position that gets a lot less attention due to the fact that it offers a lot less attacking potential and has a high risk of back exposure – turtle position – where you are in bottom position facing away from your opponent on your knees. Though it is not the preferred bottom position in Jiu jitsu it is nonetheless very important due to the fact that it commonly occurs in competitive guard passing and takedown scrambles when opponents are reluctant to concede points. As such it is crucial for your development that you build a strong set of attacks and controls to breakdown the defensive structure of the turtle position. Just as you should be able to pass an opponents guard, you should also be able to break down an opponents turtle position if you are to have a complete top game. Remember that a guard pass score three points – but a turtle breakdown that ends with you in rear mount scores four points and results in you being in the single best finishing position in the sport – so it's actually the preferred situation for the top player if you get a choice. Here, talented back attack juggernaut Nick Rodriguez looks to initially control a turtle position with the intention of breaking it down to score with hooks and finish with his powerful rear strangles
