My many faces

One of the biggest and most debated topics in the BJJ community is the turtle position. There are two big arguements about this position. 1) Is it an actual guard? 2) If it gets used as a guard how do we score it in tournaments? In my opinion for a position to be considered a guard, it must fit three requirements: 1) It must start from a defensive standpoint. 2) You must be able to defend yourself AND launch attack. 3) It must have at least one(1) self-defense application. 4) You must have a way to control your opponent/enemy. So let's see if turtle is a legitimate guard. On your knees not being able to see your enemy sounds pretty defensive to me. Your hands and elbows can keep you from taking punches and knees flush and you have access to kneebars, toeholds, kimuras, armbars, wristlocks and a boatload of sweeps. So that's points one and two covered. On to point 3 and 4 Self-defense application: When you turtle on the street you roll away immediately and sit to full guard or ...

Sunday is usually my off day and don't train at all. And while I didn't train in a physical sense yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about a technique I learned Saturday, or should I say a technique I got a refresher course on Saturday. I learned the toe hold a few years back but always felt it would be a limited technique for me since I can't really control a person's leg with my legs. Boy am I happy to say I was wrong. The setup I learned Saturday came off my favorite sweep and didn't involve me using my legs for control in any way. Needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store. I can obtain dominate position and secure what is becoming my best leglock all in one motion and on top of that I don't have to use my legs what more could I want? Then while daydreaming I came to a game-changing conclusion, the conclusion being, almost every sweep(reversal from bottom position to top position) that involves leg control will give you a toe hold once the sweep ...