"Turtle and Octopus Guard" DVD Set
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques by
Eduardo Telles
The Turtle Guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an extremely deceptive and seemingly relaxed way to play Jiu-Jitsu. It can be an easy position to get to if you are looking for it. You can set it up from different types of guard, including half guard. You can retreat to Turtle when someone is passing your guard or even when they have you flattened out in half guard or side mount. But the really surprising thing about this Guard is how many opportunities for attacking there are. That’s what makes it so deceptive. Your opponent is on top of you feeling very safe, then out of no where, Bam! They’re on their back or they’re tapping out and they don’t know why or how that happened.
If Turtle is a position that you want to add to your game, and it should be, then you need to look to the Turtle Guard Master, Eduardo Telles. This is a guy who competes with other top level/elite BJJ black belts and never looks like he’s trying very hard. With a relaxed demeanor on and off the mat, he is definitely someone to emulate in Jiu-Jitsu and in everyday life.
Eduardo Telles’ Turtle and Octopus Guard DVD set is broken up into 5 DVDs. The first DVD, “The Basics”, covers the fundamentals of the Turtle Guard; why and how Telles developed his Turtle Guard game, which is interesting and from it you even start to see how it can be added to your own game. Next he shows a number of solo and 2 person drills to build your coordination and your muscle memory. These drills are invaluable. Muscle memory in grappling, or any sport is what makes techniques work while sparring. If you have to stop and think through the steps in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu then your opponent is going to run right through you.
DVD 2, “Sweeps I”, is an awesome array of Turtle Guard sweeps to hit from many different angles. Whether your opponent is in front of you, behind you or on either side, you’ll find a way to reverse him with one of these sweeps.
DVD 3, “Sweeps II”, caught me by surprise because it strays from the Turtle Guard. Telles talks at the beginning of this DVD about how his opponents started recognizing his game and learning how to defend it, or just stay away, so he had to develop more techniques for these occasions. There are some really great BJJ sweeps in this volume. But as you watch these sweeps and begin to practice them you start to see how they play so well into the Turtle Guard game.
DVD 4, “Submissions”, is awesome. The submission is what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is all about. But most of these submissions are not for the beginner. Most of them are leg locks, which are illegal in most competitions for lower belts. But even if you can only practice one fourth of the submissions on the DVD you will still have a pretty awesome submission game from bottom Turtle. The leg locks consist mostly of knee bars, toe holds and a really sneaky ankle lock. The other submissions are shoulder locks and a really sick choke at the end.
The last DVD is not Turtle Guard at all, but another really cool guard called Octopus Guard. This game can be played from a full or half guard and is an excellent way to control your opponent in no gi competition, which is how Telles shows it. It’s hard to describe the position. But when you start playing it, along with Turtle Guard, you’ll begin to see how they work together so well.
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