Attacking the Turtle Position in BJJ – 7 Submissions

One of the greatest things BJJ teaches us is finishing the opponent by forcing him to tap out. Hence, executing a submission on the opponent. These finishing moves are a critical part of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as they’ll be your primary way of finishing fights and getting the win, and that also applies to the Turtle Position.

This article will review seven ways to attack the Turtle Position. If you’re unfamiliar with this position, it’s a defensive move that you and your opponents can use to escape many attacks. It’s when you curl up on your elbows and knees—like a turtle!

We are lucky enough to live in an era where learning whichever move you desire from the coach you like—is the norm. You have all the knowledge in the world, literally, open before you. It’s time for you to start utilizing this fantastic resource called the Internet.

Now I won’t be explaining what the Turtle Position is – so if you want to learn more about the Turtle Position and when to use it yourself, follow this link.

Anyways, it can be frustrating to deal with the Turtle. So knowing how to attack the opponent when he’s in such a position—is critical. This is what I’ll teach you in this article.

So without further Chit-Chat, let’s dive in!

#7 – Lapel Choke

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Lapel Choke	9/10	5/10	7/10

The first submission we’ll review is the Lapel Choke. This submission can be executed only with Gi on. Some coaches invent innovative methods of performing it with No-Gi, but they’re mostly ineffective.

If you want to do BJJ and don’t have a Gi, follow this link to buy a high-quality, personalized Gi.

Anyways, attacking the Turtle Position can be difficult. Thus, we want to learn many options, so we’ll be able to surprise the opponent when he gets into it. And again, forcing your opponent to the Turtle—isn’t as difficult; the primary way to do that is by applying a submission, usually from Side Control or another dominant position.

Here’s how to perform the Lapel Choke from Turtle Position

1. Start in the turtle position
2. Pull your Gi out and grab it
3. Wrap it around the opponent’s neck
4. Wrap your leg around his head
5. Sit by leaning backward and maintaining control
6. Place your other leg on his back
7. Lean backward (with all your weight)
8. Wait for the tap

As you can see, it’s an excruciating choke. You’re using your clothing, which can cause tons of pressure, against the opponent’s neck. As a result, he’ll be forced to tap out, as it’s a painful experience.

If you’ve never got choked before, I encourage you to ask someone you trust to try this Lapel Choke on you. See how painful it is. This will help you appreciate the amount of neck pressure you can apply using it.

If you want to learn more about the Lapel Choke and how to execute it properly, follow this link.

#6 – Heel Hook

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Heel Hook	9/10	7/10	8/10

Next up is the Heel Hook. Unlike the previous attack, the Heel Hook is a leg lock, which means it’s a lower-body submission. Most finishing moves you learn when you’re a white belt will be upper-body submissions, such as the Guillotine Choke, Americana, and Kimura.

Leg Locks are incredibly effective for one primary reason: they allow you to isolate the opponent’s leg while inflicting a lot of damage on it, usually by hyperextending a joint. Some leg locks allow you to manipulate the knee while others do so for the ankle or foot.

In our case, we’ll hyperextend the opponent’s heel. Here’s how to execute it flawlessly:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle Position
2. Grip his left wrist with your left hand
3. Drive forward
4. Place your knee on his Achilles
5. Wrap the inside of his belly with your right hand
6. Post with your left hand
7. Hook your right foot underneath his belly
8. Roll
9. Keep your feet hooked to his knee
10. Hook and lock your legs
11. Hyperextend his leg
12. Get the tap

The Heel Hook is a submission you want to learn as early as possible in your BJJ journey. Whether you’re a blue, purple, or brown belt—you want to get comfortable with this leg lock. If you want to familiarize yourself with BJJ’s best leg locks, follow this link.

Learn more about the Heel Hook and performing it from other variations by following this link.

#5 – Japanese Necktie

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Japanese Necktie	7/10	6/10	7/10

Next up on our list is the Japanese Necktie. This is one of BJJ’s most painful chokes. It’s also the most popular necktie. If you’re unfamiliar with the different neckties, I encourage you to follow the link.

Like all the chokes I’ve listed and will list in this article, it’s an agonizing experience for your opponent. If you learn to perform it correctly, there’ll be nothing stopping you from getting the tap in a few seconds.

The execution of the Japanese Necktie shouldn’t take longer than a few seconds. If you take your time with it and hesitate in the execution, the opponent will be more likely to defend, which you want to avoid at all costs.

Following that are the steps to perform the Japanese Necktie from Turtle:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle
2. Step over the opponent’s left leg
3. Pull the opponent’s ankle toward you
4. Slide your arm through the opponent’s armpit
5. Lock a Gable grip around the opponent’s neck
6. Drop your shoulder to the far side
7. Push your belly in
8. Squeeze your arms
9. Wait for the tap

There wasn’t enough space for me to cover the entire submission. So if you want to learn more about the Japanese Necktie and more tips about it, follow this link.

#4 – Kneebar

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Kneebar	9/10	6/10	8/10

#4 is the infamous Kneebar. This is one of BJJ’s most effective leg locks and moves, in general. You’ll be able to cause extreme amounts of damage and force the opponent to tap if you perform it appropriately.

Here’s how to Kneebar from the Turtle Position:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle
2. Be parallel with the opponent
3. Step on his right thigh with your right foot
4. Step on his left thigh with your left foot
5. With your right leg, step on the mat
6. Do the same with your left leg
7. Post with both your hands
8. Grab his right leg with your right hand
9. Lift his leg up
10. Drop to the left while isolating his leg
11. Hyperextend the knee
12. Get the tap

This execution is fairly weird-looking. However, I’ve encountered this variation many times before in my BJJ journey. Therefore, I fully trust its ability to help you finish fights quickly and effectively.

There isn’t much to say about this Kneebar variation. Frankly, it’s quite simple to learn and execute. You do have to know something about this leg lock. In official IBJJF tournaments, you won’t be able to execute it until you’re a brown belt. Therefore, if competing is your primary goal, you might want to avoid mastering it until you attain it.

Learn more about other Kneebar variations by following this link to a separate guide about it.

#3 – Clock Choke

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Clock Choke	6/10	8/10	7/10

#3 is another favorite choke of mine, named the Clock Choke. And again, as you can imagine, it’s an unbearably painful choke, since it allows you to create enormous amounts of neck pressure, forcing the opponent to give up and tap if he doesn’t want to go to sleep.

I’m a big fan of the Clock Choke because it allows you to create a lot of neck pressure by utilizing a clock motion. You’ll twist the opponent’s collar in one direction, which will tighten the collar on his neck and apply a lot of pressure.

Here’s how to beat your opponent in the Turtle Position using the Clock Choke:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle
2. Open his collar using your right hand
3. Pass your left arm under his neck
4. Grab his collar with your left hand
5. Block his hips using your right hand
6. Walk around the opponent until perpendicular
7. Drop your body down
8. Base yourself with your toes on the mat
9. Drop your head to the mat
10. Walk toward the opponent’s feet
11. Wait for the tap

It’s not as complicated as many folks put it to be. If you desire to learn it properly, here’s a visual aid that’ll deepen your understanding:

If you want to master the Clock Choke and read about common mistakes novice grapplers make when using it—follow this link.

#2 – Triangle Choke

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Triangle Choke	9/10	8/10	9/10

The Triangle Choke is perhaps the most effective move in the world of BJJ. Some claim it is, but I do think there are other, more effective ones. Anyways, it’s a move you want to learn early in your journey.

It’ll help you get your first few taps, which will motivate you to keep learning and stay consistent. The primary issue white belts face that makes them quit is not learning the right things. You want to focus on learning the simple and basic moves, which usually are the most effective.

One of these moves is the Triangle Choke. And here’s how to apply it on the Turtle Position:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle
2. Grab his lapel
3. Drive your knee between his arm and head
4. Step over his armpit with your other foot
5. Hook his right arm
6. Drop to the right
7. Lock your legs (Triangle Lock)
8. Tighten the choke
9. Get the tap

I’ve used the term Triangle Lock in the instructions, but you might be unfamiliar with it. To clarify, it’s when you trap the opponent’s arm and head using your legs. So you’ll be locking your legs in a way that’ll isolate his arm and head.

Watch the following video to take a glimpse of the Triangle Lock and how to perform this submission well

There’s truly not enough space here to cover the tip of the fork when it comes to the Triangle. If you want to learn everything you need to know about the Triangle Choke—follow this link.

#1 – Armbar

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Armbar	9/10	7/10	8/10

We only have one more submissions to cover, I hope you’re excited. Thus far, we’ve covered six finishing moves that you might or might not like. While I recommend learning all seven, as these are basic and effective moves, you might not be eager to learn one of them. In that case, you can skip learning it.

So now, the only submission that’s left to cover in this article—is the Armbar. I love the Armbar because it’s one of BJJ’s classiest and fanciest moves. I call it fancy because it looks good when you make it work.

And you know what? It’s not hard to learn and make it work, even when you’re in your first few weeks of training.

Here’s how to perform the Armbar from the Turtle Position:

1. Your opponent is in Turtle Position
2. Hook his left arm with your right arm
3. Hook your right arm underneath his belly
4. Hook his armpit with the same arm
5. Step up
6. Push the opponent to the side and back
7. Grab his hips with your left hand
8. Slide your knee across his back
9. Spin and fall while isolating his arm
10. Hyperextend his arm and shoulder
11. Get the tap

And to wrap this article up, if you want to learn more about the Armbar and how to master it quicker than the average grappler, follow this link.

Final Words

That’s it for this article. I’ve had a lot of fun covering the different attacks when your opponent is in the Turtle Position since I know how frustrating it can be to deal with this position unsuccessfully. So learning and getting comfortable with the submissions I’ve listed—will help deal with this frustration.

There’s nothing more satisfying than finishing the opponent in BJJ. If you keep training and working hard, you’ll find your entire journey more satisfying and enjoyable.

So get on the mat and practice what you have learned in this article!

Here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:

BJJ’s Best Neckties (Japanese, Peruvian, German…)

10 Best BJJ Guards You Want to Learn (With Great Tips)

The 10 Top BJJ Chokes You Need to Master

11 Best Half Guard Submissions From Top and Bottom

13 Best Submissions From Closed & Open Guard (BJJ)

9 Most Effective Submissions From Mount (Must-Know)