Black belt · Control · Key
Power half and spiral ride from turtle
A half nelson from turtle with your chest driving forward in a circle to break them down. Use it when they turtle tight and you cannot get hooks in.
Step by step
- Kneel at their side with your chest heavy on their upper back.
- Thread the arm nearer their head under their near armpit and put your hand on the back of their head. This is the half nelson.
- Grab their near knee or hip with your other hand.
- Drive your chest forward and circle toward their head while you pull the knee or hip toward you. Their near shoulder collapses and they spill onto their belly or side. That circle is the spiral ride.
- If they flatten, keep the half nelson, slide your hips onto their back, and put in your hooks or stay flat chest to back.
- If they turn toward you to escape, keep driving the half nelson over their head. It rolls them onto their back. Settle chest to chest in side control.
Details that make it work
- The half nelson moves their shoulder, not their neck. Your chest does the work. Never crank the head sideways.
- Keep your weight on them. Space between your chest and their back lets them sit out or stand.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the head sideways with your arm instead of driving with your body.
- Lifting your chest to reach for the half nelson, so they sit through.
Drill it
Partner in turtle at 50 percent. 3 rounds of 2 minutes: half nelson, spiral, finish to the back or side control, reset.
If it fails, or what comes next
- Back control: seatbelt & hooks Control · Back control
- Rear-naked choke against a defended chin Submission · Back control
- Side control: pins & pressure Control · Side control
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