From your experiences, would you say that it is more common to see people pull guard in order to escape/stop a pin, or do more people prefer the escapes that get one to one's knees, i.e. turtled?
Personally, I always try to face my opponent, and always have done so. That usually involves shrimping and getting to guard.
In general, I think it all depends. You see lots of kids turtling due to bad coaching and the fact that they don't have to worry about submissions in their shiai. I have been to a lot of clubs where the adults, let alone the kids, don't know how to shrimp.
At a higher level, turtling is not nearly as prevalent. I don't recall seeing a lot of turtling at recent Olympics or WC, or even at US Senior nationals.
Ben R.
im terrible off my back so i turtle. alot easier for me to scramble while on all 4s.
Depends on the situation, I 'turtle' a bit in BJJ and I don't get in trouble so... It's not really common, but it all depends, different tools for different situations.
I turtle in both BJJ and Judo more than I go onto my back. I find it a better position for me to work from.
Turtle is useful in Judo, but the guys I worked with would kill me if I tried to escape by turtling. I hate it when somebody gets on my back.
Ben R.
I love it when people turtle in judo class. It seems like almost no goes to guard where I train, they all turtle from white belt to black. Unless I'm working on turning them over I'm able to take their backs and work for chokes.
i agree with Ben R. i always face my opponent (unless he passes then i may turtle for a second to avoid him getting the points)...having someone on your back with hooks in is not the best position to be in, esp. against all the cross-trainers these days!
Although I'd have to reexplain that I don't actually turtle, I just give up the back and stand.
I personally think its retarded to turtle since it is so easy to put them in guard and be completely safe unitl they stand you back up. But I'm only a yellow belt, so what do I know :)
"I personally think its retarded to turtle since it is so easy to put them in guard and be completely safe unitl they stand you back up. But I'm only a yellow belt, so what do I know :) "
Sometimes it's easier to use the turtle as a transition, though. Shrimping to guard can be dangerous depending on the situation.
Ben R.