How Eduardo Telles Changed BJJ Forever

[@biggertree7063]

When you trained with an offensive buzzsaw like Terere for so long, you become a defensive genius that you can turn it into an offense.

[@josephgreenslade7525]

I know you didn’t mean to minimise it, but he was literally the best passer in the sport at the time. If he hadn’t had to stop competing due to his personal issues, he would likely be considered the goat.

[@imitchellgill]

You make an excellent point. "Necessity is the mother of invention." Terere was a monster and training with such a monster is going to force his training partners to look for options. Telles himself said that when Terere got side control, there was no other way out but turning away. Again, you make a great point.

[@hermanmelville3871]

Heard Telles mention my coach, Leo Vieira, as another one that helped him develop his turtle by being a relentless passage and back attacker.

[@biggertree7063]

@@hermanmelville3871 The old alliance team was just straight up killers.

[@rocknroll19842]

Not just Terere, but Leo Viera, Demian Maia, Comprido, Fabio Gurgel, and the rest of the guys who left Alliance

[@griffinlej]

14 years in, Telles is still one of my all time favorite practitioners. I studied his game as a blue belt, but I feel like I'm just now beginning to understand his game. He truly represents the essence of jiu-jitsu

[@mitchellgaffney3595]

bro same. I always thought the turtle guard was such an underutilized position in sport BJJ, then I discovered Telles. Now, I'm a black belt and can finally rediscover some of these techniques. The way he fights hands and hooks makes it very hard to gain an advantageous position without exposing yourself! Guy is an innovator, just like his long time friend and journeyman Terere.

[@JME10P]

@@mitchellgaffney3595 check out Priit Mikhelson and thank me later

[@DAGGETT062891]

He's great! I had the pleasure of training with him at his gym in San Diego for about 4 years. He's a great guy.

[@thedarwinist672]

I'm making turtle the foundation of my game for these reasons: - everyone says escapes are what white belts should learn first. Well, what's the worst position you'll need to escape from? Someone on your back. - if I get really good at turtle, I can say thinks like "turtle powrr" and "it's pizza time" whenever someone foolishly attacks my back

[@AlecBaulding]

Awesome hahaha

[@HansDavidian]

Being a small 5'3" 130 lbs dude I can say by experience the turtle is also great for small guys as long as the structure is proper. Priit Mihkelson has some great in depth stuffs on how to do a proper turtle in different situations.

[@MesGuided]

That Priit Ish!!

[@peekaboojujitsoo525]

@@MesGuided yessir

[@Ed7501]

Good timing! I just finished Vol. 2 of his turtle guard series. I find myself in turtle a lot when I get my guard passed, so I figure I might as well learn this from the best!

[@AlecBaulding]

I’ve been spamming a lot of his moves in training 😂

[@stevensartifacts]

Are his instructionals more advanced or they good to study for turtle fundamentals?

[@Jonobos]

​@@stevensartifactshis stuff is reasonable for anyone. Also check out Priit for very good defensive positional stuff. Honestly, I wish I had access to their stuff as a beginner.

[@tricyclemishap]

Awesome breakdown of Telles turtle game. This is great BJJ content.

[@AlecBaulding]

🐢

[@richsemi4461]

Showing that half guard variation immediately connected Octopus Guard in my mind. Thanks for that connection!

[@user-vc6]

he invented octopus guard (he named it and made it a system on a old dvd ) . he has that huge octopus tattoo lol

[@hermanmelville3871]

Thanks so much for this analysis! Telles was a huge inspiration for me coming up. Always nice to see him get some credit.

[@AlecBaulding]

He definitely deserves more credit than he gets. Unfortunately this sport doesn't really celebrate its trendsetters like it should

[@hermanmelville3871]

@@AlecBaulding truer words never spoken.

[@artesuave2190]

Great analysis Alec. This game is fun to play. Especially if you like to counter attack and surprise oppnts with sneaky subs and sweeps. I like it because it helps hang in there with the more athletic and young practitioners. Also as a mid 40's practitioner I feel it helps me prevent injuries .

[@AlecBaulding]

There’s a reason Telles has competed as long as he has

[@louiemack5121]

Awesome video man! I really like this style of content that ur doing!

[@AlecBaulding]

Thank you 🙏🏾

[@gustavofring1927]

You definitely found your content with those breakdowns. Plus the visuals are great. Awesome content !

[@AlecBaulding]

🙏🏾

[@0xBerto]

First person to give me a gi and let me on to the mats. Real OG. Always a pleasure to run into the Turtle Master

[@mentefit-robertoribeiro6146]

Telles is amazing!!!! I love turtle guard and use it a Lot...inspired by him ! Thanks Telles !!!

[@Mark-mu2or]

I've been watching this before every session for the last few weeks. My turtle powers have gone off the charts.

[@AlecBaulding]

happy to hear this!

[@ZenCapitan]

I trained with Telles and Luis at the Remanso st. So, I know his style but its not for everyone, first at all, the flexibility of Telles could give him advantage on the turtle position, I never catched his back because his head was on the floor and makes difficult to put any hooks. Second was his strength, his genetics allowed him to be high class athelete, he was black belt in karate as well and his stamina allowed him to never get tired on the matches. I saw him fighting both on heavy and absolute( open weight) categories.

[@antonybui9257]

Subscribed man! I love your style of explanation w/ the video game analogies and animations. Brilliant stuff!

[@AlecBaulding]

Thank!

[@GunnHillfiger]

I got his dvd as a white belts and i was turtling and suriving on black belts eventually. Its underrated for sweeps

[@dudeflynn2781]

Telles is the man, and hands down probably the nicest guy in jiu jitsu . Seriously probably the nicest dude in the game , he’s a rad dude 🐢

[@CologneShow]

Great video! Only thing missing was the highlight reel turtle reversal of Sergio Rios vs. PJ Barch.

[@AlecBaulding]

Honestly Rios need his own video

[@dannyy8619]

First! Love this video because I love me some Telles and I love me some turtle. If you go into octopus, I will be very grateful. And I love all of the new in-depth videos you've been putting out. Keep it up brother!

[@AlecBaulding]

Thanks for the support! I’ll see what I can do 🐙 🐙🐙

[@dannyy8619]

@@AlecBaulding Oh and if you ever want to do a comparison on how Craig Jones or Priit do turtle, that'd be a topic I'd be interested in. I know both of them have been influenced by Telles' game

[@willgunawan4232]

Incredibly informative and helpful video. Love the footage paired with the commentary / explanation format. Perhaps this is part of why channels like LIMI blew up. Thanks for making this Alec! Also, Robson Moura is another guy that has some stuff that may add to a turtle game. Vastly different body type from Telles too, check him out! (Also, I'd be amiss to not mention Priit Mihkelson).

[@logbMMA]

Great video! Very detailed and a pleasure to watch. Your breakdown of the techniques and logic behind them were easy to follow / understand. Thanks for making these, please keep doing it, you’re killing it!

[@sleathymofo]

You should try to get an interview with Priit Mickelson. He's truly analyzed and broken down the turtle position and the other components (elbows in to the waist, don't worry so much about defending the neck), baby bridging, running man, etc. and attacking from turtle. He openly says that Telles is the Turtle master but if you don't understand the nuances as to what he's doing, you'll keep getting caught. Priit explains it very throughly.

[@waffensuperninja]

Just taught some turtle escapes and attacks yesterday. Nice vid. Very compelling. I may chase this.

[@TopLevelJiuJitsu]

Heyyy... Im in this video 😂😂 Right up front in one of his seminars

[@AlecBaulding]

Awesome

[@TopLevelJiuJitsu]

@AlecBaulding Where did u find that seminar footage? I would love to go over it again. It was a good one.

[@Isaac-mc4kk]

Great video breakdown.

[@AlecBaulding]

🙏🏾

[@TC-bv4on]

Big ups for turtle half guard nomenclature. When I was learning this position there wasn’t a name for it. Craig Jones calls it false half guard in his power bottom instructional. I like turtle half guard way better. It’s a really fun position and I’m actually currently exploring leg locks in addition to Telles two point attack (go in, usually for other leg, get reversal if they push back). One thing that’s always really interesting is his emphasis on hip height. This is different from the way most other people play turtle. Most people use the back as a frame but a lot of his time since he wins the hip height battle his hip actually serves as a frame. This gives him the better ability to roll through to guard when people are behind him. (Maybe he just raised his hips when people are behind him?) I need to play around more with this in my own turtle. His match against Peña is my favorite grappling match or maybe all time. He almost hit that turtle plata in one of the reversals you showed. (When you go for the fat man roll, they post, you keep going under them.) Great stuff!

[@ongback]

Thank you Alec for these great vids

[@AlecBaulding]

I’m actually learning a lot making them as well 💪🏾

[@shabblabbat]

very cool video. thanks for the turtle guard overview! subbed

[@golddee2040]

Turtle half. I like it! Will start playing around with it!

[@Blindstoic]

Easily your best video, big thanks.

[@AlecBaulding]

Even before uploading I knew this would be a good video even if it didn’t get views

[@goku-pops7918]

Can you do a more comprehensive video about his turtle halfguard

[@drock00013]

Priit Mihkelson is the modern day turtle god and teaches a whole system based of this

[@martinmyggestik292]

Nobody seems to care. But they should... His stuff is next level.

[@TheKrodgib]

​@martinmyggestik292 late reply but their ignorance is our benefit

[@peekaboojujitsoo525]

@@TheKrodgib Let's all try to keep it secret and enjoy till everybody catches up 😅

[@Utuberj0sh]

In a Jordan teaches jj video Priit is featured and he calls Telles the turtle god! Much respect to go around

[@colesouth]

Great breakdown! Well done 👏🏻

[@DPSBreakdowns]

Good stuff!

[@AlecBaulding]

Thanks 🙏🏾

[@landrytucker1108]

Great video Alec

[@showmaesas]

thanks for the video! This guy is insane!

[@AlecBaulding]

🐢🐢🐢

[@LongPhamKimura]

Awesome video, thank you for making this

[@AlecBaulding]

I'm learning a lot doing these videos

[@deboluccia]

"Getting hooks on Telles is no easy feet." I know it's "feat" but still that was a good one. I attended 2 of his seminars, he said defend the hooks first. No one believes me but it revolutionized my back defense.

[@lineuoliveira]

What a great video! Thanks!

[@nabila5325]

There’s bb in my gym who was taught by him. Very difficult to do any thing against him.

[@Allanrpsx]

in the us? whats his name? Just curious, I am professor Telles' student

[@biashacker]

Great synopsis. What do you think of the split guard by Silver Fox Karel Pavec?

[@AlecBaulding]

I’ll have to research it

[@jd6049]

Great content.

[@AlecBaulding]

❤

[@rolandlam6323]

❤❤❤ awesome video ! Turtle guard guy here

[@AlecBaulding]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Sevisija]

Great videos man, love it

[@JustaMunch]

Great video Alex! I've been following you on Instagram for a while and just discovered your channel. Big fan.

[@Bingus2000]

I rolled with an Eduardo Telles black belt and never went against a turtle guard like his before. It's something special.

[@GunnHillfiger]

As someone who played turtle exclusively for years - you play turtle with your forehead on the floor and your eyes on your training partner. Watch Telles. Best turtle ever.

[@honeyhole411]

Such a great video 👏🏼

[@VanderleiBertoso]

É a posição que mais faço,mais era só para defesa e repor guarda,não imaginava que tinha tanta coisa para fazer nessa guarda

[@CarlFrankBJJ]

Awesome

[@AlecBaulding]

🙏🏾

[@TimOertel]

As a literal member of the Turtle Club, I approve and want to learn from this message. -TOertel

[@AlecBaulding]

I've been terrorizing everyone in training with the turtle half guard hahaha

[@Utuberj0sh]

Does his DVD turtle guard revisited cover the three phases: turtle guard, resting position, and turtle half?

[@AlecBaulding]

Those are just terms I used during my research so I’m sure he uses other names for everything

[@Jonobos]

Jiujitsu cracks me up. The main strategy of jiujitsu -take the back and choke- gets broken by someone decades ago, and everyone just ignores it and keeps doing the same thing. If you can defend leg attacks and you can defend the back you have shut down an overwhelmingly high percentage of the modern jiujitsu game.

[@Phoenix-6103]

This is my favourite position because I like turtles

[@AlecBaulding]

❤️🐢🐢🐢🐢

[@IdontspeakBro.]

I hurt my knee ran required surgery. Started using turtle to protect my knee and came across Telles many years ago. I became the turtle guy and every made fun of me. 3rd place at Worlds and I realised being different and mastering a perceived weak position was my strength. Everything became a trap for my apponents. I consider myself a student of Telles.

[@AlecBaulding]

Awesome 🐢🐢🐢

[@harlanberk8501]

Telles now competes at medium or medium heavy these days. Been training with him n Sergio daily for last 4 years

[@Deadward1113]

I Like Turtles

[@AlecBaulding]

🐢🐢🐢

[@ThatKenpoGuy]

Really good stuff! I have been testing out some of Telles' game for about a year and find it quite enjoyable. Main snag I have been running into is what to do if your opponent manages to get a rear body lock position. I've ended up spending significant parts of rounds with my opponent just hanging on. I was wondering if perhaps you have any solutions? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[@nastrimarcello]

I invite you to look into priit mihkelson

[@ratking6260]

After learning the octopus guard and the turtle guard from Telle's you enter the level warp and skip your current belt level to jiu jitsu wizard.

[@Mark-mu2or]

Love this🎉

[@AlecBaulding]

Thanks!

[@HumanLiberty]

What about leg locks to counter turtle?

[@AlecBaulding]

No leg locks so far and I've been playing turtle half for a few months

[@ConsciousEntitySound]

I keep thinking about that dude that got paralyzed who was playing turtle. What a freak accident. Has anybody got a good look at that video to figure out what exactly happened? From my perspective, the guy in turtle went to move his head to the other side precisely at the same time the other guy was passing with all his weight to back take. That about sum it up or am I missing something?

[@rodrigorezende5841]

The unfortunate dude was/is a white belt and IMHO he was not "playing turtle", but just hanging in there trying to not get choked. His black belt teacher tried to hit him with a clumsy & rough forward-roll back take.

[@car2rus]

Crusifix works good vs turtle guard

[@moonthorn8525]

Turtle power!!! 🐢 🐢 🐢 🔋 🔋 🔋

[@AlecBaulding]

love this

[@JG-uw3ch]

I don’t know. More like he plays the rules very well. If someone has a seatbelt or on my back and is thrashing me around, but I can’t score points, I guess it’s even but you definitely can’t tell who’s winning.

[@Nova-qn9se]

Just keep oil checking him🎉

[@AlecBaulding]

💀🤣

[@MCJOHNSON95]

3 quarter nelson/darce would be a good threat

[@ragnarb4899]

🐙 master

[@electricjoshaloo]

Some cool counters and reversals but overall just too defensive for me. It's like half guard...some dudes get great at it but most of it is just trying to get back to a neutral position instead of really threatening anything meaningful.

[@billybob1620]

This position will get you killed in a street fight however…. Which is why it’s not emphasized in “traditional” Gracie bjj

[@formdoggie5]

The problem with this: 1) it's "just stand up" jiu-jitsu 2) getting too comfortable with this will get you hurt real bad in an actual fight because, practically -- theyre just going to knee or kick you in the balls. This is a viable option in anything other than a point scoring setting, which means it may as well be a fake martial art taught at a mc dojo.

[@AdolfHitler-pm3lc]

You're entirely removing it from its context. By the same token gi jiu jitsu is a mcdojo art because no one wears a GI out in public. Doesn't really make sense to say there's a problem with it when it is it's own thing. The video is about a discovery or path within *pure jiu jitsu* so yeah of course when you take pure jiu jitsu and put it into not pure jiu jitsu, it stops being the same thing. What's your point with this?

[@formdoggie5]

@AdolfHitler-pm3lc a GI is just a jacket or blazer. Those are worn by almost every man, every day, at some point. There are plenty of tactics that work on them that translate to the real-world in context.

[@AdolfHitler-pm3lc]

@@formdoggie5 That doesn't address any of my other points though. Pure jiu jitsu can still work in the streets due to the fact that in order to explore and develop these sorts of unique technique you need to have a solid understanding of the basics and fundamentals, which do work in the streets

[@formdoggie5]

@AdolfHitler-pm3lc ...that's literally what I'm saying about the jiu-jitsu that isn't this. Which means you wrote all that bullshit just to argue that you agree with me, but feel the need to argue for some nonsensical, inane reason.

[@Blindstoic]

Goodbye knee slice pass.

[@AlecBaulding]

♟️♟️♟️

[@remp1040]

Priit Mihkelson gets overlooked too often in the development of this guard...

[@W1LDtracer]

OCTOPUS

[@AlecBaulding]

🐙🐙🐙

[@difficult_aardvark]

I think "turtle fight" is a better name than "turtle half guard"

[@AlecBaulding]

Nah bro

[@difficult_aardvark]

@AlecBaulding now I am sad turtle 🐢

[@Pifagorass]

One more translates only to BJJ ruleset. So bad to apply in a real fighting... It's like a cat giving belly in surrendering or showing not agressive intent😅

[@tommysoderholm8305]

Turtle guard is a real oxymoron. As it is exposing the neck and back its more of a surrendering/execution position.

[@tommysoderholm8305]

Institutional inbreed. Since you cant strike in bjj it is considered safe. This remains true even for mma since you cant attack the spine or back of the head. Still. The nervecentre controlling heartbeats and breathing is located at the base of the skull.

[@nastrimarcello]

I'd like to show you priit mihkelson.

[@vladx3539]

lots of neck risk

[@gustavomatadamas621]

This is just wrestling scrambling from referees

[@Darko1.0]

That is ridiculous.

[@Kim-f6s7o]

What ever you do don’t buy telles instructionals. Absolute waste of money. World martial arts and judo videos instructional videos are vague and provides very little detail. Buyer beware

[@someman7]

I know "JJ doesn't work in the streets" is a meme, but the turtle guard actually doesn't work in the streets. I feel like it's corrupting the martial art for the sake of sports competition.

[@ineedmore_catvideo]

How is the turtle guard considered a guard? The purpose of the guard is to protect oneself. By turning the back to someone, you're literally doing the opposite of guarding yourself. Every time the guard player turns their back in BJJ, it's an automatic "advantage point" to the opponent... So a turtle guard player is exposing his back, risking losing, so that in the exchange he might be able to get a sweep? That seems crazy.

[@rollinOnCode]

the turtle is da best

[@AlecBaulding]

🐢🐢🐢