Maintaing pressure on an opponent by focusing your weight is a broad and important skill for every grappler to master. One position that offers a great case study is the Turtle Position. When your opponent turtles, they expose their precious back, but deny you the means of control necessary to attack (such as the seatbelt or hooks). In order to expose their limbs or neck, you have to control their body and open up the turtle position. The first step to achieving this is often applying accurate pressure in downward and outward direction that pins the opponent and restricts their ability to move. Precise application of weight/pressure is also useful for detecting your opponent's moves and getting an early warning for what his next move could be. From here, you have 3 plans of action: block, follow, and divert. You can block specific moves that your opponent attempts, either to retain position or to force others; you can follow your opponent as he/she makes certain moves and be one step ahead, thus getting positional superiority; or you can divert your opponent, and redirect their momentum or mass into a position that favors you. In the video above, head coach Eran Bert demonstrates a solo drill using a medicine ball that will improve your ability to apply, maintain, and shift your weight on a turtled opponent. In our next video, we'll show how this translates in real sparring.
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