Cradle of Filth by Neil Melanson
190 reviews · 4.98 / 5
Neil Melanson · Combo
Tactical Turtle by Neil Melanson has 133 customer reviews in this archive, averaging 4.96 out of 5. 96% are five-star and 0 are one or two stars. Reviews run from April 2, 2021 to July 18, 2026. All of them are published below in full, unedited.
All of Neil’s instructional videos are comprehensive, easy to follow and extremely well done…tactical turtle is no exception! The techniques are highly effective and Neil’s teaching methods are razor sharp! Thanks for another great video!!!
As always Neil convinces. I like his style and the usefullness for MMA.
This instructional has helped me introduce turtle into my game as a relatively safe/opportunistic position. Neil is very thorough in his teaching of the position's concepts and philosophy. I feel like "Tactical Turtle" might also be a good compliment to Craig Jones' "Power Bottom" instructional.
I have most of Neil's instructionals. Every time I find a weakness in my game I buy a new Melanson instructional. Turtle position is where i was getting beat. Black and brown belts would break me down then take my back or submit me from there. After watching this instructional, learning the concepts and drilling the most fundamental moves I can escape turtle or even attack from there. Turtle is often an overlooked position. If your turtle is weak you need this instructional.
Completely changed my concept of the turtle
The turtle is starting to feel better, I used to just fall into it as a last resort - now I attack from it. Big difference :call_me_hand:
This is the future.
Never taught i had so many options from turtle position, trully made my game evolve.
Great instructional. Bottom turtle can **** to be in but Neil provides a lot things to do/ways out.
When I look for instruction videos I look for someone that teaches not only techniques but concepts. If I understand a concept I can apply a bunch of techniques and I can figure those out. All of Neils material is packed with both. Once I started watching his videos my game skyrocketed. Not because I could hit the techniques but I understood the position much better. His ability to deliver information, make it entertaining and give you key points makes it easy to apply on the mat. As Neil would say "stay filthy" and do yourself a favor and pick up any of his videos.
Excellent instructions. I looked forward to more and ordered “Off with your head” by Neil
Tremendous amount of knowledge in here. I love Neil's videos as he makes the lessons applicable to self defence, mma, whatever you need. The sheer volume and quality of instruction in here is a steal of a deal. His sense of humour makes his videos even better to watch haha!
the skills taught are priceless and the jokes are of another world.. if you want to learn from the best and get a good laugh here and there, this is the one!! the whole instructional is practically a sit down comedy with personal experiences and details that will save a life!!
Since studying this dvd series I can't tell you the number of times I've reversed bad positions by going turtle->sucker drag->back take or turtle->block hooks->shuck or single leg sweep. I come from a background of wrestling and Judo, where the turtle position is more commonly seen, and have been training regularly in bjj for over a year now. Neil's various series have been instrumental in helping me translate my grappling game from those other arts into a bjj context.
Neil Melanson is one of the best. The turtle program is awesome and I definitely recommend it. Mike
Absolutely love Tactical Turtle! Like all of his videos straight filth and his trusty side kick Capt *****!!
I’ve always put a great deal into my turtle game, as a lot of the people I grapple with are way bigger than me. For someone that is on the fence getting this instructional, do yourself a favor and get it. Neil goes into so much depth with different techniques and attacks from this position. Looking forward to watching this again and continuing to get better in this area of my game. Only issue now is trying to grow a neck as big as Neil’s.
Neil does an excellent job of breaking down the concepts and mechanics of the turtle position and the various outcomes that could be used. Too often, the turtle position is overlooked because it poses specific problems for exposing your back. NOT THE CASE! I come from a Shooto background, and the turtle is a great opportunity for me. There are a variety of attacks and reversals, and learning to manoeuvre in this position will only improve your grappling. However, keep in mind that this video is not about deliberately putting yourself in the turtle position; rather, it is about playing the position so you can confidently have an answer. I'm still working my way through this series, and I'm learning things I didn't know before.
The most complete turtle dvd around! Not much to say, it's great and It's helping me out a lot! :boom::fire:
This is by far the most in depth video i have ever seen on the turtle position. I have always liked to play turtle and was able to immediately add so many of these techniques to my game but there is so much information presented ill be studying this for years. Coach Neil shows techniques ranging from beginner to advanced and situations from bjj mma and wrestling. Even if turtle is not your game if you train long enough you will end up there and this is a chance to turn it into a secret weapon
Ancient cultures spoke of the whole world existing on the back of a turtle. Well some of the worlds top quantum physicists believe that all of American jiu jitsu just may actually exist on Neil Melansons back. Allegedly. So do yourself a favor and study from the best, brothers and sisters!
If you haven’t done your research into who Neil Melanson is, you should. He understands turtle from a very unique perspective and level of depth due to his background that few, if any, could rival. I purchased this instructional to prevent myself from a feeling of helplessness and lack of direction when I found myself in this position. Neil has a very technical approach into how you should play the position based off of your opponent, making a very daunting position feel like clockwork. As with all of his instructionals, there is no ‘fat’ or techniques that are questionable. They are solid and formed through his immense experience. On top of that, he is a constantly engaging instructor that you would find difficult to be bored by.
Neil is above and beyond the best instructor on BJJ Fanatics IMO... He’s the best at breaking down techniques and he’s the easiest to retain. The week I bought this, we happened to be drilling turtle at my academy. I didn’t even get through two volumes and my turtle was infinitely better and it cleaned up my single leg sweep bc I’d been slipping for a bit. Everything Neil teaches is different from every instructor on here but his techniques are legit and I become a better grappler when I study him. Looking forward to his oil check instructional
Neil has been and always will be ahead of the game. If you arent real familiar with his stuff before you may be under the impression that his techniques are based on strength and size, but it isnt true. The tactical turtle is his most in depth instructional yet and some say it will put hair on your back after just the 1st 7 minutes. As usual his approach is unique and battle tested and as usual, implementing his style will have you dominating the mat. All joking aside, each of his techniques are clearly explained, simple to add to your game, conceptual in a way that can be utilized in different ways, and most importantly will work no matter your size, flexibility or athleticism. Not to mention are different than the way you or your opponents are used to learning. Why are you still reading this? Just buy the set!
Coach Neil does it again. This is great to see the transition from a defense to a cycle of offense from the turtle. Having most of Neil’s instructionals, you can see how/where this fits into his system. You need this in your game.
190 reviews · 4.98 / 5
123 reviews · 4.97 / 5
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96 reviews · 5.0 / 5
91 reviews · 4.97 / 5
Every number on this page is computed from the 133 reviews above at build time, out of 87,673 in the full archive. See the methodology for how the corpus is collected and what is excluded.