This step-by-step guide is designed for you to quickly incorporate the omoplata into your game and build a solid foundation for more advanced omoplata techniques.
The omoplata is an incredibly versatile technique in jiu-jitsu that serves as a submission, a sweep, and a setup for other sweeps and submissions.
Fundamentally it uses your legs to force your opponent’s arm behind his back into a Kimura-style shoulder lock. Depending on your opponent’s reactions and your preferences, this basic submission can lead into a huge number of other armlocks, chokes and leglocks finishes, as well as a number of very powerful guard sweeps to get you to the top position.
By the end of this guide you’ll have several high-percentage entries to the omoplata, the mechanics of the basic submission finish, know how to use this attack as a sweep, be able to do the most common escape and know how to counter it, and be aware of how to develop your omoplata skills further.
Part 1: Closed Guard Overhook to Omoplata Submission
This first sequence gives you a very high percentage omoplata entry that works in gi and no gi.
It will also teach you the most fundamental way of breaking down your opponent’s alignment to make him vulnerable, and then exactly how to finish the actual submission.
It’s probably the most important omoplata sequence you can learn…
Critical Steps for the Closed Guard Overhook to Omoplata Submission
- From closed guard, get his hands off your body
- Pull in with your knees and secure his right arm with your left overhook
- Place your left foot on the ground and escape your hips to the left to create an angle
- Push his left wrist down with your right hand, and draw your right knee up towards your chest to threaten the triangle choke
- When he blocks the triangle choke, stiffarm his head with your right arm, then replace your right hand with your left foot
- Sit up on your right elbow, bring your left arm over his back and grip his far hip
- Sit up fully and extend both feet forwards in front of you
- Scoot your hips to the right to break your opponent down
- Swing both your feet to the right to achieve the 90/90 position (i.e. both knees are bent at 90 degrees)
- Secure an over-under grip with your right arm coming over his near shoulder and your left arm coming under his far armpit
- Finish the omoplata by driving forward on your feet and raising your hips
Part 2: Cross-Grip Omoplata Sweep
This sequence pairs a different high percentage omoplata entry with a very powerful and commonly used sweep.
In this sequence you’ll also be introduced to the sitting on shoulder position which is a critical intermediary position for controlling scrambles and for mastering advanced omoplata techniques.
If you train in the gi this technique is a must, but even if you only train no gi then it’s still worth studying; although you might use a different entry in no gi the sweeping portion of this move is still directly relevant to you!
Critical Steps for the Cross-Grip Omoplata Sweep
- From closed guard secure a crossgrip on his left sleeve with you left hand
- Underhook his left leg with your right arm, palm up
- Bring your left knee over his right arm and against his right shoulder
- Kick both legs past his head and spike him flat to the ground
- Hug his left leg with your right arm and roll away from him, pulling him over top of you
- Sit up on his shoulder, keeping his left arm trapped between your right calf and hamstring and block his hip with your right forearm
- Drop your right elbow into his right armpit, straighten both your legs, and slide to side control
Part 3: Breaking Alignment to Finish the Omoplata
Many people find getting to the omoplata is relatively easy but then struggle to actually apply the finish and get the tap.
These finishing problems are almost always due to a failure to break their opponent’s alignment and flattening him out before attempting the finish. So long as he’s in a tight turtle he’ll be able to move, resist, and try to escape, so you have to flatten him out BEFORE going for the finish!
There are many ways to flatten out your opponent in the omoplata, but here are three of the easiest methods to get you started…
Three Alignment Breaks to Finish the Omoplata
2:00 Sit up and pull your opponent sideways with your near hand
3:25 Sit up and pull your opponent sideways with your far hand
4:10 Kick and one-armed shoulder press
Part 4: The Roll Escape and How to Shut it Down
As with all submissions, there are many escapes, defenses and counters that desperate opponents will employ. And eventually you’ll need to learn how to counter them all.
The most instinctive omoplata escape is the forward roll. This makes sense; you’re forcing someone’s arm behind their back, so they do a forward roll to unwind the position, relieve the pressure, and create room for a scramble.
Fortunately there are good solutions to someone trying to escape your hardwon submission like this…
The Roll and Four Counters to Shut it Down
0:00 How to do the forward roll escape properly
0:53 How to counterattack from the forward roll
2:02 Recounter number 1, follow to the top
2:41 Recounter number 2, follow to the top and biceps slicer
4:17 Recounter number 3, sitting on shoulder position
5:00 Recounter number 4, follow and re-roll
Part 5: How to Go Further with the Omoplata
I wanted to give you enough to give you a solid start on the omoplata and not so much as to overwhelm you but there’s a LOT more to the omoplata.
To truly master this position you’ll need…
Entries. There are a TON more ways to get into this submission. To make this submission a threat from everywhere you’ll need to learn more entries from the guard but also the highly effective entries you can hit from the top position and during scrambles.
Alternate Finishes. There are many other finishes to the omoplata including chokes, straight armlocks, wristlocks, kneebars and footlocks. Having a variety of finishing choices keeps your opponents guessing and on the run.
Sweeps and Transitions. The omoplata is much more than a submission; it’s also a sweeping and back-taking system. Sometimes you’ll make a conscious decision to use these transitions, and sometimes these transitions will be forced upon you by your opponent doing something weird. Either way, you need to be ready for whatever happens.
Counters and Recounters. No opponent will calmly accept a submission without fighting it, instead they’ll twist, turn, jump, spin, somersault, stall and slither to get out. There are good answers to all of these counters but you need to have thought about them in advance.
An excellent resource to master the omoplata (and learn everything just mentioned above) is the Omoplata 2.0 instructional that I’ve released in streaming, DVD, and app-based format.
Here’s a 54 second preview of what that instructional looks like…
In the full instructional (5 DVDs and 7 volumes of material) you’ll learn my complete system for making this attack a cornerstone of your game.
This instructional contains more than 182 techniques, including…
- Over 41 effective setups and entries for the omoplata from every position
- 15 counters to the omoplata
- 70 counters and followups to use when our opponent tries to escape
- Techniques that work with and without the gi
- The strategies that connect all these moves together and make them easy to remember
- Drills and developmental exercises to make the techniques natural and instinctive
- And much more…
This material is organized systematically to make it as fast and easy to learn as possible, allowing you to tap more people out right away.
Click here to check out Omoplata 2.0!
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