The omoplata is one of my very favourite techniques – it’s a submission, a sweep, and a setup for other sweeps and submissions. That’s why I’ve got a ton of articles about this technique on Grappearts!
But much as I love the omoplata I absolutely HATE getting caught in it myself.
I want to show you my favourite omoplata escapes right now…
First of all though, let’s talk about the forward roll as a counter to the omoplata.
A lot of people will just hurl themselves into a forward somersault, which is an OK-but-not-great counter.
Often you’ll get out of the submission but almost always your opponent will sit up, come forward, and you’ll end up on the bottom of sidemount.
And even worse, if your opponent is more skilled, you’ll get caught in moves like this advanced omoplata finish which is downright catastrophic!
So the trick is not somersault!
Your opponent wants to force your near shoulder down to the ground and flatten you out. This is the technically correct thing for him to do and it’s what I shoot for when I’ve got someone in the omoplata too (here are some ways to flatten out your opponent in the omoplata).
To escape the submission, before you get forced flat you drop your far shoulder to the mat, look towards his butt, and spin out on your near shoulder.
The movement essentially looks like a hitchhiker armbar escape run in reverse.
In addition to allowing you to escape the omoplata this move also (usually) allows you to come up on top inside your opponent’s guard, which is a much better proposition than ending up on the bottom of side control as typically happens when you just somersault out.
This technique is super powerful and has saved my butt against good opponents numerous times!
Check it out below – I show the move, and then take you through how it’s essentially a hitchhiker escape run in reverse.
Cheers,
Stephan Kesting
P.S. Check out A Step-by-Step System for Mastering the Omoplata, the Most Versatile Submission in Jiu-Jitsu. This instructional is my super-detailed breakdown of one of my very favorite submissions.
Click here to check out the Omoplata 2.0 instructional.
P.P.S. If you’re new to jiu-jitsu and don’t know an omoplata from a flying armbar then make sure to download my free PDF called ‘A Roadmap for BJJ‘.
It’ll take you through all the basic positions and fundamental techniques.
Download it for free here and I promise that BJJ and grappling will immediately start making a LOT more sense to you!
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