The omoplata is one of my very favorite attacks and submissions (hey, it was the subject of my first instructional after all).
You can hit it from almost any position, and finish it in a huge number of different ways.
But just as with any successful attack there are a lot of counters your opponent can use, and you need to know how to react to those counters.
One of the most common counters is for your opponent to launch himself into a wild somersault. This takes the pressure off his shoulder and opens up space which he can potentially use to scramble free.
One of the nicest ways to shut this counter down and finish him was shown to me by my friend (and black belt no gi BJJ world champion) Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins.
Countering the Rolling Omoplata Escape in Step-by-Step Video
Here’s the detailed video by Brandon showing the counter to the rolling omoplata escape. At the very end of the video there are two demonstrations at competition speed…
Countering the Rolling Omoplata Escape in Step-by-Step Pictures
Let’s look at the same technique in a series of 12 pictures…
1 – You have the omoplata, but your opponent is still on his knees which gives him some mobility
2 – Your opponent does a forward somersault to take the pressure off his shoulder
3 – Come forward, tuck your head to the outside and begin your own roll
4 – Roll through until you’re on your back
5 – Your hand coming through his far armpit controls his arm, preventing him from turning into you
6 – Control his arm that is trapped between your legs at the elbow with your other arm
7 – Controlling his elbow allows you to unlock your legs. Base your foot on the ground and then move it away from him
8 – Now shrimp your hips away to stretch him out backwards. Repeat steps 7 and 8 as many times as necessary
9 Straighten the leg that’s entrapping his arm and raise it up to the ceiling
10 – Kick that leg down to create the momentum to flatten him out and to allow you to sit up
11 – Maintain control of his far arm and move your elbow onto his back. This control together with the fact that he’s flattened out and no longer on his knees makes it impossible for him to roll again
12 – Lean forward to finish the omoplata
Three Ways to Flatten An Opponent in the Omoplata
As we saw in the technique above, if your opponent is on his knees then he’s more mobile.
On his knees he’s more mobile, meaning he can somersault, cartwheel, and scramble much more easily. It’s also much harder to generate pressure on his shoulder.
So ideally in the omoplata you want to get him flat on his belly where he’s much easier to finish.
Here are 3 of my favorite ways to break him down flat if he doesn’t roll like he did in the technique above…
How to Figure Out the Different ‘Platas’ (Omoplata, Marceloplata, Baratoplata)
There are a whole series of techniques ending in ‘plata’ that can get confusing, including the omoplata, the marceloplata, and the baratoplata.
Here’s a primer on how those techniques are different and also how to do them each properly….
More of Brandon Mullins’ Best Techniques
If you found this excerpt useful, then you might be interested in the 5 volume best-selling instructional set that we took it from. It’s called ‘How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent, Series 2‘
It’s available in DVD, online streaming and app form.
This instructional features the comprehensive gameplans and competition-proven techniques of 2 x world champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins. Click here for more information about this set.
