The omoplata is a BJJ submission. It’s a shoulder lock using your lower body.

Think of it like a “hip kimura.” It’s like a kimura, but instead of using your arms to attack the shoulder, you’re using your hips and legs.

It’s typically thought of as a gi submission, although it can also be done in no-gi.

When I was a white belt, the omoplata looked like magic.

But once I got my blue belt — and advanced to purple belt — the omoplata started making more sense.

In this article, I’ll break down the omoplata in 6 simple steps so you can start hitting it in class.

Omoplata: Table Of Contents

• How To Do The Omoplata Submission
• How To Improve Your Omoplata Technique
• How to Defend The Omoplata
• Takeaway Thoughts

How To Do The Omoplata

The omoplata is typically done from the guard position.

In this section (and video below), I’ll share the closed guard setup that helped me start using it in live rolling. 

There are hundreds of different ways to set up the omoplata. But this was the sequence that worked best for me on the mats.

Step 1. Arm Drag

From closed guard, break your opponent’s posture and arm drag them.

This gives you access to the side of their body.

TIP: Anytime you are in the guard position and you have an underhook, you can attack with the omoplata.

Step 2. Spin Your Legs 180°

Keeping control of the arm — and by reaching your other arm underneath their leg — spin your legs 180° so they are pointing the same direction as the top player’s head.

This allows you to triangle your legs and capture their shoulder in a compromised position.

Step 3. Move Their Elbow Across

If their arm is draped across your belt line, move it across your hip.

Make sure their arm and elbow are bent towards themselves and not draped over your far side hip.

This puts their shoulder in an even more compromised position so you can start to prepare for the shoulder lock.

Step 4. Build Up Onto Your Elbow

Using your abs, do a crunch and build up to your elbow, and then your hand.

This will help you become more mobile and able to move.

TIP: Keep your other arm over their hip so that they cannot roll out of the position.

Step 5. Flatten Them

Move out to the side in small steps to flatten your opponent.

The closer they are to being flat on their stomach, the easier it will be to apply and finish the submission.

Step 6. Raise Your Hips For The Finish

Once your opponent is relatively flat, start to lift your hips.

Make it even tighter by reaching for a seatbelt grip over their shoulder and neck.

Doing so will get the tap.

TIP: Once you get the tap, be careful taking apart the omoplata. You have your training partner in a compromised position, and you could easily hurt them if you try to rush out of it. Slowly straighten your legs and move your hips back, allowing them to free their arm safely.

How To Improve Your Omoplata Technique

1. Use The Omoplata As A Sweep

Don’t just think of the omoplata as a submission. It’s also a powerful sweep.

A sweep is where you go from a bottom position to a top position.

In the first few steps for the omoplata, you’re essentially sweeping the opponent from bottom closed guard to a top omoplata position.

Of course, you can go for the omoplata submission from here.

But you can also go for a choke or a back-take from this position.

When you think of the omoplata as more than just a submission, you’ll go for it more.

You’ll have multiple options from the omoplata position, making it a more deadly overall attack.

2. Improve Your Triangle Choke

If you want to get good at the omoplata choke, get good at the triangle choke.

Why?

Because every triangle can lead to an omoplata.

Think about it: if you have your opponent in a triangle, you have one of their arms already locked up.

It’s easy to transition from the triangle position to the omoplata position from here, like so:

So the better you get at triangles, the more omoplata opportunities you’ll have. 

If they defend your triangle, you’ll transition to the omoplata and attack their shoulder instead of their neck.

Getting your blue belt and purple belt is all about developing combinations.

And combining the omoplata, triangle, and armbar is one of the classic combos from closed guard.

3. Use Specific Training For Your Omoplata

If you want to get better at the omoplata, you have to practice the omoplata.

Here’s a challenge for you: in your next class, make it your focus during each roll to hit an omoplata.

Trying to hit specific moves during sparring is called “specific training” — and it’s how Gordon Ryan masters submissions.

Then, after class, write down in your BJJ journal…

1. What worked (example: “During one roll, I was able to hit the sweep, get on top, and finish the omoplata.” )
2. What didn’t work (example: “During another roll, my training partner was able to roll out of my omoplata.”)
3. Questions or notes for next class (example: “Ask coach how to prevent my training partner from rolling once I get into the omoplata position.”)

If you need, ask your training partners if you can start from the bottom closed guard position. This will make specifically training the omoplata much easier.

Do this for 4 weeks, and I guarantee you’ll get much better at the omoplata.

NOTE: I teach this specific training and journaling process in my BJJ Journal Of Champions Course.

And if you’re looking for additional resources to improve your omoplata, check out Stephan Kestings’ Omoplata 2.0 instructional.

Rob Biernacki also has some excellent footage of him hitting the omoplata in competition — in no-gi!

How To Defend The Omoplata

Another way to get better at the omoplata is by learning how to defend it.

You want to prevent the bottom player from getting the grips and angle to set up the omoplata in the first place.

But if they start to set it up on you, here’s how you get out.

You’ll defend the omoplata in 3 different stages: early, middle, and late-stage.

1. Early-Stage Omoplata Defense

A good early-stage defense is to put your knee on the top player’s stomach. So right as soon as they spin their legs — but their back is still flat — you should have enough mobility to prevent them from building up and attacking. Limp arm out and you’re free.

2. Mid-Stage Omoplata Defense

The most obvious mid-stage defense is to do a shoulder roll using the shoulder that is trapped. You’ll use this escape if they have started to build up on their elbow, but they haven’t yet put their arm over your hip to prevent you from rolling.

3. Late-Stage Omoplata Defense

The late-stage defense to the omoplata is where they have built up on their elbow AND are grabbing your hip to prevent the roll. From here, you want to reach your free arm across their hip, and roll over your shoulder to sweep them over. You’ll end up in a scramble, but they’ll no longer have an omoplata submission.

Takeaway Thoughts

When you first see the omoplata, it looks ridiculously complex.

But when you break it down into simple steps, it’s an excellent attack from the guard.

Using it when your triangle or armbar fails from the guard is one of the first combinations I learned as a beginner belt.

Do you like or dislike the omoplata? What works or hasn’t worked for you with this submission?

And if you hit it this week in class, leave a comment and let me know!

The omoplata doesn’t get enough love. Let’s change that.

Happy rolling. 🤙

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Tsavo Neal

Tsavo is the founder of BJJ Equipment, author of BJJ For Beginners, creator of the BJJ Missions app, and a brown belt instructor at InFighting. He launched BJJ Equipment to help grapplers at every belt level train smarter, make faster progress, and find the best gear for their game.