Fix Your Omoplata Now with Alec Baulding!

Do You Have Trouble Setting Up the Omoplata?

Throughout our time as a BJJ practitioners we will be exposed to many different methods of gripping our opponents. There are hundreds of different ways to maintain our control over our opponents, may of them in the form of different grip sets. We use different grips to control different parts of the body and depending on our preferences, these will vary, and may change as you further develop your game. One of the most common combination of grips is the collar sleeve gripping configuration. This classic pair of grips offers us good control over our partners posture and provides us with the chance to stay connected and create opportunities. 

When I was just starting out BJJ, this was my absolute “go to” in the gi. I remember learning the scissor sweep, as many of us do, and feeling that I enjoyed the security of this particular combo of grips. I began to use it all the time and it became my favored form of griping. I found I could maintain it and use it for a variety of attacks, transitions, and reversals. I developed other interests as far as grips go over the course of the next several years, but I still find myself returning to the collar and sleeve very frequently during training. 

We can launch quite a few attacks using the collar and sleeve set up. The options are endless with this nifty pairing. The grips can also be used in tandem with different guards. Today we will look at acquiring an omoplata from the open guard using the collar and sleeve grip. Alec Baulding will be guiding us through the set-up process today and he has some great details for you to look over! Have a look at this video! 

 

 

In this particular setting, Baulding’s partner is standing. As he sets up the grips, Baulding advises us to keep the configuration on one side of the body. Here he grips his partners right lapel, right sleeve, and tightens it all up by placing his foot on his partner’s right hip. All of these elements together create great control and assist Baulding in staying connected. 

Don’t get lazy with that opposite side foot! As Baulding explains, this foot is responsible for pushing out partner and keeping them at a distance. Baulding plants this foot on his partner’s shoulder and uses it as a means to push and twist his partner’s body. Be sure to keep this foot in your peripheral as you begin to attack and progress. If your partner is able to pommel to the inside of this leg and control it, this can be problematic to our plans. If the passer gains inside control we must answer by pommeling and regaining it for ourselves. Don’t take your eyes off of that situation!

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With so much pull and control over his partner’s right side, it makes sense for Baulding to begin his attacks there. First, hell need to create some space between his partners elbow and knee so that he can begin to attack the arm. This is not easy to force on a bigger stronger opponent, so proper technique is a must. To open this gap, Baulding pushes his partners far knee away, causing him to spread out his base. This also creates an opening in that elbow knee area. Baulding takes advantage of this moment and pulls the sleeve a bit. He then turns, angles, bends his knee, and bites with his leg, positioning himself to attack the omoplata. 

There’s a very critical point here where we can easily lose the submission. If we allow our partners knee to enter the fold and make contact with our body, they may be able to create enough separation to force us to give up the submission. Here, Baulding feeds his arm through in between himself and his partners leg, reaching up toward his partners back to fill up this pocket of space. This helps to ensure that his partner doesn’t claim this space for himself and takes away the ability for his partner to post on him with the knee. This may be a trouble spot for many of us. Keep this detail in mind.

With the leg blocked and the space that Baulding needs to continue safely, he can now sit up and reach over his partner’s back, securing a grip, to begin the next phase of the technique. From here Baulding suggests that we point our legs straight out in front ourselves. I’ve found that this works very good for me as well. If I cross my ankles and extend my legs It drives weight forward making our partner’s head become very heavy. This makes it incredibly difficult to regain posture and begin dismantling the position. 

Another important detail to take note of here, is that Baulding keeps control of the collar throughout the sequence. Doing so will give him the best chance possible of controlling his partner’s posture through the completion of the first part of the technique. We all know that posture is the enemy of so many of our efforts to attack. We need all the help we can get when it comes to controlling his important aspect of our attacking sequences. 

Baulding ends this one at the acquisition of the limb and leaves the finish as a cliffhanger to be viewed at a different date. The omoplata is definitely a multiple step submission. It usually takes up an entire class period discussing the inner workings of the technique. There are so many things that can go wrong through the sequence that its probably best we get the acquisition down first and then continue on with the actual submission itself. So, we will wait impatiently for Baulding to release the rest of the details on this one! Ill be sure to cover it when it surfaces so we can see how Baulding prefers to finish. 

The omoplata is very versatile. It has so many transitional properties that just the set up alone can be used as a position unto itself. It’s a fantastic transitional platform. It can be used to sweep, acquire other submissions, transition, enter in tot eh legs, and a whole host of other interesting utilities. Understanding the omoplata’s early stages and how to maintain them can be a fantastica addition to anyone’s game. 

I hope you enjoyed the details here and that you can employ them to add some worth in to your own study of this incredibly adaptable submission. Good luck! 

Alec Baulding teaches the UNTEACHABLE in Keeping The Guard! Keeping and maintaining the guard is one of the deciding factors in MOST MATCHES! Stop your guard from getting passed and if it does....GET IT BACK! Keeping The Guard By Alec Baulding Has you COVERED!

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