Get On Board With The Monoplata With JT Torres

Posted by Fanatics Authors on January 13, 2020

Is the monoplata on your radar? This black sheep submission isn’t quite as common as some of our traditional methods of commanding the tap, but make no mistake, it is highly effective and applicable in many settings. Many times, coming to fruition from a failed triangle attempt or from working in a similar area, the monoplata employs the legs as a means to attack a kimura type shoulder lock. This might be appealing to you, as the legs will always be much stronger than your upper body limbs and offer an exceptional level of power when you’re attempting to finish the shoulder lock.

The triangle can be a struggle for some. Especially if you have short legs or if the body types in a grappling encounter don’t favor the submission. But this does leave us without options. The monoplata may be the perfect answer to your struggles with the triangle.

JT Torres has been had at work, compiling material for several instructional videos with BJJ Fanatics. Over the past few years Torres has remained relatively quiet, spending time with his students at his own academy, Essential BJJ, and then surfaces to remind everyone just how truly incredibly his level of jiu-jitsu proficiency is. he’s claimed gold at the last two ADCC world championships (2017, 2019), demonstrating his high level of skill and creating what could easily be referred to as art, on the competition mat. Check out Torres’ Instagram or look him up on any internet platform and you’ll be treated to some great footage of his masterful movement and jaw dropping athleticism. Torres is a phenomenal competitor with a razor-sharp game, unshakeable composure, and soon we’ll all be getting an inside look at what he has been up to in the BJJ laboratory.

These instructional may already be available by the time you’re reading this, so head to the BJJ Fanatics online store after you’re finished reading and check them out. In the meantime, let’s take a look at a little sample from Torres. Here, we have some instruction on the monoplata. If you’ve never had any experience with this technique, you need to see this. It’s cleared up a lot of dark spots for me and helped me to understand this particular move a bit better. You’ll enjoy Torres’ detailed instruction and presentation of the technique. Check it out!

Torres begins his instruction from the closed guard. We all know that it’s important to begin breaking down our partner’s posture from the bottom. This is made clear to us, very early in our training and remains a staple of closed guard attacking throughout our career. Its refreshing to see that Torres isn’t doing anything overly complicated or tricky here. Like the rest of us, he swims his hands and jockeys for the inside track to gain control over the head and being his partner closer to him. If he can’t go under the arms, he simply cups the hands and pulls them down to his sides while simultaneously pulling his knees forward, breaking his partner down.

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Onces he’s gained control over the posture, he then cups the biceps, controlling the inside track. From here he begins to secure the head and follows a simple rule. Whichever hand controls the head, he will hip out to that came side. Pretty simple so far right? Let’s keep going.

After the hip escape, Torres then brings his bottom shin to his partner’s bicep area and then re locks his guard to continue marinating his partners posture. Securing the wrist, Torres now uses a thrust of his hips to create space between him and his partner. AS this occurs, and his partner begins to come back to reclaim this space, Torres pushes the hand into the space between his legs and secures a triangle setup position. As his left leg loops over the top, Torres runs the leg the length of his partners spine and then plants his other leg on top, creating heaviness in his lower half and solidifying the position.

You’ve probably experienced the reaction here. Torres’ partner loops his hands around the backside of his body, creating a tight circle, which makes the triangle very tough to finish, but Torres has a plan.

First, he lifts his hips to expose his partners elbow and reaches across his body, gripping the elbow with his hand. You can also double up here and bring your other hand in tot eh mix to help. With the elbow tight to his hip, Torres unlocks his legs, bites down hard with the top leg and places his right foot on the hip. Almost like you’re about to attack a basic arm bar. As Torres shoulder walks backward, he forces his partner to relinquish his grip and the hands separate. With the grip broken, Torres transitions his right foot from the hip to his partners lat muscle and then pinches his knees together, creating an immense amount of pressure and forcing the tap.

This is an awesome option and a great alternative to the triangle. With limited movement we can switch gears from triangle to monoplata very easily and secure this vicious shoulder lock. This is quite a bit different that most monoplatas I’ve seen and it makes me very interested to see what other innovations Torres has in store for us!