Omoplata From Half Guard…Your Opponent Won’t See It Coming!
Posted by Corey Kuropas on
The half guard is known as a position ripe with sweeping techniques. And while the sweeps are the bread and butter of the half guard, there are submission techniques that should not be forgotten. One of those oft forgotten techniques is the omoplata. The omoplata is a great technique. You can use it to submit your opponent, you can use it to sweep and you can use it to set up other submissions. Since it has multiple uses, it is a submission that you should go for whenever you can. Your opponent won’t see it coming! Let’s check it out…
Let’s say you’re playing from the half guard position, but make one crucial mistake. You accidentally let your opponent gain the under hook. This normally would be a bad thing, but in this case, not all is lost. You are blocking the cross face with your other arm, so you’re not completely defeated from the half guard. This is the prime time to hit the omoplata. Escape your hips out, and use your left hand to push your opponent’s head (on the back, by the crown) to the mat. This will control his posture and also help you further avoid the cross face. Bring your left leg, which is the top leg up and stomp your foot to the opponent’s hip. Then bring your left knee down onto his left shoulder and clamp down.
Scoot your hips and legs out from underneath him, and use your arm closest to his hip to grab his belt and pull it down. This will prevent him from rolling over his shoulder to escape. Zig zag your legs, with your knees on the mat. Then lean forward then on a 45 degree angle to finish. In the video, Kurt shows a slightly different finish, but the particular finish is whatever you feel most comfortable going for.
The omoplata from half can be a really awesome submission. Just as I mentioned earlier, no one is really worried about the omoplata from there. Everyone is concerned about the sweep potential, so therefore the submission potential becomes greater. Your half guard needs to be top notch, even at the lower belt levels. You do not want to be the guy that has no clue about how to fight out of half guard. You want to be a killer from everywhere and that includes half. Bernardo Faria has released an amazing, detailed DVD set all about the position. Check out…
The Battle Tested Half Guard by Bernardo Faria. Click here!
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