The ‘Domoplata’ is a mounted shin choke (Gogoplata) named after Marcelo Garcia black belt Dominyka Obelenyte, the 2015 female black belt world champion (weight & absolute) who is well known for her use of this attack.
At first glance the Domoplata may appear to be unnecessarily complicated when compared to other mounted submissions due to the numerous positional adjustments involved in its setup. This relatively high level of intricacy can seem overwhelming and may even lead one to the conclusion that the attack is impractical or unrealistic.
However, given the fact that one of the world’s best female grapplers is frequently able to apply this technique against male and female opponents of the highest calibre, as students of BJJ it is important that we look deeper into the details of the technique so that we can begin to understand why it is so effective despite its complexity.
One of the most common mistakes committed by lower belts when in an attacking position such as mount is to rush to the submission attempt before first negating their opponent’s ability to escape. For example, they will attempt an Ezekiel choke without first establishing a grapevine to control their opponent’s hips and be easily reversed by a basic bridge and roll; Or they will recklessly fall back for an armbar without first dominating the armpit, and find themselves on their back with nothing but an unsubmittable forearm in their crotch and a relieved opponent on top of them.
In contrast, advanced grapplers understand that although attacking positions generally guarantee our safety from the risk of submission, against skilled opponents these positions must typically be further developed in order for us to safely attack our opponent without the risk of allowing an escape or reversal.
With this concept in mind we should observe that, in isolation, every step of the Domoplata setup stands as a relatively achievable and maintainable development of our mounted position. Therefore, we should not view the Domoplata as one big exotic move but as a series of small conservative moves that will enable us to transition safely into a dominating finishing position.