The gogoplata is a choke from the guard in which your shin lies across your partner's throat and your hands pull their head down onto it. It comes out of a high guard with one leg across the back of the neck, the position now called the rubber guard.
- In BJJ: a rubber guard and high guard attack; BJJ Heroes calls the gogoplata choke a creation of Nino Schembri.
- In MMA: BJJ Heroes records Schembri's gogoplata attempt against Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride in 2004 as the first in a mainstream event.
- Needs: flexible hips. Players who cannot bring a foot to their own chest should start with the omoplata.
What the gogoplata is
The gogoplata and the omoplata start from the same place, a leg over the shoulder, and go different ways: the omoplata attacks the shoulder with your hamstring, the gogoplata attacks the throat with your shin. The foot is pulled across the front of the neck so the shin bone sits under the chin, and the choke closes when you pull the head down toward the shin.
How to do the gogoplata correctly
- Break the posture. From closed guard, pull their head down and get one leg high on their back, the knee near their shoulder.
- Bring the shin across. Grab your own shin or ankle with the hand on the same side and pull the foot across the front of their neck, so the shin lies under the chin.
- Hook the foot. Reach the foot toward the far side of their neck and, if you can, hook the toes under their far armpit or behind the shoulder.
- Clasp behind the head. Put both hands behind their head, fingers interlocked, forearms on their shoulders.
- Pull down slowly. Draw the head down onto your shin and push your hips up a little, until they tap.
The common mistake is pulling the head down before the shin is across the throat, which gives a crank on the face and nothing else. Set the shin, then pull. The shin is a hard bone on a soft throat, so apply the pull slowly and release at the first tap.
Where it fits
The gogoplata is a finishing option inside a bigger guard system: if they posture up against it you have the omoplata, if they drive in you have the triangle. Treat it as the surprise, with the two older attacks as the plan. Spats and rash guards that let the shin slide across are in our BJJ training gear.
Related terms
Rubber guard, Omoplata, Triangle choke, Closed guard, Chokes.