BJJ position
De La Riva
De La Riva guard is an open guard where the bottom player wraps one leg around the outside of the opponent's lead leg, hooking the foot inside the thigh, while gripping the ankle and a sleeve or collar. It is named after Ricardo De La Riva, who made it famous. The hook gives strong control of a standing opponent and opens up sweeps, back takes and berimbolos. The passer's job is to kill the hook, by stepping back, pinning the knee or pushing the hook down, before passing around the legs.
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If you're on the bottom
- Hook the lead leg deeply and grip the same-side ankle
- Control the upper body with a sleeve, collar or belt grip
- Off-balance the opponent and sweep, or invert to take the back
If you're on top
- Kill the hook by pinning the knee or stepping back
- Keep your lead knee pointing out so the hook can't turn you
- Pass to the side away from the hook
Key details
- Keep the hook tight around the leg and your knee pointing out
- The ankle grip stops the opponent stepping back to break the hook
- Use the free foot on the hip or the far knee to manage distance
- Reverse De La Riva is the option when the passer pushes the knee inside
Common mistakes
- A shallow hook that slides off the moment the passer moves
- Holding the ankle without upper-body control
- On top: leaving your lead foot planted while you push on the hook
Techniques from de la riva
In the BJJ Navigator library, each with a video clip.
Berimbolo transition, bottomFootball test guard pass, top
Related positions
Add de la riva to your map
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