The de la Riva guard was initially created by and popularised by Ricardo de la Riva, but in the past few years it has exploded in popularity.
Many world titles have been won entirely due to the competitor’s skill in the de la Riva guard position. And that’s because of a couple of things…
First of all, if done correctly it offers an extraordinary level of control over your opponent, shutting down many of the most popular guard passes and making it very hard for him to simply ‘run around’ your legs.
Secondly the de la Riva guard allows you to attack with a very large arsenal, including sweeps, back takes, chokes, armlocks and leglocks.
So it’s a very versatile position. Let’s take a look at what exactly the de la Riva guard is and how to execute it correctly.
The de la Riva guard is mostly used against standing opponents (although it can also be used very effectively when an opponent is kneeling with one leg up, in a position sometimes referred to as ‘combat base’).
The person on the bottom typically uses one hand to control the ankle of his opponent’s leading leg. This prevents the top man from easily walking away or disengaging his leg as the first step in passing the guard.
The bottom player then wraps the same side leg around the outside of that same leading leg.
The bottom player can then use his free arm and leg (his right arm and leg int he photo above) to push, pull, and control other locations on the body. It is the positioning of these other limbs that determines what the particular sweep and submission options are from the bottom at any given time.
There are a lot of nuances to this position, and little adjustments in grip can end up making big differences!
In the video below BJJ world champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ answers both the WHAT and the WHEN of the de la Riva guard for you.
You’ll find out how to apply the de la Riva correctly, even if you’re dealing with some man-monster who has treestumps for legs…
You’ll learn what situations you should immediately trigger you to unleash the de la Riva guard on your opponent…
Brandon will teach you the step-by-step sequence for getting into the perfect de la Riva guard starting from both unattached open guard and from a tight closed guard…
Get the de la Riva guard right, right from the start. Check out the video below:
P.S. This video is an excerpt from the Non-Stop de la Riva Guard instructional app for mobile devices. You can check it out for your iPhone, iPad, Android or Kindle at the links below…
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