De La Riva Guard
De La Riva is an open guard where you wrap the outside of the opponent's standing leg with your shin and hook behind their knee, usually while gripping the ankle and a sleeve. It is the engine of modern bottom guard play.
Browse De La Riva Guard flowcharts in ExploreWhy De La Riva is everywhere
The outside hook lets you off-balance a standing passer and load them onto one leg, which opens the berimbolo, the back take, and a family of sweeps. It connects fluidly to reverse De La Riva, single-leg X, and X-guard, so it sits at the center of a larger guard system.
Mapping the De La Riva system
From the hook, the passer either steps back, pommels the leg out, or drives forward, and each reaction has a clean answer. That decision tree is why De La Riva players benefit from a flowchart: the same entry leads to a sweep, a back take, or a transition depending on the defense.
Frequently asked questions
What is De La Riva guard?
It is an open guard where you hook the outside of the opponent's lead leg with your shin while controlling their ankle and sleeve. The hook lets you break their balance and attack the back and sweeps.
Is De La Riva a gi or no-gi position?
It is most common in the gi because of the sleeve and collar grips, but it works in no-gi too. Many no-gi players favor the closely related reverse De La Riva and single-leg X entries.
What does De La Riva guard lead to?
Most often the berimbolo and back take, plus a range of sweeps. It also flows into reverse De La Riva, X-guard, and single-leg X when the passer defends the hook.
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