Armbar from De La Riva Guard

Armbar from De La Riva Guard is a finishing attack built around a handful of repeatable controls. The bottom player is in De La Riva guard with a hook around the top player's lead leg and grips on the sleeve and pant. Another common starting shape: the bottom player has slid the De La Riva hook behind the opponent's knee, dropped them onto the mat on a knee, and is sitting up with the cross-collar grip and pant grip controlling the upper body. The ideas that hold it together are angle creation, push shoulder to mat, pull arm away, and no spin armbar option.

The armbar chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Establish and maintain the gripping configuration before initiating the action. Use a hip escape or hip rotation to create the angle needed for the technique. Create an off-line angle before committing to the finish. After dropping the opponent on the knee, step on the near leg to push them away. Release the pant grip, control the elbow with both hands, and step on the hip. Lift the hips to load weight onto the trapped shoulder, driving the shoulder toward the mat. Switch the collar grip to the wrist to finish; keep both knees pushing the shoulder down. Grab the opponent's sleeve as high on the bicep as possible — high grip prevents the gi from sliding off the elbow. The submission is locked in with the joint or neck isolated and the finishing pressure applied.

Later in the armbar, elbow control before wrist, high bicep grip, and no post means no defense tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Failing to set the grip or hook configuration before attempting the movement. Trying to lift hips without first stepping on the hip, leaving distance. Letting the shoulder come off the mat, which lets the opponent escape the elbow. Gripping the elbow or forearm, which is a weak grip that the opponent can pull out of. The high-percentage version of armbar from de la riva guard is the one you can still chain when the first squeeze is defended.