Lasso Guard from De La Riva Guard

Lasso Guard from De La Riva Guard is a passing sequence that clears the legs built around a handful of repeatable controls. Top player is engaged with the bottom player's open guard with at least one of the bottom player's legs framing or hooking on the top player. Another common starting shape: bottom player is in a De La Riva guard with the outside hook wrapped around the top player's lead leg. It is worth attempting once comfortable with: Maintain reverse DLR with invisible lasso and comfortable with: Tripod pressure for long-step finish. The ideas that hold it together are cross the body line rather than settling parallel, tripod weight on the far shoulder, not on the partner's hips, and position before submission: prioritize stable controlling structure first.

The lasso guard chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Pin the bottom player's far leg or knee down with a hand or shoulder so it cannot retract. Step the lead leg deep across the partner's body toward the far hip rather than alongside the body. Drive the head and chest forward over the far shoulder to create a finishing angle. Maintain frames and grip references that prevent the opponent from regaining posture. Use small hip and shoulder adjustments to align angles before committing to the finishing motion. Sequence grips before footwork so the upper-body trap is set before the lower-body action. Thread the lasso hook deep so toes wrap and the knee points outward. Keep the lassoed leg tight to transmit pressure into the shoulder, bicep and armpit. Top player has cleared the far leg and stepped through, with the trailing knee posting and chest pressure beginning to land on the far side of the partner.

Later in the lasso guard, connect upper-body and lower-body controls so the opponent cannot solve one independently, heavy arm across the body discourages stacking, and hips down beats hips up in retention tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Stopping the step too early so the hips stay square next to the partner instead of past them. Failing to control the bottom player's far leg, allowing it to recover an inside position. Letting the opponent recover posture or framing before the structure of the position is locked. Rushing the finish without first establishing the controlling grip or angle. The high-percentage version of lasso guard from de la riva guard is the one you can still chain when the bottom player recovers a hook.