Reverse De La Riva
Reverse De La Riva is an open guard where you hook the inside of the opponent's near leg with your shin, knee pointed across their body. It is the natural answer to knee-cut and pressure passers and a gateway into leg entanglements.
Browse Reverse De La Riva flowcharts in ExploreBuilt to stop the knee cut
When a passer tries to knee-cut through your guard, the reverse De La Riva hook jams that lead leg and stalls the pass. From there you can off-balance them backward, come up for a sweep, or switch to a leg entanglement as they try to free the leg.
A bridge to leg locks and the back
Reverse De La Riva connects cleanly to single-leg X and the saddle, which is why so many modern players use it as the front door to the leg lock game. It also feeds back exposures when the passer turns to drive forward.
Frequently asked questions
What is reverse De La Riva guard?
An open guard where your shin hooks the inside of the opponent's lead leg, with your knee across their body. It is the mirror of De La Riva and is especially good against knee-cut passers.
What does reverse De La Riva lead to?
Backward off-balancing sweeps, single-leg X and saddle leg entanglements, and back exposures when the passer drives forward to escape the hook.
Is reverse De La Riva good for no-gi?
Yes. Because it relies on a shin hook and leg position more than sleeve grips, it works well in no-gi and pairs naturally with the leg lock game.
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