Knee Cut Pass from Reverse De La Riva

Knee Cut Pass from Reverse De La Riva is a passing sequence that clears the legs built around a handful of repeatable controls. The top player is entering a knee cut against an open guard and the partner is reaching for Reverse De La Riva attachments. Another common starting shape: the top player is on a knee slide attempt with their lead leg threatening to cross while the bottom player has a Reverse De La Riva hook with one hand controlling the top player's near ankle. The ideas that hold it together are control the shins, not the knees, to deny hook formation, sitting on the heel removes the opening for the inside hook, and distance management.

The knee cut pass chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Grip the far shin (or pants in the gi) and pressure outward and slightly down so the foot cannot land on the hip or armpit. Push down on the bottom shin to deny the inside reverse-DLR hook. Sit the buttocks onto the trail heel as the cut comes through to close the hook gap entirely. Avoid gripping at the knee, which can be pummelled through. Switch grip from pants to outside of the bottom knee. Take a collar grip to maintain head distance. Post inside knee on the mat. Walk hips away while pointing the posting knee outward. The far shin has been controlled, the bottom shin pushed down, and the top player is seated on their own heel with both hooks denied and the cut continuing.

Later in the knee cut pass, grip-fighting before passing, baiting a stack reaction, and denying the X-guard pull-down tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Staying square and trying to force the original knee slide. Keeping weight forward so the bottom player can lift and reverse. Pulling the leg toward the passer instead of pushing it away. Leaving the outside hand free, allowing the X-guard hug. The high-percentage version of knee cut pass from reverse de la riva is the one you can still chain when the bottom player recovers a hook.