De La Riva guard is the open guard where one leg hooks around the outside of your partner's lead leg while your hands hold a sleeve and an ankle. It is named after Ricardo De La Riva, the Carlson Gracie black belt who built his game on it.
- Name origin: bjjheroes.com writes that the guard was first called guarda pudim, the pudding guard, because De La Riva's opponents went wobbly in it, and that the media started calling it the De La Riva after he beat Royler Gracie at the Copa Cantão in 1985.
- History: bjjheroes.com also notes kosen judoka using De La Riva hooks at the Nanatei Championships in the 1970s, and describes the berimbolo as a back attack that comes mostly from the De La Riva guard.
- In BJJ: the backbone of the modern gi guard, feeding the berimbolo, the reverse De La Riva and the single leg X.
Where does the name De La Riva guard come from?
According to his bjjheroes.com profile, Ricardo De La Riva trained at the Carlson Gracie academy, a school known for powerful guard passers, and developed the guard as a small, flexible player's answer to being crushed by heavier training partners. He received his black belt from Carlson Gracie in 1986.
How do you play De La Riva guard?
- Sit facing your partner, who has one leg forward. Hook your outside leg around the outside of that leg, your foot pressing on their far hip or behind their far knee.
- Grab the heel or ankle of the hooked leg with your same-side hand, and the opposite sleeve with the other.
- Put your free foot on their near hip or thigh, so you can push to make distance or pull to close it.
- Keep your hips off the mat and turned toward the hooked leg, so the hook stays deep and their knee is bent.
- Attack with the off-balance: push the hip, pull the sleeve, and sweep them backward, or spin under for the berimbolo when they sit.
The most common mistake is a lazy hook with the knee pointing at the ceiling. The hook has to pull their knee inward with your foot driving across their hip; otherwise they square up, pin your knee and pass. Deep hook, bent knee, hips live.
How do you score from De La Riva guard?
The IBJJF Rules Book defines the guard as using one or more legs to block the opponent from reaching side control or north-south. Getting past the legs to side control or north-south and holding it for three seconds scores the guard pass, 3 points; a reversal from the guard held for three seconds scores the sweep, 2 points.
Two fouls catch guard players: pulling guard, sitting or kneeling without first taking a grip, and gripping inside the opening of the sleeve or trouser leg with the fingers. Both are serious fouls.
Where does De La Riva guard fit in a game?
De La Riva guard is the start point for most of the modern gi game: the berimbolo, the reverse De La Riva when they turn the knee in, the X-guard when they step through, and the single leg X without the gi. Our BJJ training gear has the kit for the rounds.
Sources
- Bjjheroes.com writes, BJJ Heroes
- Bjjheroes.com also notes, BJJ Heroes
- Describes the berimbolo, BJJ Heroes
- IBJJF Rules Book, IBJJF
Related terms
Open guard, X-guard, Spider guard, Lasso guard, Guard retention.