De la Riva vs reverse De la Riva
De la Riva hooks the outside of their lead leg. Reverse De la Riva hooks the inside of the same leg. You choose by where their knee points.
Open guard: a guard without locked ankles. Lead leg: the standing person's front leg, the one closer to you. Hook: your foot or leg wraps part of their body to control it. People often say DLR and RDLR for short.
De la Riva GuardYour leg wraps their lead leg from the outside, with the heel behind the knee.
Reverse De la RivaYour shin goes between their legs, and your foot hooks the lead leg.
Side by side
| What to look at | De la Riva | Reverse De la Riva |
|---|---|---|
| Where your hook goes | Your outside leg wraps their lead leg from the outside. The heel goes behind their knee. | Your shin goes between their legs, knee up. Your foot hooks the outside of their lead thigh. |
| Their knee | Points out, away from your body | Turns in, to flatten your hook |
| Grips | Same-side hand on their ankle, other hand on a sleeve, collar or wrist | A hand on a sleeve, a wrist or their far collar. Your free foot works their far knee or hip. |
| Leads to | Sweeps, back takes and the berimbolo | Sweeps. It also blocks the Knee Cut Pass. |
| Common mistake | Holding the guard and waiting. They turn the knee in, flatten the hook and pass. | Staying in it when their knee turns back out. Switch back to De la Riva. |
When to use which
- Their lead knee points out: play De la Riva.
- They turn the knee in to flatten your hook: switch to reverse De la Riva.
- They turn the knee back out: switch back to De la Riva.
- Both guards are for a standing opponent. Against a kneeling one, other guards work better.
You play De la Riva on your partner's right leg. They turn their right knee in to push your hook to the mat. You pull your foot out and put your shin between their legs. Now you have reverse De la Riva on the same leg.
Your partner stands in front of you. They turn their lead knee in to flatten your outside hook. What do you do?
In the library
Read the full pages: De la Riva Guard and Reverse De la Riva.
Train it on the Path
The De la Riva and reverse De la Riva unit turns this into short lessons: you see a position and pick the best move.
De la Riva and reverse De la Riva is part of the Purple belt, included in Rolla Plus. Start free with Foundations and the white belt.