The De La Riva guard is one of my favorite guards, and out of the countless movements we can do from it, in this video lesson I show a simple sweep that still needs attention to a few important details to work efficiently.
Oh! I have to mention that your opponent may have good base and defend the sweep. But don’t get discouraged, because this sweep works, and if they do defend it, the next video will help you finish and score the two points!
Let’s go?
Video lesson – De La Riva guard sweep!
Starting position
There are a few grips you can use to hold the De La Riva guard safely. For this movement it doesn’t matter how you start with your grips, as long as, of course, you’re holding the guard correctly and safely.
The first step is to push your opponent’s thigh so they widen their base and you have room to come up and sit. And of course, if you can already control your opponent’s sleeve before you come up, it will make the movement easier.
Passing the sleeve
When I come up, I’m gripping my opponent’s right sleeve with my right hand, and as soon as I sit up, I hug their leg and pass the sleeve to my other hand, going between their legs.
In the video lesson I also talked about stronger opponents who manage to posture up and disrupt the movement. The solution is to grab the collar with my other hand and use the strength of both grips to break my opponent’s posture and pull their arm further and further back, which also puts pressure on their elbow.
Leg positioning
A very important point that deserves your attention is the position of your legs. To adjust and not let your opponent escape, you need to shift your hips out to the side and keep the back of your knee glued to your opponent’s leg, leaving no space for them to pull their leg out and pass your guard.
It’s worth saying that the more you shift your hips out and open your opponent’s base, the more likely they won’t be able to stabilize, and you’ll score the two points for the sweep.
Sweeping
As I always say, the basic movements of Jiu-Jitsu are very important. Anyone with solid fundamentals will definitely be more efficient and understand every movement better. I say this because to finish this sweep we need to do the technical stand-up. If you’re just starting to train Jiu-Jitsu or still have questions about this movement, leave them in the comments and I can help you.
Continuing our hunt for the two points of the sweep, I put my left foot on the mat and do the technical stand-up, pulling my right leg back and, as a result, opening my opponent’s base until they lose their balance and give up the position.
If your opponent is still holding their balance, you can grab their supporting leg with your other hand and pull it to help with the sweep.
Biggest mistake
The biggest mistake in this position is trying to go forward, toward your opponent’s leg, instead of doing the technical stand-up. That way they don’t lose their base, and the sweep can still happen, but with much more effort and a good chance it won’t work.
Questions
I want to know what you think! Do you play De La Riva guard too? Did you like this video lesson? And how’s your technical stand-up?
I’m here to help with any questions you have.
Don’t forget to share it with your training partners and leave a like on the video!
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Good training!
OSSSS
Jiu-Jitsu video lessons, articles and stories with Matheus Zimmermann
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