One of the most popular open-guard options in the book, the De la Riva was developed by a student under Grandmaster Carlson Gracie in the 80s. His name was Ricardo de la Riva, and he noticed that if he used one leg as a hook, partially wrapping his opponent’s leg at the knee, he would be able to neutralize the movement of the legendary guard passers of his team — almost all of whom were much bigger and heavier than his skinny self.

The technique worked out, gained traction in BJJ tournaments, and to this day it’s been studied by countless BJJ students. It’s the case of Renzo Gracie and Christian Xaropinho, two specialists of attacking with the DLR, as you can see from the next two videos.

Note how Renzo uses the cogs of the DLR to surprise the passers with a lob sweep, ending up on the mount.

Xaropinho sweeps using the passer’s own weight the moment his opponent tries to reach side control by diagonally crossing his knee.

BJJ teacher Wellington Megaton proposes an optimistic reaction in the face of adversity. To illustrate his thesis, he remembers the day thieves broke into his home and took all of his savings. But they didn’t take his optimistic lifestyle, meaning he predictably got over the episode.

Don’t waste any more time. Go to www.gallerr.com/rgoa and get access to over 20 weeks of content made available so far at Renzo Gracie Online Academy.

Oss!