Cyborg Demolishes De La Riva Guard With This Smash Pass

Posted by Fanatics Authors on December 20, 2018

De La Riva Leg Smash Pass by Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu is a man who needs no introduction. As a black belt competitor and instructor originating from the Nova Geracao Team, Cyborg has a long list of accolades. Some of his most recent achievements are ADCC Champion in 2013, IBJJF World Masters Champion in 2018, IBJJF World No Gi champ in 2017, Grappling Pro Champion in 2016, and many, many more. Cyborg is considered one of the best and as an instructor has produced several talented grapplers such as Ricardo Rezende, Hunter Edward, Jake Mackenzie and many others.

Bernardo Faria is known for a lot of things - including smashing through people's guard with no respect at all.

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If there is one thing Cyborg is notorious for it is his high level smash passing, using pressure and grinding away at his opponent, making things as uncomfortable as he can. Today we are going to look at Roberto’s de la riva smash pass. Watch the video below and then we will break down Cyborg’s technique. Check it out now!

Cyborg starts off by explaining that the de la riva is a very common position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at all levels. Typically when you are in de la riva, your training opponent as one foot in your thigh, one leg wrapped around your leg, and a cross collar grip at the very least. Cyborg explains that the first thing you want to be able to control from this position is your posture. You never want your head to be leaning forward for one basic reason: wherever your head goes your body follows. So whenever you are in this position you want to sit back a little bit to strengthen your base. This will give you an opportunity to break your training partner’s cross collar grip. Using both hands in a heart shape grip, grab your opponent’s gi sleeve and break his grip out and out away from your body. As soon as you have broken his grip, take your outside hand and control under your training partner’s calf with a gi pant grip. It is very important to take your opponent’s foot out from your hip because that is what controls the distance. Remember: the cross collar grip controls your posture, and the foot in hip controls your base. Notice that Cyborg’s inside hand goes immediately to establish a cross collar grip. As soon as he has both grips he steps back and outside from his training partner – breaking the foot in hip contact. This allows him to pass the leg and sit back. Pay attention to how Cyborg is squatting on the legs. In this position you can now pass the knee by pushing it under your arm pit. Now you control your opponent’s body with your legs which allow you to push them to the side. This allows you to effectively pressure pass, completely breaking down your training partner’s de la riva guard.

As you can tell, there are a lot of small details that go into making this pressure pass work well. I really like the way Cyborg breaks down the de la riva guard, which makes it simple to understand what is required to pass it. The pass is not effective because of the pressure;rather it is effective because of the setup. By first taking away your training partner’s ability to control your distance and posture, you eliminate all his possibilities of maintain the position or transitioning away. Keep these principles in mind the next time you are caught in de la riva and looking for an effective pass. This leg smash pass from Cyborg just might be the right technique for you!