Sneaky Shin-on-Shin Sweep
Posted by Ismail Safi on
The de la riva guard is a position that remains one of the most popular forms of open guard in the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You will see this powerful guard in almost any high level match, and for good reason. The de la riva guard, and its many forms, gives the guard player the ability to control one’s opponent, manage distance, catch sweeps, and even get submissions.
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The great thing about de la riva guard is that it can be used to essentially any grappler. This position is so valuable that some academies are even adding It to the curriculum so that white belts learn it early on. De la riva guard can also be modified so as to achieve different goals. Most modifications involve types of grips such as a spider grip to get spider de la riva, or catching the lapel and weaving it through the legs to control the defender’s posture.
Most sweeps from de la riva guard require the guard player to be proactive in their attack. The first few techniques you learn from de la riva are, and should be, ones where you kick the far leg and sit up. This is a great way to catch single legs. This means that you really can’t and shouldn’t just sit in de la riva guard and wait for the top player to make a mistake because defending guard passes can be exhausting.
In the following video, you will see an example of a sweep that starts in basic de la riva guard but transitions to shin-on-shin guard. See below:
Shin-on-shin guard is another form of open guard commonly used. Because de la riva guard is difficult to utilize without the gi, shin-on-shin guard is more popular among no-gi grapplers. Shin-on-shin guard is also a good position to play from if you are interested in transitioning to other guards or even leg entanglements.
One of most common techniques from shin-on-shin guard is a transition to single leg X guard, which can be used as a guard but also a leg entanglement. To do this, all you have to do after rolling on your side as if you are doing the sweep is straightening the leg with the butterfly hook and wrapping it around the defender’s leg.
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