YR Sports Lab
Your opponent lifts a leg to knee cut, but you hook his lead leg with your inside leg in the opposite direction, turn onto your side and block the knee with your arm, and the pass stalls. That is the reverse De La Riva (RDLR, also called the spiral guard). This guide covers the origin accounts, mechanics, the Kiss of the Dragon back take and leg lock routes, the high step counter, and how often it shows up in competition. The origin comes mostly from third-party technique pages, so we mark what is an account and what we could not verify.
1. Origin and Story: A Reflex Against the Knee Cut
The reverse De La Riva is the mirror version of the De La Riva Guard: the same hooking control, but hooking in the opposite direction. An Evolve technique article says it came to prominence in the early to mid-2000s and names Caio Terra and Rafa Mendes as users, but it does not say who invented it.
The Jiu-Jitsu Legacy instruction page gives a more specific account: Caio Terra brought the position to prominence in the early 2000s to deal with knee cuts and pressure from top half guard. In the story, a training partner lifted a leg to knee cut his half guard, and he instinctively grabbed his own shin to block the pass, then found it worked well. According to that page he began using it in tournaments as a blue belt, spinning to the back or hitting an overhead sweep, and the Mendes and Miyao brothers later took the position further.
How far to trust the origin accounts
All of this comes from third-party instruction sites, not official records, and it has not been cross-checked against an independent source. Jiu-Jitsu Legacy also mentions a rudimentary form of the hook in old Kosen judo, without a year or a name. The fair summary is that the earliest origin could not be verified, Caio Terra is the figure several sources point to, and who used it first cannot be confirmed.
Terra's own record is consistent across two sources. Wikipedia and LowKick both say he was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1986, earned his black belt in 2006 and won ten straight No-Gi world titles from 2008 to 2017. They disagree on his gi world title years, so this article does not cite that number.
2. Mechanics: Reverse the Hook, Stay on Your Side, Block the Knee
The steps below are compiled from Evolve and Jiu-Jitsu Legacy. The two describe it from slightly different angles, so follow your coach's demonstration for grips and foot placement. The core idea: hook the opponent's lead leg with the shin of your inside leg and stay on your side, not flat on your back.
| Stage | Key points |
|---|---|
| ① Position | Lie in front of the opponent with one leg between his legs |
| ② Reverse hook | Cross the inside ankle behind the opponent's knee and hook the outside of his thigh with the foot, the opposite direction of the classic De La Riva |
| ③ Reinforce with a grip | Jiu-Jitsu Legacy describes gripping the heel area of the hooking foot with the same-side hand to anchor it; sources differ slightly on the grip |
| ④ Free-leg frame | Jiu-Jitsu Legacy says it usually goes on the hip on the hooking side; Evolve adds the hip if the opponent is standing and near the shoulder if he is kneeling |
| ⑤ Stay on your side | Evolve stresses staying on your side; lying flat makes it hard to follow the opponent and leaves a gap between your legs |
| ⑥ Inside arm blocks the knee | Use the inside arm to block the opponent's knee as another layer against pressure |
A common entry is from a standard De La Riva. Evolve says the opponent's usual reaction is to strip your grip on his foot, which leaves your other leg free to wrap his lead leg and switch to the reverse hook. To return to the regular De La Riva, remove the hook, frame on the outside hip, hook the lead leg with the other leg and grip the foot. Evolve also notes the body position resembles half guard, so half guard players use it too.
3. Entry Timing and Setups: Where to Switch In and Where to Attack
This is a technique summary, not match statistics.
First, when the grip on your foot in the regular De La Riva is stripped. This is the standard transition Evolve describes and the most natural entrance.
Second, the moment the opponent starts a knee cut. Evolve calls the knee cut the most common pass against De La Riva and presents the reverse De La Riva as a counter to it; Jiu-Jitsu Legacy's origin story also starts with blocking a knee cut. For the pass itself, see the Knee Cut Pass guide.
Third, when half guard is being pressured. Jiu-Jitsu Legacy says the position was used against top half guard pressure, and that if the opponent kneels on the controlled leg it becomes half guard, which that page says is more comfortable for the bottom player. Compare with the Deep Half Guard guide.
From the position there are three attacking routes:
| Route | Content (source) |
|---|---|
| Kiss of the Dragon (reverse berimbolo) | Evolve: underhook the lead leg, release the RDLR hook, invert under the leg, hook both legs while keeping the grip on the feet, then switch the grip from the feet to the hips for the back. Jiu-Jitsu Legacy calls it higher percentage than the standard berimbolo because it needs less movement (that page's view, not a statistic) |
| Sweeps | Jiu-Jitsu Legacy: break posture with a collar grip, pull the opponent sideways and pivot on the hook to a single leg (posture-break sweep); or place the free leg low on the shin to make a wedge and push him sideways (wedge sweep) |
| Leg locks | Jiu-Jitsu Legacy: invert, trap the opponent's free leg between your legs and move to a kneebar, 50/50 or honeyhole ashi garami; or slide the free leg inside to hook the ankle in a Single Leg X style |
Grapplearts has a separate article on the arm drag from the reverse De La Riva; we only read the tag-page excerpt, so we do not expand on it here.
4. Strengths and Limits
| Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|
| Framed as a knee cut counter; Evolve says it also threatens back takes | Evolve asks you to stay on your side and keep the angle that clamps the hook; lying flat loses the follow and the control |
| Connects to the Kiss of the Dragon, sweeps and leg locks (Jiu-Jitsu Legacy, Evolve) | Once the grip and frame are stripped, the opponent can step through or high step (next section) |
| The body shape is close to half guard, so half guard players pick it up quickly (Evolve) | Neither Evolve nor Jiu-Jitsu Legacy gives success rates by body type or belt, so who it suits is experience-based |
5. Common Counters: The High Step and Posting a Hand to Step Over
This section covers what the top player can do, mainly from Evolve's high step passing article.
First, the high step. Evolve's steps: when the opponent grabs your ankle, a gap opens between his elbow and knee (the article separately calls the space above the hipline the J-Point, Gordon Ryan's term). Straighten the trapped leg, control the near knee with one hand and the far leg with the other, step outward past his knee while keeping a C-grip on the far leg, pinch your knees together, post an arm on his far shoulder to stop wrestle-ups, then slowly pummel your foot into his hip pocket and finish in knee on belly or north-south.
Second, post a hand and step over the top leg. Evolve says that against a reverse DLR you can skip the knee cut, post a hand on the mat and step over the opponent's top leg. The same article says the idea also works against a butterfly hook.
Third, keep the far-leg C-grip. Evolve treats this grip as the key safeguard: without it, the opponent can enter a leg entanglement and attack with leg locks. If the opponent turns while pinned, you can top spin to take the back.
Options After the High Step Beats You
To keep the guard: the RDL lockdown Jiu-Jitsu Legacy mentions (Firas Zahabi's version) places the free leg under the hook and crosses the ankles like closed guard, which makes passing very difficult and sets up spinning back attacks and leg locks.
To change guards: Evolve's way is to remove the hook, frame on the opponent's outside hip, hook the lead leg with the other leg and grip the foot to return to the regular De La Riva; if the opponent kneels on the controlled leg you end up in half guard.
6. Frequency in Competition
IBJJF and ADCC publish only placings and brackets, not per-technique or per-position statistics. We searched for third-party tallies and found none for the reverse De La Riva, so we give no percentage.
What we can confirm is qualitative: Evolve says it rose to prominence in the early to mid-2000s and lists Paulo and Joao Miyao, Michael and Tammi Musumeci and Gianni Grippo as modern competitors to watch, without saying how often they use it in matches. Jiu-Jitsu Legacy says Terra used it in tournaments as a blue belt. All we can say is that it is a modern guard position used by competitors in both gi and no-gi, and its actual frequency cannot be quantified.
On rules, we could not open the official IBJJF rulebook to verify belt-level restrictions on the hook and the leg lock follow-ups, and event rules vary by organizer, so check the current rules and event announcements before you register.
7. Safety Notes: Go Slow on Entanglements, Tap Early
The reverse De La Riva is itself a guard position, but it leads to inversions and leg locks, and a passer can also get caught in a leg entanglement. We found no study that tracks injury rates for this position, so the following are conservative training principles, not research conclusions.
・Drill inversions and leg lock follow-ups slowly and speed up only once your partner can tap safely
・Tap early when caught in a leg lock; do not wait for knee or ankle pain
・As the passer, keep the far-leg C-grip so the opponent cannot enter a leg entanglement (Evolve)
・If knee or ankle pain or swelling persists after training, stop and see a doctor
・Further reading: Leg Lock System
FAQ
How is the reverse De La Riva different from the regular De La Riva?
It differs in which leg does the hooking. Grapplearts says the reverse version entangles the opponent's lead leg with your inside leg instead of your outside leg, and Evolve adds that the body position looks more like half guard.
Who invented the reverse De La Riva?
There is no settled answer. Evolve only says it rose to prominence in the early to mid-2000s and names Caio Terra and Rafa Mendes as users, while Jiu-Jitsu Legacy says Terra used it instinctively and popularized it. Both are third-party technique pages, so treat the origin as an account, not a fact.
How do I use the reverse De La Riva against a knee cut?
Stay on your side, block the knee with your inside arm and slow the pass with the hook and a free-leg frame. Evolve presents it as a counter to the knee cut, and Jiu-Jitsu Legacy says Terra used it against knee cuts and half guard pressure. Follow your coach's demonstration for details.
How do I pass someone who has a reverse De La Riva on me?
A common answer is the high step: spot the gap between elbow and knee when they grab your ankle, straighten the trapped leg and step through while keeping a C-grip on the far leg. Evolve warns that without that grip the opponent can enter a leg entanglement and look for leg locks.
References
1. Evolve MMA. What Is The Reverse De La Riva Guard In BJJ? evolve-mma.com (checked 2026/10; third-party technique article supporting the spiral guard name, rise to prominence in the early to mid-2000s, Caio Terra and Rafa Mendes, the entry, the Kiss of the Dragon steps and the knee cut counter framing; it does not name an inventor)
2. Jiu-Jitsu Legacy. Reverse De La Riva. jiujitsulegacy.com (checked 2026/10; third-party instruction page supporting Terra's instinctive-use account, use as a blue belt, the Mendes and Miyao brothers, the Kosen judo precursor claim, hook and grip descriptions, the RDL lockdown, and the sweep and leg lock routes; the judo precursor claim has no date or source)
3. Evolve MMA. Introduction To High Step Passing In BJJ. evolve-mma.com (checked 2026/10; third-party technique article supporting the high step steps, the safety role of the far-leg C-grip, and posting a hand and stepping over the top leg instead of a knee cut)
4. Grapplearts. Arm Drag from Reverse de la Riva Guard (Simple and Effective). Amber Little, 2019/01/13. grapplearts.com (checked 2026/10; only the tag-page excerpt was read, supporting the distinction that the reverse version uses the inside leg on the lead leg while the regular version uses the outside leg)
5. Wikipedia contributors. Caio Terra. en.wikipedia.org/Caio_Terra (checked 2026/10; supports birth in Rio in 1986, a 2006 black belt and ten straight No-Gi world titles from 2008 to 2017; the page contradicts itself on gi world title years, so this article does not use them)
6. LowKick MMA. Caio Terra, BJJ Black Belt. lowkickmma.com (checked 2026/10; second source supporting birth on 1986/02/08 in Rio, a 2006 black belt and ten straight No-Gi world titles from 2008 to 2017)