⚠️ SAFETY: Triangle from De La Riva targets the Carotid arteries and jugular veins. Risk: Neck strain or cervical spine compression. Release immediately upon tap.
The Triangle from De La Riva is a sophisticated blood choke that capitalizes on the unique angular control provided by the De La Riva guard position. This submission represents a fundamental offensive option from one of modern BJJ’s most dynamic open guard systems. The De La Riva hook on the opponent’s leg creates natural off-balancing opportunities while the opposite leg controls posture and distance, establishing perfect conditions for transitioning to the triangle position. The technical challenge lies in transitioning from the linear De La Riva guard structure to the circular enclosure required for an effective triangle choke. Success depends on precise timing, grip manipulation, and understanding how to use the De La Riva hook as a pivot point rather than abandoning it prematurely. When executed correctly, this technique combines the sweeping threat inherent in De La Riva with a finishing submission, creating a true dilemma for the opponent.
Category: Choke Type: Blood Choke Target Area: Carotid arteries and jugular veins Starting Position: De La Riva Guard Success Rates: Beginner 30%, Intermediate 45%, Advanced 60%
Safety Guide
Injury Risks:
| Injury | Severity | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|
| Neck strain or cervical spine compression | Medium | 1-2 weeks |
| Loss of consciousness from blood choke | High | Immediate recovery if released promptly, potential complications if held too long |
| Shoulder or rotator cuff strain from arm trap | Low | 3-7 days |
Application Speed: SLOW and progressive - 3-5 seconds minimum from initial lock to any significant pressure
Tap Signals:
- Verbal tap or vocal distress
- Physical hand tap on partner’s body or mat
- Physical foot tap on mat or partner
- Any sudden change in resistance or body going limp
Release Protocol:
- Immediately open legs and release triangle configuration
- Release arm trap and posture control
- Allow partner to return to neutral position with full neck mobility
- Check partner’s consciousness and neck comfort before continuing
Training Restrictions:
- Never apply sudden jerking motions to the neck
- Never use competition finishing speed during drilling or light sparring
- Always ensure partner has at least one arm free to tap
- Release immediately upon any tap signal without testing tightness
Key Principles
- Use De La Riva hook to off-balance opponent forward while controlling posture with opposite leg
- Break opponent’s defensive grips before attempting triangle transition
- Pivot on the De La Riva hook to create angular entry for triangle lock
- Secure high triangle position with knee behind opponent’s head before tightening
- Control trapped arm across body to prevent opponent’s posture recovery
- Angle body perpendicular to opponent to maximize choking pressure
- Use active pulling with legs rather than passive squeezing to finish
Prerequisites
- Established De La Riva guard with hook secured behind opponent’s knee
- Collar and sleeve grip control or equivalent no-gi grip configuration
- Opponent’s weight shifted forward or posture broken down
- Clear path to bring opposite leg across opponent’s shoulder and neck
- Opponent’s defensive frames broken or at least one arm isolated
- Sufficient hip mobility to create necessary angle for triangle entry
Execution Steps
- Establish dominant De La Riva control: Secure classic De La Riva position with hook deep behind opponent’s knee, opposite foot on hip or bicep, and strong collar-sleeve grips. Break opponent’s posture forward using collar grip while preventing them from standing tall. This foundational control is essential before attempting any offensive transition. (Timing: Initial position establishment - hold until opponent commits weight forward) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Break opponent’s defensive grips and posture: Use collar grip to pull opponent’s head down while simultaneously pushing their far arm across your centerline with your sleeve grip. The De La Riva hook prevents them from stepping back to recover posture. This creates the broken posture necessary for triangle entry and begins isolating one arm. (Timing: 1-2 seconds as opponent attempts to maintain base) [Pressure: Firm]
- Pivot on De La Riva hook and swim leg over shoulder: Maintain the De La Riva hook as a pivot point while releasing the hip control with your opposite leg. Swing this free leg high and over the opponent’s shoulder on the side of your collar grip. The De La Riva hook prevents them from backing away during this transition. Aim to place your shin across the back of their neck. (Timing: Quick transition - 0.5-1 second window as opponent is off-balanced) [Pressure: Light]
- Lock triangle configuration: Release De La Riva hook and bring that leg across your opposite ankle to create the triangle lock. Ensure your knee is positioned behind opponent’s head, not on top of their shoulder. The trapped arm should be across their own neck, not outside your legs. Lock your legs in figure-four configuration with flexed feet for maximum security. (Timing: Immediate lock as shin clears shoulder - 1 second) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Control posture and create finishing angle: Grip behind opponent’s head with both hands and pull them down while simultaneously rotating your hips perpendicular to their body. This angle is critical - your spine should form roughly 90-degree angle with theirs. Pull their trapped arm across their neck to tighten the choke. Your knees should point away from opponent’s body. (Timing: 2-3 seconds to establish optimal angle) [Pressure: Firm]
- Finish with leg extension and hip pressure: Extend your locking leg while simultaneously squeezing your knees together and arching your hips upward. The choking pressure comes from the combination of their trapped arm against one carotid and your leg against the other. Maintain head control and optimal angle throughout. Apply pressure progressively, never explosively, monitoring for tap constantly. (Timing: 3-5 seconds progressive tightening) [Pressure: Maximum]
Opponent Defenses
- Standing up to prevent triangle lock (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Maintain De La Riva hook longer to prevent standing, or transition to omoplata/sweep if they commit fully to standing posture
- Stacking pressure to compress your guard (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Shrimp hips away from stack direction, maintain angle perpendicular to their body, and use grips behind head to prevent them from driving chest into your knees
- Hiding arm inside to prevent triangle lock (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Attack omoplata or triangle variation, or use leg over shoulder position to transition to back take if arm remains defended
- Posturing up with strong base (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Use both hands behind head to break posture, kick De La Riva hook to off-balance them forward, or transition to sweep if they commit too much weight back
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the primary function of the De La Riva hook during the triangle setup phase? A: The De La Riva hook serves as a pivot point and prevents the opponent from backing away or standing up during the transition. It maintains close distance and off-balances the opponent forward while you swing your opposite leg over their shoulder. The hook should be maintained until the triangle is nearly locked to prevent defensive escape.
Q2: Why is creating a perpendicular angle essential for finishing the triangle from De La Riva? A: The perpendicular angle (approximately 90 degrees between your spine and opponent’s) maximizes the choking pressure by ensuring your leg compresses one carotid artery while their trapped arm compresses the other. Without this angle, the triangle may be mechanically locked but will lack the geometric alignment necessary to create effective blood flow restriction.
Q3: What are the minimum tap signals you must recognize immediately when applying this submission? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: You must immediately recognize and respond to: verbal taps or vocal distress, physical hand taps on your body or the mat, physical foot taps on the mat or your body, and any sudden change in resistance or the body going limp. All of these require instant release of the submission without any delay or testing.
Q4: What is the difference between proper ‘high triangle’ position and incorrect ‘shoulder triangle’ position? A: High triangle has your knee positioned behind opponent’s head with shin across their back, creating maximum choking pressure. Shoulder triangle incorrectly has knee on top of their shoulder, which allows them to maintain posture and creates no effective choking mechanism. Always ensure shin clears shoulder completely during entry.
Q5: Why must pressure be applied progressively over 3-5 seconds rather than explosively? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: Progressive pressure application ensures training partner safety by giving them time to recognize the submission and tap before injury occurs. Explosive application risks neck injury from sudden compression, makes it difficult for partner to tap in time, and creates dangerous training culture. In training, partner safety always supersedes submission completion.
Q6: How should you transition if opponent successfully defends the triangle by hiding their arm inside your legs? A: If the arm remains defended inside, transition to omoplata by bringing your free leg over their back, or attack the back take if they turn away. The leg-over-shoulder position provides multiple offensive options, so never force a defended triangle. Instead, flow to the next highest percentage attack based on their defensive reaction.
From Which Positions?
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The triangle from De La Riva represents a sophisticated understanding of guard mechanics and submission geometry. The key insight is recognizing the De La Riva hook not as an obstacle to be abandoned, but as a mechanical pivot that enables the rotational entry into triangle position. Most athletes fail this technique because they release the hook prematurely, allowing the opponent to create distance. The biomechanical principle is simple: the hook anchors one leg while the opposite leg creates a pendulum swing over the shoulder. This is pure lever mechanics - the longer you maintain the fulcrum, the more powerful your lever action becomes. Additionally, understand that the triangle from this position requires exceptional hip flexibility and timing awareness. The window of opportunity is narrow because the opponent’s defensive posture is naturally stronger in De La Riva than in closed guard. Your collar grip must break their posture forward while your De La Riva hook prevents backward escape - creating the momentary collapse in their structure necessary for successful entry. The finish demands the same geometric precision as any triangle: perpendicular body angle, high knee position behind the head, and trapped arm control. Without these elements, you have only positional control, not a submission threat. Train the transition timing separate from the finishing mechanics until both become second nature.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, I see the De La Riva triangle as a high-level threat that separates elite guard players from intermediate practitioners. The reality is most people can’t hit this consistently under pressure because they lack the necessary timing and sensitivity to their opponent’s weight distribution. When I’m attacking this, I’m not just thinking about the triangle - I’m thinking about creating a dilemma where every defensive option opens a different attack. If they stand to defend the triangle, I have sweeps. If they drive pressure forward, the triangle is there. If they hide the arm, omoplata becomes available. This is Craig Jones’s dilemma principle applied perfectly. The key difference between training and competition is that in competition, opponents defend before you attack. They won’t give you clean entries, so you must use the threat of sweeps and back takes to create the opening for the triangle. I also prefer to grip the far sleeve instead of just collar when setting this up - it gives me more control over their arm positioning and makes the triangle entry cleaner. One technical detail that matters: don’t try to lock the triangle immediately when your leg goes over. First secure the position with your shin across their back, control their posture, then lock. Rushing the lock gives them time to defend. The difference between 60% success rate and 80% success rate is this patience in the transition phase.
- Eddie Bravo: The triangle from De La Riva is sick when you understand it’s not just one technique - it’s a whole game within your guard system. At 10th Planet, we teach De La Riva as part of our no-gi guard system, but the triangle mechanics apply perfectly in gi too. The beautiful thing about this position is how it connects to everything else we do. If the triangle gets defended, boom, you’re already in position for the omoplata. If they defend that, you can invert under for back control or attack the vaporizer. It’s all connected, man. One thing I emphasize that’s different from traditional teaching: use your De La Riva hook aggressively to off-balance them forward as you swing the leg over. Don’t just pivot - kick their base out while you transition. This creates a much higher percentage entry because they’re dealing with balance issues while you’re attacking. Also, in no-gi especially, you need to be creative with your grip fighting since you don’t have the collar. I grab behind the head, trap their arm with my opposite hand, and use that control to break their posture before entering. The triangle from De La Riva is also perfect for setting up the truck position if they try to defend by turning away - and the truck opens up the whole leg attack and twister game. So really, this isn’t just a submission, it’s a gateway to your entire attack system from open guard. Train it with that mindset and your success rate will skyrocket.