De La Riva to Grasshopper Guard is an inverting transition in which the bottom player keeps their De La Riva hook, drops their head under the passer, and rolls onto their shoulders to elevate the hips into the inverted Grasshopper Guard for leg attacks.
De La Riva to Grasshopper Guard is the standard inversion used to follow a passer who back-steps or circles away from a De La Riva hook, converting an upright open guard into the inverted, shoulder-based Grasshopper Guard. Rather than chasing the disengaging leg with the upper body, the bottom player keeps the De La Riva hook live, drops their head beneath the opponent’s hip line, and rolls onto their shoulders so the hips elevate and the legs thread toward the passer’s base.
This transition is central to modern no-gi guard retention and leg-lock-centric games. When a passer recognizes the De La Riva hook and tries to clear it by back-stepping, leg-dragging, or circling toward the open side, the upright De La Riva player loses the angle and is at risk of being passed. Inverting solves this: by committing the shoulders to the mat and granby-rolling underneath, the guard player stays connected to the legs and re-establishes a live attacking platform from below. From Grasshopper Guard the bottom player can immediately hunt inside and outside ashi entanglements, kneebars, and elevation sweeps.
The trade-off is real. Inverting concedes upper-body connection and is energy-expensive, so the transition must be timed to the opponent’s movement rather than forced. Executed early — as the passer’s weight shifts away — it preserves the hook and lands cleanly in Grasshopper. Executed late or without keeping the hook, the inversion can stall (returning to De La Riva) or, worst case, expose the back as the passer rides the rolling motion to a back take.
From Position: De La Riva Guard (Bottom) Success Rate: 55%
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Grasshopper Guard | 55% |
| Failure | De La Riva Guard | 30% |
| Counter | Back Control | 15% |
Attacker vs Defender
| Attacker | Defender | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Execute technique | Prevent or counter |
| Key Principles | Keep the De La Riva hook live throughout the roll - it is th… | Strip the De La Riva hook before you disengage - without the… |
| Options | 6 execution steps | 4 defensive options |
Playing as Attacker
Key Principles
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Keep the De La Riva hook live throughout the roll - it is the anchor that keeps you connected to the leg
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Time the inversion to the opponent’s weight shift as they back-step or circle, never force it from a static base
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Drop the head beneath the opponent’s hip line first; the shoulders and roll follow the head
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Elevate the hips as you surface so you arrive in a true Grasshopper platform, not flattened on your back
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Carry a specific leg-attack target into the inversion - inside ashi, kneebar, or ankle lock - rather than inverting aimlessly
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Protect the back during the roll by keeping a knee or shin across the centerline so the opponent cannot ride to back control
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Commit fully and quickly - a half-committed inversion stalls and lets the passer settle his pass
Execution Steps
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Lock the De La Riva hook and read the disengage: From De La Riva Guard, ensure your hook foot is live behind the opponent’s near knee and you have a …
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Drop the head and load the shoulders: As their weight lifts away, tuck your chin and drop your head down and underneath their near hip, lo…
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Maintain the leg connection through the roll: Crucially, do not release the De La Riva hook as you roll. Keep your hooking foot threaded behind th…
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Roll onto the shoulders and rotate under the base: Drive off your free foot and roll over your shoulders, rotating your hips up and over toward the opp…
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Elevate the hips and establish Grasshopper: As you surface from the roll, fire your core and push your hips toward the ceiling so they sit at ch…
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Thread the legs and attack immediately: Do not pause in the inversion. Immediately shoot your legs to entangle the opponent’s near leg for a…
Common Mistakes
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Releasing the De La Riva hook before or during the roll
- Consequence: You lose your only anchor to the opponent’s base and surface from the inversion in open space, allowing the pass to complete or the back to be exposed.
- Correction: Treat the hook as non-negotiable - keep it threaded behind the knee throughout the entire roll and only release once a new leg entanglement is established in Grasshopper.
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Inverting from a static base when the opponent is square and heavy
- Consequence: Without the opponent’s weight shifting away, you invert into their pressure and get flattened or stacked, ending up worse than upright De La Riva.
- Correction: Only commit the inversion when you read the disengage - the back-step, leg-drag, or circle. If they stay square, keep working upright attacks and wait for the weight shift.
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Rolling without tracking the opponent’s hips
- Consequence: You rotate to where the opponent was rather than where they are, surfacing off-line and unable to reconnect, which lets them finish the pass.
- Correction: Keep your eyes on the opponent’s hips throughout the roll and rotate to their current base, adjusting the angle of your inversion mid-roll as they move.
Playing as Defender
Key Principles
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Strip the De La Riva hook before you disengage - without the anchor the inversion cannot land cleanly
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Recognize the head-drop beneath your hip as the commit signal for the inversion
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Do not feed your weight into the hooked leg as you back-step; lighten and clear the leg instead
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Their rolling motion exposes their back - ride the roll and hunt back control rather than resisting the leg
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Stack and step over early to flatten them before their hips can elevate into the Grasshopper platform
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Keep your free leg back and mobile so it cannot be threaded into a leg entanglement on the way down
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Stay patient against a static De La Riva - only disengage on your terms, not theirs
Recognition Cues
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The bottom player keeps a live De La Riva hook on your near leg and grips your far leg or ankle even as you try to step away
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The bottom player suddenly tucks their chin and drops their head down and underneath your near hip, looking back toward their own seat
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The bottom player’s shoulders settle to the mat and their hips begin to rotate upward as they initiate a granby-style roll under your base
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You feel your near leg being followed and tethered through your back-step rather than coming free as expected
Defensive Options
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Strip the De La Riva hook by circling your knee out and clearing the foot before you disengage - When: Preventive - the moment you decide to back-step or circle away, before the bottom player drops their head to invert
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Ride the rolling motion and chase an inside hook to take the back - When: When the bottom player has already committed to the inversion and their back is momentarily turned toward you mid-roll
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Stack forward and step over to flatten them before their hips elevate - When: When you read the head-drop early and can drive forward before they surface from the roll
Position Integration
De La Riva to Grasshopper Guard is a connective transition that links the upright open-guard retention game to the inverted leg-attack game, making it a backbone of modern no-gi guard play. It sits in the same family as the Berimbolo and other De La Riva inversions, sharing the head-drop and shoulder-roll mechanics, but it surfaces in a leg-attack platform rather than a back-take spin. Strategically, it converts a passer’s disengagement - the back-step, leg-drag, or circle that would normally beat a static guard - into an offensive opportunity, keeping the bottom player connected to the legs when an upright guard would have been passed. From Grasshopper, the transition feeds directly into inside and outside ashi-garami, kneebars, ankle locks, and elevation sweeps to X-Guard and Single Leg X-Guard, so it serves as the on-ramp to an entire leg-entanglement system. Mastering this inversion is essential for guard players who want their De La Riva to remain dangerous against passers who try to circle and disengage rather than pressure straight through, and it pairs with Reverse De La Riva recovery to cover both directions of escape.