The De La Riva to Inverted Guard entry is a guard-retention transition in which the bottom player uses their De La Riva hook and deep collar or pant grip to rotate underneath the opponent onto their shoulders, arriving in Inverted Guard to set up berimbolos and back takes.
The De La Riva to Inverted Guard entry is the canonical doorway into modern inverted guard play, converting the angular control of De La Riva into the upside-down mobility of inversion. From De La Riva, the bottom player already owns the outside hook behind the opponent’s lead leg and typically a same-side sleeve or far-collar grip; by pulling that grip down and tucking the head, the practitioner spins beneath the opponent, loading weight onto the shoulder blades rather than the neck and arriving inverted with direct access to the hips and back.
This entry is the foundation of the berimbolo system popularized by the Mendes brothers and is taught at virtually every modern competition gym. The strength of the transition lies in continuity of control: the De La Riva hook never fully releases during the inversion, so even as the practitioner rotates upside-down they maintain a tether to the opponent’s leg that prevents the obvious counter of simply stepping away. The same hook becomes the steering wheel for the berimbolo or rolling back take that usually follows immediately.
Because inverted guard is a transitional rather than static position, this entry is rarely an end in itself. Skilled players treat the arrival in Inverted Guard as the first beat of a two- or three-step sequence: invert, then berimbolo to the back or shoot to Single Leg X. The most common failure mode is the opponent stepping their hooked leg free or driving forward to stack before the inversion completes, which is why timing the entry to the opponent’s weight shift is essential. Executed cleanly, it gives the guard player a sudden, hard-to-track angle that traditional pressure passing struggles to answer.
From Position: De La Riva Guard (Bottom) Success Rate: 60%
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Inverted Guard | 60% |
| Failure | De La Riva Guard | 25% |
| Counter | Side Control | 15% |
Attacker vs Defender
| Attacker | Defender | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Execute technique | Prevent or counter |
| Key Principles | Keep the De La Riva hook engaged throughout the rotation — i… | Attack the two dependencies of the entry: strip the De La Ri… |
| Options | 6 execution steps | 3 defensive options |
Playing as Attacker
Key Principles
-
Keep the De La Riva hook engaged throughout the rotation — it is the steering wheel for the spin and the anchor that prevents the opponent from simply stepping away
-
Load weight onto the shoulder blades and upper back with the head tucked; never let the cervical spine bear weight during the inversion
-
Pull with the upper-body grip (far collar, sleeve, or pant cuff) to draw yourself under the opponent rather than muscling up off the mat
-
Time the entry to the opponent’s forward weight shift so their momentum assists your rotation underneath
-
Treat the arrival in inverted guard as the first beat of a chain — be ready to berimbolo or take the back, not to hold a static position
-
Maintain hip elevation and active rotation once inverted to keep the stack pass and smash unavailable
-
Protect against the leg being stripped by keeping the hook deep and the foot active on the opponent’s hip line
Execution Steps
-
Establish the deep grip and load the hook: From De La Riva, drive your hooking foot deeper behind the opponent’s lead leg and secure your contr…
-
Off-balance the opponent forward: Use the De La Riva hook to push the opponent’s knee away while pulling your collar or sleeve grip ac…
-
Tuck the head and drop the inside shoulder: Turn your chin toward the hooking-leg side and tuck it to your chest, then drop your inside shoulder…
-
Initiate the inversion under the opponent: Pull hard on the controlling grip and kick your free leg over your head to start the spin, rotating …
-
Arrive inverted and re-establish frames: As you land upside-down with shoulders on the mat and legs elevated toward the opponent, immediately…
-
Chain into the next attack: Do not stall inverted. Immediately flow into your highest-percentage follow-up: berimbolo by continu…
Common Mistakes
-
Inverting onto the crown of the head or the neck instead of the shoulder blades
- Consequence: Severe risk of cervical spine compression and injury, and a stalled inversion that cannot rotate because the weight is on the wrong structure
- Correction: Always tuck the chin and transfer weight to the shoulder blades and upper back before rotating. If you feel pressure on your neck, stop and reset — there is no safe way to force the spin from the head.
-
Releasing the De La Riva hook during the rotation
- Consequence: The opponent steps free and circles to a passing angle, leaving you inverted with no connection and an exposed guard
- Correction: Keep the hook engaged the entire time; it is your tether and steering wheel. If you must change hooks, transition directly to a Reverse De La Riva hook rather than letting go entirely.
-
Initiating the inversion without first off-balancing the opponent forward
- Consequence: You spin under a fully based opponent who simply stacks you, turning your own inversion into their easy pass
- Correction: Break their posture and shift their weight onto the hooked leg first using the collar/sleeve pull, so their momentum carries them in the direction of your spin before you commit.
Playing as Defender
Key Principles
-
Attack the two dependencies of the entry: strip the De La Riva hook and kill the controlling upper-body grip
-
Recognize the inversion early — chin tuck and dropping shoulder are your signal to step out, not lean in
-
When stepping free, circle away from the direction of the spin to deny the back-take angle
-
If the inversion completes, stack forward and pass rather than allowing a static inverted position to settle
-
Never feed the berimbolo — keep your weight back until you have controlled the legs, then commit the stack deliberately
-
Maintain your own base and posture so an off-balance attempt cannot break you forward over the hook
-
Control distance and grips so the bottom player cannot secure the collar or pant grip that powers the pull
Recognition Cues
-
The bottom player drives their De La Riva hook deeper behind your lead leg and pulls a far-collar, sleeve, or pant-cuff grip across their body to off-balance you forward
-
Their head turns toward the hooking-leg side and tucks to the chest while the inside shoulder drops toward the mat — the unmistakable pre-inversion tell
-
Their hips lift off the mat and begin traveling up and under you as their shoulders pivot, signaling the rotation has started
-
You feel your weight being pulled forward and over the hooked leg, with your base compromised toward the side the hook controls
Defensive Options
-
Free the hooked leg and circle away from the spin before the inversion completes - When: Early recognition — at the chin-tuck and shoulder-drop, before their hips travel under you
-
Strip the controlling collar, sleeve, or pant grip before they commit to the rotation - When: Preventive — when you feel them secure the upper-body anchor but before the spin starts
-
Drive forward and stack the bottom player onto their shoulders to pass to side control - When: When the inversion is already underway and stepping out is no longer available
Position Integration
The De La Riva to Inverted Guard entry sits at the heart of the modern competition guard system, serving as the primary bridge between the De La Riva control structure and the berimbolo/back-take game. It connects upstream to grip-heavy open guards such as Spider Guard and Lasso Guard, which can pummel into De La Riva, and downstream to Inverted Guard, Back Control, and Single Leg X-Guard, which are its natural exits. Strategically, the entry converts a defensive guard-retention posture into an offensive angle, making it indispensable for any guard player building a back-attack system. It pairs tightly with the Reverse De La Riva inversion to give the practitioner both back-take angles, and with granby-roll guard recovery as a built-in safety valve. Mastery of this entry is considered a gateway skill for the entire inverted and berimbolo curriculum, because nearly every high-level back take from open guard begins with some version of inverting from a De La Riva hook.