
De La Riva – (Day-La-He-Va)
Lesson Plan
Position Description
De La Riva was started by Ricardo De La Riva. The goal is to entangle the leg of your opponent.
Concepts
From Top
- Strip the Grips
- Don’t Allow them to grab the ankle
- Grip the free leg
- Be in a squat position
From Bottom
- Establish Grips
- Grab the Ankle
- Get them off balance
- Don’t Allow them to grip the free leg
- Bring their weight forward
Additional Information
Head Positioning
From Top
- Keep your Head up
- Don’t allow them to grab your head
From Bottom
- Not Super important from bottom
Leg Positioning
From Top
- Keep your legs staggered with your butt down in an athletic stance.
- Keep your lead knee pointed out towards the attacking knee


From Bottom
- Use the leg to hook around the near leg for a modern De La Riva Positioning – Hip up to set Near Leg

- Use the leg to hook around the far leg for the traditional De La Riva also know as De La X. Have your butt on their foot.

Grips
From Top
- Control the pants at the knees
From Bottom
- One arm Grip at the Heel, Ankle or Pant Leg
- Other on one of the following
- Grip the belt
- Grip the collar
- Grip the Sleeve
- Grip the Cross Sleeve
Underhook De La Riva

- Establish De La Riva then go under the shin and grab your shin
- Keep your other foot on your opponent
Distance
From Top
- Don’t allow your weight to come forward
- When passing choose to stay super tight or super long
From Bottom
- Pull them in close to load their weight on you before the sweep
Opponents Submission Setups
From Opponent on Top

Weight Analysis
From the Top
- Keep your Balance and weight low.
- Don’t bring your weight forward
From Bottom
- Keep their weight moving
Ideal Body Type
- Longer Legs for Traditional De La Riva
- Shorter Legs for Modern De La Riva
Leverage Points
From Top
- Knees
From Bottom
- Collar
- Sleeves
- Knees
Pro Grappler to Review
- Gianni Grippo
Additional Positions
- Underhook DLR