reverse de la riva problems

[man im tuff]

So I like an open guard game, spider guard, DLR, RDLR. I only go to RDLR if the person is trying to leg drag me a lot in the DLR and I only go there for short periods. I will try a sweep or two from there usually but I'm having problems spinning under.

One of the blackbelts at my gym told me "spin under as soon as you get RDLR" but I'm a little timid with it because I ended up with a broken nose when I first started playing with RDLR and tonight I tried just spinning under and got a knee dropped on my face on two occasions with two different training partners (fellow brownbelt and head instructor)

So how do you guys deal with someone just dropping down when you try to spin under. I'm pretty sure I just need to use my hook and my non-hooking leg to kind of force them upward to make it harder for them to come down but wanted to see if you all have anything specific you like to do.

 

[Vitamin C]

Maybe practice some reps on doing it against combat base? You seen end up sort of just sweeping the one leg over top of you, rather than coming out directly behind them.
Are you using your free leg to keep distance? Or reaching for the far knee with the free hand? That could serve to deflect it away from your face. Also perhaps bringing your head tighter in the inversion? I see a lot of guys treat this like they are shifting into deep half sort of movement, rather than a tight inversion like you would with the berimbolo to the outside.

 

[Uchi Mata]

what kind of RDLR are you playing? What are you doing with your other leg? Typically I try to get either a spider hook or a lasso with the top leg, that allows for much more imbalancing. I've never gotten a knee dropped on my face and I play RDLR a lot.

I can't find a free version of it, but the Mendes bros also show a version where instead of spinning under you use the RDLR hook to kick the top guy forward and extend his leg, and then go immediately back to DLR. It works well.

I'd also question the premise that you need to spin under immediately. If you can get a spider hook or lasso then it's a very playable position, even if you can't you can often come up on a single.

 

[david5]

spin back, drag heel to single leg

 

[man im tuff]

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1:33 mark is essentially what im going for and do it pretty much the same way. The knees I took weren't straight on, just kind of glancing but usually guys will just drop down and shut it down. I guess I need to play with it more.

If I'm not going for the spin under, typically I use the RDLR hook and with my non-hooking leg I like to put my foot directly below their knee (same leg that is hooked) and with my grip on their heel; pull toward my butt and kick forward toward their knee for a ankle pick/knee bar type sweep. Just something I started messing with no one showed it to me. I started doing it because one guy at the gym is really good at leg dragging.

 

[Shemhazai]

IMO the RDLR spin-under (which is probably my favorite move from guard) isn't an ideal move when the guy is standing up, unless you can get him to move forward. It's my primary attack when the guy is down on one knee, but if he's standing, he's too mobile, and I find that trying to chase him with the spin-under when he is able to back out of it, can result in getting leg dragged or stacked if he knows what he's doing. I much prefer the RDLR tripod in that situation, switching to the spin-under if he defends and comes forward.

 

[Dirty Holt]

My primary passes come from standing. When people spin under from RDLR, I have to drop and crossface. I wind up dropping knees all the time but really its from the bottom guy basically pulling me down and spinning their face right into the knee. The guys who are really good at this tend to spin deeper and avoid ramming their face in the wrong spot.

Maybe try to stay a bit tighter on your inversion to avoid the knees.

 

[BJJArsenal]

My primary passes come from standing. When people spin under from RDLR, I have to drop and crossface. I wind up dropping knees all the time but really its from the bottom guy basically pulling me down and spinning their face right into the knee. The guys who are really good at this tend to spin deeper and avoid ramming their face in the wrong spot.

Maybe try to stay a bit tighter on your inversion to avoid the knees.

I think this is it. You have to both move them forward with the RDLR hook as soon as you can get an angle as well as invert a lot tighter. It sounds like you're too far away as you attack.

 

[man im tuff]

thanks guys

 

[fizbo]

use your free hand to protect your face as you spin

 

[Pantarei]

Lift your hips up before spinning. Control the distance

 

[trustdoesntrust]

Not sure exactly why you're getting kneed, but either way this is jiu-jitsu so use the predictability of his counter to your advantage. If you spin and he drops, then spin back and go for the single or try to work something off an arm drag or leg lasso. Then if they defend that, try to spin under them again or switch to a different guard and attack from there. Nobody's going to just let you spin under them and get on their back unless they're completely unfamiliar with the move you're trying to do.

 

[Guiness]

I don't like the most common version (Mendes) of Reverse De La Riva. I struggle with spinning under and maintaining control. I do use the Saulo and Xande style as a big part of my game though.