According to John Danaher, the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be defined into four basic steps: take the opponent to the ground, pass their legs, pin them, and go for a submission. While this is the textbook idea of Jiu-Jitsu, as you study the art, you begin to learn the concept of effectively attacking off your back. It is one of the most vital skills you will learn from Jiu-Jitsu and is a must-have as you gain more experience. This article will discuss six attacks from the open guard supinated position in BJJ.
Attacks From The Supine Open Guard Position
Open guards in BJJ can be played in seated or supinated positions. Seated open guard is typically when grapplers play the open guard seated upright. Some examples are the butterfly and shin-to-shin guard. On the other hand, the supine open guard is when grapplers are playing the open guard, laying on their back; an example is the de La Riva guard. Below are some attacks you can perform from the supine open guard position.
1) De La Riva Sweep To Back Take
In BJJ, the de La Riva Guard is a variation of the open guard from the supine position. It is performed by wrapping your leg outside the opponent’s lead leg, who’s looking to pass standing. The DLR is usually used to sweep, apply submissions, or take the opponent’s back.
To start, set up the de La Riva guard with your right hand gripping the opponent’s left sleeve while using your left hand to control the opponent’s left ankle. Place your right leg on the opponent’s right hip and straighten it. Apply a DLR hook by shooting your left foot to the opponent’s right hip from the outside (opponent’s left leg).
Pivot your body to the left and switch grips from the opponent’s left ankle to the other leg from behind. This allows you to control their right leg by grabbing the bottom of their pants. Get your body behind the opponent and center yourself as you get both knees behind them. From this position, hold the opponent’s belt with both your hands. Pull the opponent down and kick them forward. Get both hooks in, sit up, and apply a seatbelt grip to secure the back mount.
2) De La Riva To Triangle
Step on the opponent’s far knee starting from the de La Riva guard. Apply a collar grip and use their collar to keep them off-balance. Perform a hip escape and use your ankle grip to lift their foot. You aim to force the opponent to post their hands on the mat. When the opponent tries to return to his or her posture, pull your knee back and shoot your leg above their shoulder. Bring your DLR leg (outside leg) to their armpit and lock the triangle.
3) Straight Footlock From The De La Riva Guard
Likewise, from the de La Riva Guard, control the opponent’s pants and sleeve using the ankle and cross-sleeve grip. Assuming that you have the DLR hook using your left leg, turn to your left side and step your other leg on the opponent’s hip on the same side. While maintaining the ankle grip, push the opponent away using your right foot and release the DLR hook with your left leg.
Place your left leg behind the opponent’s opposite leg to sweep them. After sweeping the opponent and maintaining the cross-sleeve grip, hook your left foot behind the opponent’s left knee. Circle your left arm around the opponent’s left foot and grab your right collar. Pinch your knees together and drive your hips forward to secure the footlock.
4) Reverse De La Riva Sweep To Back Take
Using the reverse de La Riva and KoD (Kiss of the Dragon) effectively is a great way to take the opponent’s back, and are proven at the highest level of competition. Starting from the supinated open guard, control both wrists of the opponent. Establish your Reverse de La Riva guard as the opponent steps back to a staggered stance.
Using your right foot, hook it behind the opponent’s left knee. Turn your body to the right in one movement and hook your right hand behind the opponent’s left leg. Spin underneath the opponent, and as you do, overhook the opponent’s other leg using your left hand. Invert and extend your legs to push the opponent to the mat.
As you sweep the opponent, maintain control over the opponent’s legs to prevent them from recovering. Smash the opponent’s legs to the side and keep your pressure on the smash pass using your upper body. You can take the opponent’s back and secure the position with a seatbelt grip.
5) Reverse De La Riva To Mikey Lock
Like the other techniques, close the distance and enter the reverse de La Riva. As you rotate your body counterclockwise to get under the opponent, slide your right leg to the inside of the opponent’s stance. Slide your left hand between the opponent’s legs and push against the opponent’s left hamstring with your left hand to turn your body between the opponent’s legs.
In this position, immediately perform a sweep by pressing your right shin on the opponent’s hips with your left leg pushing on the opponent’s right hamstring. As soon as the opponent falls forward, apply the Mikey Lock. Grab the opponent’s heels with your hands and push against the opponent’s toes with your head to create flexion for the lock.
6) Toe Hold From Single Leg X Guard
Starting from the single leg X guard, sweep the opponent by bridging your hips up as you isolate their feet. As the opponent falls back on the mat, apply an ankle lock on the opponent’s left leg using your left arm. Put your left shoulder on the floor and get up by bringing your knee to the mat and your body up, going for the ankle lock while posting your head on the mat.
Now that the opponent’s foot is exposed, drop your right shoulder on the mat and grab the opponent’s ankle using your right hand. Use your left hand to hold the opponent’s foot, transition your right hand, and grab your left wrist. Roll to the side and put the opponent’s foot to their glute to finish the toe hold.
Conclusion
Learning to play the open guard can be one of the most challenging parts of your Jiu-Jitsu journey. Playing the open guard and attacking from the supine position may take a lot of time to develop, but it is surely a worthy pursuit. We encourage you to take time and sharpen your open guard as you build your overall Jiu-Jitsu game.
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