REVERSE DE LA RIVA SWEEP

The reverse De La Riva sweep is the offensive technique from reverse De La Riva guard in which the bottom player uses the inside-hooked leg as the pivot point for a rotational sweep that ends in back control or mount. The technique is structurally distinct from the conventional De La Riva sweep because the inside-hook angle produces a different rotational geometry — the sweep travels in the opposite direction from the conventional one.

The mechanics begin from established reverse De La Riva guard with the inside hook deep around the opponent's leg and a same-side collar or sleeve grip. The bottom player uses the inside hook as the pivot point, rotating their body underneath the opponent while pulling the collar grip across to off-balance. As the rotation completes, the bottom player emerges in back control (when the opponent over-rotates trying to escape) or in mount (when the opponent commits weight forward into the sweep direction).

The technique is one of the canonical Atos-system answers to opponents who have neutralized the conventional De La Riva offensive system, and Lucas Lepri and Rafael Lovato Jr. both used reverse De La Riva sweeps as primary IBJJF finishes. Defensively the technique is countered by stepping the hooked leg sharply inward to break the hook before the sweep develops, by stuffing the bottom player's far leg with body weight, or by attacking with a leg drag pass on the captured leg before the rotation completes.