Journal

Influential Practitioners

People whose work changed what the rest of us do on the mat.

Influential Practitioners
De la Riva, and the guard that took his name
A hook behind one leg solved a specific problem in a specific room in Rio in the early 1980s, and the widely repeated account of when it happened does not agree with itself.
4 August 2026 · Guard Theory editorial · 5 sources

Reading connected to this category

Technique Library

The de la Riva hook
The de la Riva guard starts with a leg wrapped around the outside of a standing passer's lead leg, attaching one corner of their base to you; everything else is built on that.

Influential Figures

Carlson Gracie
He replaced the private lesson with the group class and built his academy around sport competition, trends BJJ Heroes credits to him and that the sport kept.

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