Ricardo De La Riva is one of the most creative guard players to have competed in bjj. His mark is through the De LA Riva Guard from which many variations of the modern sports came.
He began his bjj journey in January 1980 – he was 15 at the time.
De La Riva was part of Academia Carlson Gracie, one of the most respected teams.
He was awarded his black belt by Carlson Gracie in 1986. His namesake guard came from trying to avoid being curshed by heavier opponents. Initially it was cold Pudding Guard.
It was only in 1985 after De La Riva beat the (until then) unbeaten Royler Gracie at the Copa Cantão, applying that guard to the highly decorated Gracie, that the media started calling that position the “De La Riva”.
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