The combat base, or Jayhawk as I code it, is a tricky thing to deal with. You'll find yourself up against it when somebody opens your closed guard and drops a knee in the middle. You also find it a lot when starting off sparring sessions from the knees. Rodrigo, Cindy and Stephan--two black belts and a high-level brown--have all started recent sparring sessions with me by adopting the Jayhawk.There are a couple of different ways to fight it. I like this one in part because it uses the De La Riva style of guard work that Rodrigo teaches a lot of. I read somewhere on the forum that Gracie Barra guys are known for their De La Riva (along with Rickson guys allegedly). For what it is worth ...
Basically to start this sweep off, you want to put a foot in the hip and De La Riva your other foot through the knee-up leg. Your feet should come together, so that they are really locked in. Grab the knee-up side elbow and the guy's head. First pull him TOWARD you to get him off his base. Then kick him to the side with your De La Riva hook and move to block with side control.
