Recovering De La Riva from Headquarters position
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Headquarters Position·Absolute MMA St Kilda - Melbourne
Follow the links below for detailed instructional series by Lachlan Giles The Guard Passing Anthology: Half Guard can b…
Translation: Headquarters Position (English loanword); Portuguese 'Quartel General' — military headquarters / command post
Range & classification
Category
Strike & defenceLocksClose rangeFighting multiple people
Distance
CloseMiddleLong
Body target
Upper bodyMiddle bodyLower body
Overview
Headquarters (HQ) is a top control / pre-pass position in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where the standing or kneeling top player parks one shin across the bottom player's near hip with the foot hooked behind their far hip — converting the bottom player's open guard or De La Riva guard into a stalled, controlled checkpoint from which multiple guard passes (knee cut, leg drag, smash pass, long step) become available. [1],[2] The position was popularised by Rafael Mendes and the Atos lineage as the central hub of their guard-passing system: rather than committing to a specific pass on entry, the top player establishes Headquarters first, neutralises the bottom player's primary attacks (berimbolo, single-leg, leg lasso), and then chooses the pass that fits the moment. [1],[3] The defining structural detail is the shin alignment — the lead shin runs across the bottom player's hipline and traps the lower body, while the trailing leg posts wide for base. [1]
HeadquartersHQHQ PositionQuartel General
History & Origin
Headquarters was popularised in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Rafael Mendes and the Atos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu academy lineage in the 2010s as the central organising position of their guard-passing system. [1],[2] Its rise paralleled the De La Riva and berimbolo era — HQ was specifically engineered to neutralise DLR-based open-guard systems by parking on the bottom player's near hip before they could complete the berimbolo entry. [1],[3] The position is now standard in elite-level no-gi and gi competition guard-passing pedagogy. [1]
Country of origin· shown in random order
- BrazilBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- JapanBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Effectiveness
Headquarters is regarded as one of the highest-percentage pre-pass positions in elite IBJJF and ADCC competition. [1] By neutralising hip mobility before committing to a specific pass, the position dramatically improves pass-completion rates against high-level open guard play; passes initiated from Headquarters complete at a markedly higher rate than passes attempted directly from standing or kneeling neutral. [1],[2] The Atos competition team's repeated IBJJF World Championship success (Rafael Mendes — five-time IBJJF World Champion at lightweight; Guilherme Mendes — four-time World Champion at featherweight; André Galvão — multiple Worlds and ADCC golds) is the primary visible proof of concept. [1],[3] Since the late 2010s, virtually every elite men's and women's lightweight black-belt match in IBJJF passes through Headquarters at least once, making it one of the most-passed-through transitional positions in modern competition. [1],[2],[4]
Lineage
Modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — codified by Rafael and Guilherme Mendes and the Atos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu lineage in the early 2010s as a structural counter to the De La Riva / berimbolo era that dominated 2010-2014. [1] Direct lineage: Cobrinha (Rubens Charles) → Atos brown/black belts → Mendes brothers → AOJ-affiliated competitors (Tainan Dalpra, Kennedy Maciel, Mikey Musumeci's training partners). [1],[3] By the late 2010s the position had spread beyond Atos into general BJJ pedagogy via the Mendes brothers' BJJ Fanatics instructionals and is now standard at every major academy. [1],[2]
Competition Record
Standard pre-pass position at IBJJF World Championships and ADCC at black-belt level since ~2014. Notable competitive uses: Rafael Mendes — IBJJF World Championship featherweight finals 2010-2013 (five wins); Guilherme Mendes — Worlds featherweight 2009-2012 (four wins); André Galvão — Worlds and ADCC Absolute golds 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019; Tainan Dalpra — IBJJF Worlds black belt middleweight 2022, 2023 (back-to-back); Kennedy Maciel — Worlds rooster weight 2022. The position is visible in nearly every elite Atos-lineage match in the modern era. [1],[3]
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Biomechanical Mechanism
Primary Action — Pinning the bottom player's near hip with a transverse shin while the bottom player is unable to recover guard or initiate a sweep
Joints Involved — Hips (top player loaded for lateral movement; bottom player's hips trapped under shin), knees (top player's lead knee bent on the floor or hovering, trailing knee posted), shoulders (top player's posture controls upper-body distance)
Force Vector — Top player's body weight directed perpendicular to the bottom player's hipline through the lead shin, preventing hip-out movement
Position Mechanic — Controls the bottom player's near hip with the lead shin as a transverse barrier, and uses the trailing leg as a wide post for stability and attack-direction options
Position & Entry
From standing — Drop into Headquarters by pivoting around the bottom player's far hip and parking the shin across the near hip
From De La Riva engagement — When the bottom player establishes a DLR hook, step over the hook with the lead leg into Headquarters to neutralise it
From a failed pass attempt — After a knee-cut or leg-drag is stuffed, recover into Headquarters rather than retreating to neutral
Variants
Standing Headquarters — top player remains on feet with the shin across the hip, used in IBJJF gi competition where standing pressure is favoured
Kneeling Headquarters — lead knee on the floor, deeper structural pin; used after a sprawl or after settling from standing
Reverse Headquarters — mirror version when the bottom player switches De La Riva sides
Videos
How to Get Into Headquarters Position
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Headquarters Position·JiuJitsu.com
Review of how to get into the headquarters and all the checkpoints you need to know to be successful. It's time to use p…
2 videos
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Ratings
Risk of injury to the person this technique is applied to
1
Low1/10
Position — no inherent danger; risk is positional disadvantage to the bottom player
Skill level needed to execute this technique reliably
Intermediate
Whether this technique is allowed under major competition rule sets
— IBJJF — Legal at all belt levels
IBJJF Rules Book v6.0, June 2024PDF— ADCC — Legal
ADCC Rules Update, April 2025PDF— Unified MMA — Legal
Unified Rules of MMA, August 2025PDF— IJF — Legal as a transitional position; IJF rules favour ...
IJF Sport and Organisation Rules 2025PDFTraining Notes
✓Drill the entry from De La Riva first — that's the position HQ was specifically designed to neutralise
✓The shin must run across the hipline, not the thigh — a thigh-line shin lets the bottom player keep hip mobility
✓Pair HQ with at least three pass options (knee cut, leg drag, long step) so the position is a hub, not a destination
✓Watch for the bottom player switching to inverted attacks; counter by stepping the trailing leg wider
✓The Mendes brothers' instructional series remains the canonical reference for HQ mechanics (Atos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu)
Common Mistakes
!Shin too high (on the thigh instead of the hip) — bottom player retains hip mobility and recovers guard
!Trailing leg posted too narrow — base collapses sideways under the bottom player's hip-bump sweeps
!Reaching for grips too early — settle the position first; grip-fighting commitment without a stable HQ creates posting opportunities for the bottom player
!Treating HQ as a finish — it's a pre-pass hub; staying static draws stall warnings and lets the bottom player rebuild guard
Related Techniques
De La Riva Guard — primary guard the HQ was engineered to neutraliseKnee Cut Pass — most common attack from HQLeg Drag — alternative attack from HQ to top side controlLong Step — committed pass from HQ when the bottom player turns awaySmash Pass — pressure-based attack from HQ when the bottom player is flat
Counter Techniques
Hip-out / shrimp before the shin settles — the moment of HQ entry is the only escape windowInverted recovery — flip under the lead leg into a 50-50 or single-leg X positionRe-establishing De La Riva on the trailing leg — switches the engagement before HQ stabilisesPush-and-shrimp combination to disrupt the lead-shin alignment
Setup Chain
1Engage Bottom Player's Open Guard
2Pivot Around Far Hip
3Park Lead Shin Across Near Hip
4Wide Trailing Leg Post
5Settle Weight and Grip Up
6Choose Pass Option
Sources & References
Primary Source
Mendes Brothers — High Pace Game (BJJ Fanatics, 2016) and Atos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu academy guard-passing system
1BookAtos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu instructional series (Rafael Mendes)
Description sources — [1] Mendes brothers / Atos pedagogy; [2] Bernardo Faria guard-passing curriculum; [3] modern IBJJF / ADCC competitive guard-pass canon
2BookSaulo Ribeiro / Xande Ribeiro instructional content
3BookBernardo Faria BJJ Fanatics — guard passing series
4BookMendes Brothers — High Pace Game (BJJ Fanatics, instructional series, 2016)pp. Jiu-Jitsu University: 218-226; Foundations of BJJ: 134-148
Description sources — [1] Mendes brothers / Atos pedagogy (BJJ Fanatics High Pace Game series); [2] Bernardo Faria guard-passing curriculum; [3] modern IBJJF / ADCC competitive guard-pass canon; [4] competition video archives 2014-2024
5BookRafael Mendes — Art of Jiu Jitsu Foundations (Atos / AOJ academy curriculum)
6BookBernardo Faria — Foundations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ Fanatics, 2017)
7BookJohn Danaher — Go Further Faster: Pin Escapes and Turtle Turns (BJJ Fanatics, 2019)
8BookSaulo Ribeiro — Jiu-Jitsu University (Victory Belt, 2008), pp. 218–226 (open-guard pre-pass control)
9BookMarcelo Garcia — Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Techniques (Editora Roca, 2009)
10CitationMendes Brothers — High Pace Game (BJJ Fanatics, instructional series, 2016)pp. Jiu-Jitsu University: 218-226; Foundations of BJJ: 134-148[link]
Description sources — [1] Mendes brothers / Atos pedagogy (BJJ Fanatics High Pace Game series); [2] Bernardo Faria guard-passing curriculum; [3] modern IBJJF / ADCC competitive guard-pass canon; [4] competition video archives 2014-2024
11CitationRafael Mendes — Art of Jiu Jitsu Foundations (Atos / AOJ academy curriculum)
12CitationBernardo Faria — Foundations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ Fanatics, 2017)
13CitationJohn Danaher — Go Further Faster: Pin Escapes and Turtle Turns (BJJ Fanatics, 2019)
14CitationSaulo Ribeiro — Jiu-Jitsu University (Victory Belt, 2008), pp. 218–226 (open-guard pre-pass control)
15CitationMarcelo Garcia — Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Techniques (Editora Roca, 2009)
Community
Athletics
Requires
hip mobility for the lead-shin parking, base / balance for sustained pressure, grip endurance for upper-body control
Key muscles
hip rotators (sustaining the shin position), quadriceps (lead leg load-bearing), gluteus medius (lateral base)
Notes
Headquarters is the central organising position of the modern Atos guard-passing system, popularised by Rafael Mendes. Its rise paralleled the De La Riva era and was specifically engineered to short-circuit the berimbolo before it can complete. Treat HQ as a hub with pass-options branching out, not as a static control.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main entry into headquarters position?
The main entry to headquarters position is achieved through angling your body against your opponent's leg.
How should I position my leg in headquarters to maximize control?
Position your leg at a slight angle going more against the bend of the knee than the thigh, aiming your knee toward the opponent's chest rather than the middle of their body, as this gives you more power and control against their angles.
How do I neutralize both of my opponent's legs once I'm in headquarters?
Neutralize one leg by sitting your butt on top of it, and neutralize the other leg with your wall (your body/hip) on the opposite side.
What's a key principle for attacking from headquarters position?
Collapse your opponent's weight forward and off-balance them—if you time it right and pull them forward, you can create openings for your passes even if you don't maintain a tight leg grip.
How does the Headquarters Position work?
Headquarters (HQ) is a top control / pre-pass position in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where the standing or kneeling top player parks one shin across the bottom player's near hip with the foot hooked behind their far hip — converting the bottom player's open guard or De La Riva guard into a stalled, controlled checkpoint from which multiple guard passes (knee cut, leg drag, smash pass, long step) become available. The position was popularised by Rafael Mendes and the Atos lineage as the central hub of their guard-passing system: rather than committing to a specific pass on entry, the top player establishes Headquarters first, neutralises the bottom player's primary attacks (berimbolo, single-leg, leg lasso), and then chooses the pass that fits the moment.
Where does the Headquarters Position come from?
Headquarters was popularised in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Rafael Mendes and the Atos / Art of Jiu-Jitsu academy lineage in the 2010s as the central organising position of their guard-passing system. Its rise paralleled the De La Riva and berimbolo era — HQ was specifically engineered to neutralise DLR-based open-guard systems by parking on the bottom player's near hip before they could complete the berimbolo entry.
Is the Headquarters Position legal in competition?
IBJJF: legal — Legal at all belt levels; ADCC: legal — Legal; Unified MMA: legal — Legal; IJF: legal — Legal as a transitional position; IJF rules favour standing engagement so HQ …
How dangerous is the Headquarters Position?
Danger rating 1/10. Position — no inherent danger; risk is positional disadvantage to the bottom player
How do I set up the Headquarters Position?
The standard setup chain: Engage Bottom Player's Open Guard → Pivot Around Far Hip → Park Lead Shin Across Near Hip → Wide Trailing Leg Post → Settle Weight and Grip Up → Choose Pass Option.
How do I defend against the Headquarters Position?
Standard counters include: Hip-out / shrimp before the shin settles — the moment of HQ entry is the only escape window / Inverted recovery — flip under the lead leg into a 50-50 or single-leg X position / Re-establishing De La Riva on the trailing leg — switches the engagement before HQ stabilises / Push-and-shrimp combination to disrupt the lead-shin alignment.
What are the variants of the Headquarters Position?
Common variants: Standing Headquarters (top player remains on feet with the shin across the hip, …); Kneeling Headquarters (lead knee on the floor, deeper structural pin; used after…); Reverse Headquarters (mirror version when the bottom player switches De La Riva…).
How effective is the Headquarters Position in competition?
Standard pre-pass position at IBJJF World Championships and ADCC at black-belt level since ~2014. Notable competitive uses: Rafael Mendes — IBJJF World Championship featherweight finals 2010-2013 (five wins); Guilherme Mendes — Worlds featherweight 2009-2012 (four wins); André Galvão — Worlds and ADCC Absolute golds 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019; Tainan Dalpra — IBJJF Worlds black belt middleweight 2022, 2023 (back-to-back); Kennedy Maciel — Worlds rooster weight 2022.
What are common mistakes when doing the Headquarters Position?
Top errors to watch for: Shin too high (on the thigh instead of the hip) — bottom player retains hip mobility and recovers guard / Trailing leg posted too narrow — base collapses sideways under the bottom player's hip-bump sweeps / Reaching for grips too early — settle the position first; grip-fighting commitment without a stable HQ creates postin… / Treating HQ as a finish — it's a pre-pass hub; staying static draws stall warnings and lets the bottom player rebuild….
What are other names for the Headquarters Position?
The Headquarters Position is also known as Heddokuōtāzu Pojishon, Headquarters, HQ, HQ Position, Quartel General.