Kickboxing Routines Article
Learn To Do The Most Misunderstood Part Of Thai Boxing By Most Westerners...Muay Thai Clinch Techniques
Muay thai clinch techniques are some of the most misunderstood muay thai skills by westerners. In western boxing there are rules against clinching and fighters are often separated and sometimes penalized for it.
In muay thai kickboxing clinch techniques are not just allowed, they are a essential part of the art itself. In my, and others, opinion the clinch techniques are what make muay thai so lethal when tested against others arts.
In other martial arts decades ago techniques from different styles used to be more similar than they are today. In karate competition you could grab someone for a length of time and strike them, now that time allowed is only a split second. In judo competition a long time ago it used to be within the rules to get someone in an arm bar and punch them in the throat. The more lethal techniques were the ones where you could 'hold and hit'. Pulling a target in towards the strike will almost double the impact of the strike.
People were getting hurt and so grappling arts became purely grappling and striking arts became purely striking.
Now that mixed martial arts has become so popular we have come full circle and striking arts are learning grappling and grappling arts are learning striking. Muay thai has also kept the two in competition to a certain degree with clinch techniques or stand-up grappling.
The basic muay thai cinch techniques involve taking control of your opponents upper body to prevent them hitting you, setting up strikes of your own, and throwing your opponent to the ground. We will start with getting into the clinch in the first place.
If you just go into your opponents space with the sole intent of clinching you will probably get hit. Your opponent will just step back to create space and let you have it. You must initiate the clinch with something.
Punches and knees create the right reaction and distance to allow clinching. You throw a strike that will make your opponent guard up so that they are not in a position to counter strike, then you grab them. If the strike is a long range weapon like a round kick you will not be in range or have enough time to latch on. A knee with your hands forward to grab him works well.
Most often though you will not initiate any muay thai clinch technique at all...you'll just find yourself in clinching range during a flurry of action. You must react quickly when this happens.
The most common muay thai clinch technique involves taking control of the back of your opponents head. Notice I said head and not neck. A lot of western trainers teach to control your opponents neck because they've seen some muay thai fighting but not been taught the way they learn in Thailand.
To control your opponents head you have to 'snake' your hand inside and around your opponents guard, then outside around the neck, and then up the back of his head on the upper back of his skull - all in one movement. Your palm sits on his head facing your direction. Your other hand does the same thing on the other side and the palm sits on top of your original hand. Do this one hand at a time...Not Both!
Once you have this position squeeze your elbows together on either side of your opponents neck and you have full control of his head and therefore his body. In this position you can maneuver his body into your strikes by turning in semi-circles to get him off balance and then pulling him into your knees.
Another good muay thai clinch technique involves getting your arms under your opponents arms and clasping your hands together behind his neck. You raise your elbows up which straightens out your opponents arms and takes away his power and defense of his body. From this position you can unload knees to your opponents body with minimal resistance.
The next main muay thai clinch technique is the common bear hug where you wrap your arms around your opponents lower torso and bring him close. This technique is used mainly for defense when your opponent has a good upper clinch that you cannot break, but you can throw him also from this position. It may not get many points but it is legal and you can hurt them easily if you do it right. Some people will try to bend their opponents back whilst doing a bear hug but this is illegal in muay thai.
There are many other muay thai clinch techniques but they are pretty much variations of those three. One good technique is for when your opponent has good head control on you and is squeezing his forearms in pretty tight. You can only get your left arm in through his guard so instead bring your other arm around the back of his neck so that your elbow joint is on the back of his neck. Turn your left palm up so that your outer forearm is on his chest and the back of your left hand is on his trapezious muscle. Clasp your hands together and put pressure on the back of his neck, and on his chest. Now raise your left elbow outwards so that you break your opponents grip and open up his ribcage...now fire your knees at will.
Learning good muay thai clinch technique is an art in itself because there are so many variations you can do and you can make up your own style quite easily and still stick to the principles.
Speaking of principles here are some that apply to all muay thai clinch techniques that you should always keep in mind while practicing...
1 Try to remain relaxed - Anyone who has tried muay thai clinching knows how incredibly draining it is. You could have the best stamina in the world with your strikes but if you don't train for clinching you'll fade quickly. Try too hard and you'll fade just as fast.
If someone has you in a position where they have good leverage then no matter how much muscle you have you won't get out.
Think of hanging on a window ledge. If you're going to be there a while then don't use up energy. Just use the only muscles necessary to keep you there and relax all the others.
The same is true for the muay thai clinch. Use only the muscles needed to do the job and relax all the others. This, of course, comes with lots of practice.
2 Control your opponents centre of balance with leverage and momentum - remember why your in there, this isn't western boxing or kickboxing.
You're not just 'tying up' your opponent and waiting for the referee to stop it. If there is still action going on the ref WON'T stop it!
Get some damage in on your opponent before he does it to you. That means setting him up for strikes or throwing him to the ground. You can't do any judo or wrestling throws but remember, it's legal to hit your opponent before the referee stops it...even if he's just hit the ground! Get them in whenever you can.
3 Remember you can knee practically anywhere - up until the eighties it was fully legal in muay thai competition to get someone in a clinch and knee them in the balls.
One muay thai champion was famous for it and one many titles with this knockout. Now you can't knee to the groin but you can knee the legs.
Once you're in a close clinch you can fire off many knees in quick succession to all parts of the thigh. You can stop him from moving properly in seconds and then go for a target further up.
4 Either close the distance between you and your opponent or create space to strike - Once your in the muay thai clinch get up on your toes and be light on your feet, get 'chest to chest' and 'groin to groin'.
This decreases the chance of being thrown off balance or your opponent getting room to knee you. When you are in a good position to strike, push your opponent away (whilst still holding on) to create space and then pull them back in to a knee.
It's these times when true muay thai clinch techniques have their most devastating effects.
5 Keep looking up - a lot of people I've seen teach students to keep their faces on their opponents shoulder to stop being elbowed. This is correct but they miss one important point...keeping your eyes up.
There is a saying that "if you look at the floor, that is where you will end up!" Where the eyes go the head goes, and where the head goes the body will follow. You can have your face pointing downwards towards the shoulder for protection but keep looking up. This is crucial.
I hope you now have a better grasp of proper muay thai clinch technique and can use this info to better your stand-up grappling. Remember, muay thai clinching is almost an art in itself and therefore needs constant practice and study.
