COTTO: Made For Muay Thai

[Uchi Mata]

@Uchi Mata



The problem of the tight high guard in the punching range, is that it's make a lot harder for you to use elbows, and will give you difficulty with your entry/deny the clinch. It's useful against punches, but a loose high guard, will give you better control for the clinch, and gives you weapons to fire back (the elbows).
And it's a lot easier to alternate different types of guard that way. From loose high to long guard for example.

If your opponent use long 1 or 2s it can be a very useful tool like in that fight:



Or as you said, if the opponent is desperate for a Knock Down, using mostly punches...

That makes a lot of sense. It would also explain why tight high guards are so much more common in kickboxing rule sets where elbows and extended clinches are typically prohibited.

 

[ARIZE]

That makes a lot of sense. It would also explain why tight high guards are so much more common in kickboxing rule sets where elbows and extended clinches are typically prohibited.

Yes, thank you. That's what some of us try to explain all along to some knuckleheads in here... Something that works in KB and Boxing, will not necessarily work in MT... You cannot isolate punches and say that you must do in MT what boxers do, since they are better in punching...
It doesn't mean it doesn't exist in MT, just that it's not the most common defense for a reason.

 

[rmongler]

When i think of grimy dirty boxers with strong in-fighting, Cotto is not exactly the first name that immediately springs to mind, all due respect to him.

What i do think of when i think of people who excel(led) at clinch boxing, is guys like Duran, Andre Ward, or Mayweather on the ring side of things, or guys like Cormier or Barnett on the cage side of things.

Those are the sort of guys who i think would be valuable to study to see how it coheres with your own prospective clinch game (and how to deal with someone else who may try the same).

I think if there are any things about this style that would constitute unique wrinkles to the clinch meta, it's things like the short shot uppercut (like classically lamented in our very own forum: )

Wtf!? Is clinching a lie?

as well as things like how they go about hand control, and strategy around their use of clinching, such as the classic 'punch and clutch' to stifle opponents chance to counter attack after landing your own shots, or the masterful use of level changes to simultaneously avoid blows and penetrate into the clinch.

 

[Hotora86]

Love you ARIZE

Glad you guys are finally out of the closet.

Anyway, great read, thanks.