MT Clinch Training

[Deleted member 2295]

I am just curious to know how many of you guys who train muay thai/ kickboxing really train the clinch. I'm not just talking about hanging on someones neck and blasting a few kness. I mean really work the ins and outs of the MT clinch. I have trained at a few "kickboxing" gyms in my time and have found that very few of them teach the clinch. I have finally discovered a school that places a strong emphasis on it and i love it.

I think a lot of schools don't train it much because of the rules here in the states. Most states (if not all except nevada) do not allow knees and elbows to the head. (primary weapons in the clinch.) I'm just interested on what everyone else thinks about it.

 

[Sinister]

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=280909

 

[Crimson Tiger]

To be honest I don't train clinch that much... perhaps because I trained in submission wrestling and judo so I somehow feel that I can substitute it with takedown and submissions, but a good MT fighter (especially ones from Thailand) can really blow your mind with that shit. I regret that I didn't work on it hard when I was taking MT... cause it really helps you when you knee!

 

[Brandinho]

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=280909

Good call Kabuki.

The clinch is what separates "muay thai" from pure muay thai. Muay thai without the clinch is not muay thai.

 

[Chthon]

Awesome Kabuki, a very good and important thread you made there.

 

[Elpresidente]

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=280909

Great post Kabuki.

A Muay Thai gym must at the very least practice the basics of clinching otherwise IMHO it is a pretty poor gym.

 

[Coleman]

We practice the clinch a lot at our school but we practice it in a slightly different way. We clinch up and work the muay thai clinch but we also work wrestling clinch and takedowns at the same time since we are an MMA school. A pure MT clinch will get you high body locked, tripped and mounted pretty quickly if you are in an MMA situation.

I love the clinch. I'm not a very good stand up fighter. I can hold my own but I just don't feel comfortable on my feet. I feel really comfortable on the ground because the fight happens at a slower pace and the chance for 1 hit knockouts isn't nearly as high. I've really been working on my clinch lately because I want to use it to feel more comfortable on my feet. Like on the ground, fighting from the clinch is more a game of chess. That's my opinion anyways.

 

[muaythaifolife]

I practice the clinch and just knees in general quite a bit.

 

[Deleted member 2295]

the thing that really prompted me to start this thread was a conversation i had this past weekend at a bar with a guy who trained at a respected muay thai gym in southern california. we were comparing the different training regimes at our schools. when i asked him how often his school trained the clinch he said almost never. i couldn't believe it, especially after he told me that the guys from his school are always winning all the smokers and amateur fights in the area.