Muay Thai Clinch

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easyriderkzo

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Hello all-

I am looking to improve my Mauy Thai clinch with weight training. What weight training can I do to increase my strength in this area? It seems like I am getting "out-muscled" while working the clinch.

thanks for your input!
 
work your traps. Deadlifts + Power cleans should do it
 
Technique work, too. Getting overall stronger will help, but there are like 120lb thai guys who can throw any of us around in the clinch.
 
There's a lot of technique in clinching. What's most important is to get in positions of leverage where you can use you weight/strength against him when he has a bad posture/position. If you're consistently being "outmuscled", you're probably giving up strong positions and being forced to work from positions of weak posture. No amount of strength training will help your technique.

Sure, work on your pulling muscles and do your squats, that can help; but you should be doing that already whether its in the weight room or doing conditioning.
 
grrthetree said:
Technique work, too. Getting overall stronger will help, but there are like 120lb thai guys who can throw any of us around in the clinch.
Click to expand...

Beat me to it.

Reminds me of the Franklin vs Silva 1 when Anderson ragdolled Franklin in the clinch. People that kept saying how "strong" Silva is in the clinch probably didn't have a clue about the thai clinch. It was all technique that allowed him to throw Franklin around the cage.
 
Anderson Silva tossed Franklin around like a ragdoll from the clinch twice. Anderson is a toothpick and Franklin is a notoriously strong MW that is currently competing at 205.
Like a lot of people already said, it's about technique. Just getting overall stronger would help your clinch probably.
 
Of course technique. I assumed TS already considered that.
 
All I've ever seen the Thais do is bench, push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. And of course run and skip.
 
scoopj said:
Of course technique. I assumed TS already considered that.
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right, we didn't say it like you all didn't mean to or whatever, but I don't want OP to go and start working his clinch muscles.
 
gotobread said:
All I've ever seen the Thais do is bench, push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. And of course run and skip.
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What? I've never seen thais use weights for anything more than neck work and to supplement their calesthenics/conditioning exercises.
 
Bicep curls.

No seriously. DON'T do a weight program created with the aim of improving your clinch. Just do a normal routine from the FAQ. The Deadlifts and Squats contained therein will strengthen your posterior chain.

Simple.

Then. Head over to the stand-up forum and post a video of a clinching round or ask the guys for some advice, or videos of good instructionals.

Finally. Practice it a lot. If you're getting thrown around, try to work out why.
 
grrthetree said:
Technique work, too. Getting overall stronger will help, but there are like 120lb thai guys who can throw any of us around in the clinch.
Click to expand...

this guys on the money.
balance and timing are way more important than strength...these things are only helped by time spent clinching.
 
While not specific to the thai clinch...the only weight training I do that is specifically designed to help my overall clinch and stand up grappling (aside from the obvious) is neck work. Neck harnesses work well...but as I don't have them, I generally use a towel.

But it would definitely help to know exactly what you think "muscles out" while you are in the clinch. Someone earlier made a joke about bicep curls...but I know guys that in the clinch, the first thing to go will be biceps. Now, if that is the case, it's probably more an issue of shitty technique then weak arm strength...but that doesn't mean you couldn't benefit from increased arm strength. However, I would recommend chins long before bicep curls.
 
LZD said:
Bicep curls.

No seriously. DON'T do a weight program created with the aim of improving your clinch. Just do a normal routine from the FAQ. The Deadlifts and Squats contained therein will strengthen your posterior chain.

Simple.

Then. Head over to the stand-up forum and post a video of a clinching round or ask the guys for some advice, or videos of good instructionals.

Finally. Practice it a lot. If you're getting thrown around, try to work out why.
Click to expand...

/Thread. As the FAQ itself states in regards to the question, 'How do I get stronger for Grappling etc' the answer is: you get stronger. Period.

Do a good, proven strength program from the FAQ, and work on your Clinch technique. There is no magic strength training program that will guarantee you success as a fighter. If there was such a program, we'd all be on it.

And just for the record, I train with two people who are superb at Clinch work. One of them has fought and won in Thailand, both of them throw me around like a ragdoll, inspite of my considerable weight and strength advantage. And neither of them does any heavy weight training.
 
lukewall said:
What? I've never seen thais use weights for anything more than neck work and to supplement their calesthenics/conditioning exercises.
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Every Thai gym I've ever been at -- maybe 7-8 throughout Bangkok and Phuket -- have all had rusty benches with a minimal amount of weight on them that always get some use. It's certainly one of the least popular items in the gym, but I've seen them there an in semi-frequent use.
 
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Never seen Thais bench either... Just a lot of swinging their arms with dumbbells. And one crazy mofo (Kompak Por Pramuk) shadowboxing with 8lb dumbbells at crackhead speeds. My upper body, particularly my back has gotten much thicker in the last few months from deadlifts, cleans, high pulls and pull ups. I've noticed a big increase in my strength in the clinch. Technique is of course paramount, but I tire much less in the clinch now that I am not being out-muscled.
 
TwoFour Lowkick said:
My upper body, particularly my back has gotten much thicker in the last few months from deadlifts, cleans, high pulls and pull ups. I've noticed a big increase in my strength in the clinch. Technique is of course paramount, but I tire much less in the clinch now that I am not being out-muscled.
Click to expand...

Right, technique is paramount, but adding in some strength training, time permitting, will help.

And as for what the Thais have done traditionally with regard to strength training and what is optimal are not necessarily the same thing.
 
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