Any advice on exiting\breaking from the clinch? We were working on closing and exiting techniques last night and particularly getting used to throwing a round kick or teep right as we broke out of the clinch. What do you do?
One of the closing techniques involved sticking out the jab while angling to your opponents right. Rather than strike with the jab you hooked it around his neck and then pulled while dropping your hips (you are off to his right at this point due to the step). Got a wicked pull that disrupted the partners balance and pulled him into the first knee from which you'd then clinch. Right hand was held high to protect your head.
That works really well, although I prefer to shoeshine the guy on my way out. Little something I picked up from a boxing coach...
I also like a fast flurry--uppercut, hook, cross...and then a kick to the leg or back in to knee.
Dredd,
Elmo pretty much summed it up, but to expand a little on what he said...the hand motion similar to the motion of taking a cloth, and vigorously rubbing it back and forth across the top of a shoe, to shine it.
shoeshine is like doing a rapid succession of shovel punches to your opponent's abdomen. at least that's what i know it as.
Exiting (exitting?) the clinch. I really do not like using the shovel punch method because I find that you end up leaving yourself open. Either that or the "Shoeshine" method isn't being properly described.
But it all depends on what position you are in when you are trying to exit the clinch in the first place. Your position determines what methods you can safely employ to break.
DOMINANT: You are in the dominant position. You have your opponents head trapped to your chest. This is easy. There are essentially three main "exits" from this clinch that I teach.
1. Push your opponent off of you, following with a few high roundhouse kicks to the dome-piece, cuz.
2. Rather than push your opponent away, simply release your hold and follow with a flurry of short hooks (both sides) to your opponents head.
3. Dump your opponent on the ground with a legal throw. The throw that I am thinking of is what I refer to as the "Steering Wheel". You grab behind your opponents neck with one hand, push on his shoulder or under his elbow with the other hand, step back and spin him to the ground.
EQUAL FOOTING: Neither you or your opponent has the upper hand in the clinch, but you want to break away anyway.
1. Probably the best method is to push your opponent off of you. As you are "getting dressed", you push HARD on his shoulder/s rather than go for neck control. This should get him off of you.
2. Or, you can break from clinching with some elbows. Again, rather than fight for neck control, start throwing some short, tight elbows. This could backfire if your opponent defends by trying to smother you with a tighter clinch. If you succeed in breaking the clinch, you can follow up with punches and kicks as your opponent steps back. Of course, this method will depend on whether or not elbows are allowed in your match.
3. Also, see the above throw mentioned in the DOMINANT control exits. This same throw applies to the "stalemated clinch".
*Actually, I've rethought this. The throw is probably the BEST clinch escape from a stalemated clinch, followed by the push, and last, the elbow attack escape.
(more...)
OPPONENT DOMINANT: You find yourself where you don't want to be, your head is in control and your opponent is trying to light you up with clinching straight knees.
1. Don't EVER just duck out of this clinch!!! The whole event will grind to a halt as they bring in a mop to clean whats left of your nose off the canvas. I am NOT joking. I've seen this happen more times than I care to discuss.
2. The first thing your should do is get as close to your opponent as you can. Keep your hips glued to his. Grab around his body and hold him tight so that he has no room to knee.
3. From the tight position, you can then try to stand up straight and arch your back. You may be able to break your opponents hold just enough for you to be able to snake your hand back in and fight for neck control.
4. Or, just bring and arm over top and get your forearm/glove into his neck/face and push back. This will be very uncomfortable to your opponent and can cause him to break his hold just enough for you to snake a hand back in...
5. Or, snake one hand over his arm, then back under his other arm. Then push up with your hand and down with your elbow. This is called the "Crowbar Escape" as you are using your arm as a lever.
6. The Knee Shield. Get one arm around the back of your opponents head so that the nape of his neck is in the crook of your arm. With your other arm, grab on his arm in the crook of his elbow and pull down on it. Raise your knee into your opponents abdomen and use this as a shield. Push the knee into your opponents abdomen as you pull back with your head. The referree should step in at this point and break the action if you are able to hold this and you don't transition to another escape method.
7. The Knee Escape. Same as above, but when you raise your knee, turn your body sideways, and turn your knee/leg sideways so that your shin is across your opponents abdomen. Your knee should be by the opponents hip on one side, and the top of your foot "hooking" his hip on the other side. Again, you push forward with you knee/shin and pull back with your shoulders/head. This will get your opponent nice and stretched out.
*For those of you familiar with JuJitsu, and the triangle choke. This is similar to how you "stretch" your opponent out prior to applying the hold, when you have hold of his sleeve and pull while pushing into his hip with your foot.
Again, if the way it was described was correct, I am adamantly opposed to the "Shoeshine" method. Think about it: If your opponent has control of your head, and you try to break with punches to his abdomen, while he is firing away with straight knees, who do you think is going to win?
Khun Kao Charuad; SuriyaSak Muay Thai
ps- if my interpretation of the Shoeshine Escape is wrong, PLEASE repost a modified description of this escape!
DAMMIT!!! My posts were reversed again!!!
Sorry guys, read my two posts in opposite order...
Khun Kao
OPPONENT DOMINANT: You find yourself where you don't want to be, your head is in control and your opponent is trying to light you up with clinching straight knees.
1. Don't EVER just duck out of this clinch!!! The whole event will grind to a halt as they bring in a mop to clean whats left of your nose off the canvas. I am NOT joking. I've seen this happen more times than I care to discuss.
2. The first thing your should do is get as close to your opponent as you can. Keep your hips glued to his. Grab around his body and hold him tight so that he has no room to knee.
3. From the tight position, you can then try to stand up straight and arch your back. You may be able to break your opponents hold just enough for you to be able to snake your hand back in and fight for neck control.
4. Or, just bring and arm over top and get your forearm/glove into his neck/face and push back. This will be very uncomfortable to your opponent and can cause him to break his hold just enough for you to snake a hand back in...
5. Or, snake one hand over his arm, then back under his other arm. Then push up with your hand and down with your elbow. This is called the "Crowbar Escape" as you are using your arm as a lever.
6. The Knee Shield. Get one arm around the back of your opponents head so that the nape of his neck is in the crook of your arm. With your other arm, grab on his arm in the crook of his elbow and pull down on it. Raise your knee into your opponents abdomen and use this as a shield. Push the knee into your opponents abdomen as you pull back with your head. The referree should step in at this point and break the action if you are able to hold this and you don't transition to another escape method.
7. The Knee Escape. Same as above, but when you raise your knee, turn your body sideways, and turn your knee/leg sideways so that your shin is across your opponents abdomen. Your knee should be by the opponents hip on one side, and the top of your foot "hooking" his hip on the other side. Again, you push forward with you knee/shin and pull back with your shoulders/head. This will get your opponent nice and stretched out.
*For those of you familiar with JuJitsu, and the triangle choke. This is similar to how you "stretch" your opponent out prior to applying the hold, when you have hold of his sleeve and pull while pushing into his hip with your foot.
Again, if the way it was described was correct, I am adamantly opposed to the "Shoeshine" method. Think about it: If your opponent has control of your head, and you try to break with punches to his abdomen, while he is firing away with straight knees, who do you think is going to win?
Khun Kao Charuad; SuriyaSak Muay Thai
ps- if my interpretation of the Shoeshine Escape is wrong, PLEASE repost a modified description of this escape!
Heehee...mine's a little different but that's part of it...
Holy...... archive this thread NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much Khun Kao for your detailed response. Given my inability to learn more than one thing at a time (at least really incorporate it) this should keep me busy for awhile, I'll print it out and bring it to our gym.
I regularly work on grabbing the head for the knee to the face when clinching. Never throwing it but just to create awareness for both partners. Once the head drops one is really helpless. I'm assuming the only "counter" for this would be to drive forward and attempt to takedown the opponent?
There are a number of "counters", though they aren't counterstrikes. If someone gets your head trapped, reread what I wrote in the above posts. What I wrote regarding exitting the clinch when your opponent has the dominant position is what applies. There are a number of other things to do in that case, but those are the most basic.
Khun Kao
Awesome detail on the grappling Khun Kao.
Snigglefish - you should be training with that man.
To break the grapple and "shoe shine" should not be
done. Why give up a dominant grapple to throw hands?
Your knees are a much more effective weapon.
I have seen with my own eyes some good examples in the
ring of a fighter throwing body shots at an opponent
who is clinching for head / neck control. Both of those
fighters who chose to throw body shots had their ribs
broken by some solid knees.
Goong.
I've witnessed the same thing. Attempted "shoeshine" when your opponent is in control, but I've seen peoples noses get broken too, because they inevitably try to duck out.
Remember, when you clinch, ALWAYS keep at least one of your hands on your opponent at all times! This at least gives you a little control so that your opponent cannot throw you around and knee you at will.
Khun Kao
Alright, although my boxing coach is likely to kill me:
Uppercut, uppercut, l. hook, cross.
It DOES work, does not open you up to knees, and will leave your opponent about three blocks down queer street. Follow up with tang kao or a kick/teep.
Brooks, great description, and the only thing I disagree with is the short hooks to the head to exit...I think the shoeshine works better.
Paul...
But under what circumstances do you "shoeshine" out? I think this is where the confusion is. The way you described it, I like the shoeshine, providing I'm the one in control, or neither fighter has established control.
If your opponent has the control position, I don't think "shoeshine" will work.
The reason I suggest the two hooks to the head is this: If you have control of your opponents head/neck and are firing away with straight knees, I have found that more often than not, your opponent will drop his hands to block the incoming knees with his arms.
With his arms in front of his like that, its just real easy to release the clinch and drop a couple of short hooks to his temples.
Shoeshine would work VERY well in this scenario, I agree that it would probably be better than my simplified short hooks.
Are the uppercuts alternating or thrown with the same hand?
Khun Kao
Alternating, left and then right, and then the left hook and straight right. I usually use this to go upstairs after throwing a few knees, and from a dominant or nuetral clinch position. I also cup the back of the head and rip an nice uppercut if I can...
So basically, knee a couple times, release the left hand while keeping control with the right, and stepping back a little to pull the guy off balance. From here zip in a little and throw the uppercut, then right uppercut, the hook and the straight right. this is one way to use it.
I like the hooks now that I see how you use them. Left-right or right-left?
To me, left-right or right-left depends on what you're more comfortable doing. I prefer left-right.
Also, when you do this, fire the hook right off of the opposite knee. What I mean is this:
If you have head/neck control and fire a straight right knee, as the right knee returns to place, fire the hook in at the same time to take advantage of the body motion. It'll make for a more solid hook.
Khun Kao