The Clinch
November 2, 2006 by nopstar
In Thai it’s “Prahm Kor” or neck grappling.
This Amazing Photo was taken by Michael Soo
I’m not here to comment on the Miletich camp, or the quality of fighters in the UFC. However I’m shocked that a MMA champion doesn’t know what to do, or in Franklin’s case what NOT to do while in a clinch. If you haven’t seen the footage of Franklin (as the kids like to say) getting pwned, enjoy.
So what are you supposed to do? It’s a little more complicated then this, but these 4 things should keep you from taking a knee to the face.
The Basics:
1. Stand up Straight
You want to make sure your hips and chest are as perpendicular and as close to your opponent as possible. DO NOT try to bend over and back out of it. You’ll just create more room for your opponent to wind up and punish you.
2. Move Forward
Keep moving forward, don’t let your opponent back you up… you’ll only end up eating more knees.
3. Get Inside
You should be working to counter clinch your opponent. To do this you’ll need to get your hands inside your opponents. If your opponent has got the clinch really deep, (his forearms are really tight against your collar bone, and he’s controlling your head) You’ll need to either bear hug him or get him against the ropes asap because your about to get owned.
4. Keep your hands up!
Not like when your boxing, but stay active keep grappling, DO NOT try to block knees by putting your arms down. You’ll have absolutely no leverage. As you’ve seen in the Video, your head can be pulled straight down into an knee ala Franklin.
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I personally don’t practice the clinching enough… actually I hate doing it. I shouldn’t write this, because the 3 people who look at my blog will know my weakness. (thank’s google analytics!) If you find yourself in the clinch… best of luck to you.
bwahahaha. Now we know…
Not that I practice it much myself.
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[...] There is Rich Franklin who can’t defend against a Muay Thai clinch. [...]
ok, i have to step in on Rich’s behalf here….HE KNOWS ALL OF THIS….why he didn’t perform it, great question? i have actually had the opportunity to spar with him before and his clinch is better than most pure MT fighters i have know! if he didn’t know what he was doing i would just shut up about it but…..i don’t know what the hell he was doing! it’s usually a strong position for him. silva is , obviously, much better! if you notice he started off with good posture but for some reason he wasn’t pummeling for better position? after he took a few great knees to the gut he was DONE! he was out on his feet and barely even fighting back. it was strange, he wasn’t trying to break it or move in? you can chalk it up to a bad fight or what ever but he does know what to do and he just didn’t do it! personally, i think he was thinking he was about to try to impose his will and got rocked and it all went to hell from there? but, that’s all speculation. all fighters do some fucked up things at some point and he really fucked up!
Sure doesn’t look like he knew what he was doing to me. He stated that the clinch was his strong point, but not the Thai Clinch…..Franklin does a lotta dirty boxing in the clinch….Wrestling and Boxing clinches are different from the Thai clinch…Franklin may be well versed in clinching but the Thai clinch doesn’t seem to be his forte because the hold Silva had him in was a very basic hold, and there are very basic defensive ways to get outta it (crowbar, crossface, push off, etc…). Worst thing is….Silva actually let him go….and then got that same exact hold again.
[...] these guys met. If you don’t know what happen in their first bout I suggest you go back and check it out. I’m posting this because more then anything it’s a Muay Thai beat [...]
[...] erectors, giving you better posture, balance, and resistance against being dragged down in the clinch. You will feel fatigue in the thick muscles of your lower back, which is normal. Do not overwork [...]