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Khun Kao · 07-15-2003, 05:51 PM

Tom...

Its hard to say without seeing what it is that you are doing. One of the most common faults that I see in peoples clinchwork is that it is just TOO PASSIVE! Its almost as if fighters are content to just "let the clinch happen".

IMHO, the best way to improve your clinchwork is practice. Sounds easy, but what you need to to separate different clinch & knee techniques into different drills.

Some of the drills that I have my guys practice:

1. KNEEING THE WALL DRILL: You don't actually knee the wall, but you stand at arms length from the wall and place your hands on the wall directly in front of you. Bend your arms and lean in until your forehead is resting on the back of your hands. Get up on your tip toes and throw a knee at the wall so that it travels in an upwards trajectory (not straight INTO the wall, but UPWARDS so that you don't bang your knee!!!!). As the knee shoots fowards and upwards, you push away until your arms are straight. As you place your foot back down to position, your bend your arms and lean in again until your forehead is back against your hands. When your foot touches back to the ground, your opposite foot skips to the back. You can either leave in in the air, or touch it behind you. You then launch your next strike with the foot that is to the rear. You continue to alternate knee strikes and push away from the wall so that you develop that see-saw motion in your torso. This way, you learn to get your hips and shoulders into the knee strike properly.

2. WIND KNEES DRILL: You and a partner grab each others shoulders, and take turns throwing skipping side knees at one another. The key is to make the knee pass ALL THE WAY THROUGH between you and your partner, not HITTING your partner. This drill teaches you to use proper footwork and hip rotation for maximum power behind those Side Knee Strikes.

3. NECK WRESTLING: Grab a partner and clinch. The goal is to trap your partners head and hold it. I ask that my students/fighters clinch and hold their partners head for a 3-count, then release and get back to work with one another. For more advanced training, I have my fighters close their eyes immediately after the clinch has been initiated, and just "feel" their way around.

4. ESCAPES: Partners take turns trapping each others head and performing a particular clinch hold or escape. Elbow Escape, Knee Escape, Crowbar Escapes, Mid-Body Hold, Elbow Blocks, Knee Blocks, etc.

5. THROWS: Partners take turns practicing Clinch Flips and Throws with one another. These skills are also often included in Neck Wrestling Drills (above)

6. FREE STYLE CLINCH WITH TAPPING KNEES: Essentially, partner up and go freestyle on each other with the clinch, but Knees are LIGHT CONTACT!!! We call them Tap Knees or call them "Jahb Dat", which is a Thai phrase for striking quickly with no power.

7. PAD DRILLS: There are a variety of Knee Drills with the pads. Face it, whats the point of having an incredible clinch if your knees suck? LOL Use the Thai pads to develop power and endurance for continuous knee strikes (the War Dance, LOL)

Khun Kao

07-15-2003, 05:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Khun Kao Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 847 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Tom... Its hard to say without seeing what it is that you are doing. One of the most common faults that I see in peoples clinchwork is that it is just TOO PASSIVE! Its almost as if fighters are content to just "let the clinch happen". IMHO, the best way to improve your clinchwork is practice. Sounds easy, but what you need to to separate different clinch & knee techniques into different drills. Some of the drills that I have my guys practice: 1. KNEEING THE WALL DRILL: You don't actually knee the wall, but you stand at arms length from the wall and place your hands on the wall directly in front of you. Bend your arms and lean in until your forehead is resting on the back of your hands. Get up on your tip toes and throw a knee at the wall so that it travels in an upwards trajectory (not straight INTO the wall, but UPWARDS so that you don't bang your knee!!!!). As the knee shoots fowards and upwards, you push away until your arms are straight. As you place your foot back down to position, your bend your arms and lean in again until your forehead is back against your hands. When your foot touches back to the ground, your opposite foot skips to the back. You can either leave in in the air, or touch it behind you. You then launch your next strike with the foot that is to the rear. You continue to alternate knee strikes and push away from the wall so that you develop that see-saw motion in your torso. This way, you learn to get your hips and shoulders into the knee strike properly. 2. WIND KNEES DRILL: You and a partner grab each others shoulders, and take turns throwing skipping side knees at one another. The key is to make the knee pass ALL THE WAY THROUGH between you and your partner, not HITTING your partner. This drill teaches you to use proper footwork and hip rotation for maximum power behind those Side Knee Strikes. 3. NECK WRESTLING: Grab a partner and clinch. The goal is to trap your partners head and hold it. I ask that my students/fighters clinch and hold their partners head for a 3-count, then release and get back to work with one another. For more advanced training, I have my fighters close their eyes immediately after the clinch has been initiated, and just "feel" their way around. 4. ESCAPES: Partners take turns trapping each others head and performing a particular clinch hold or escape. Elbow Escape, Knee Escape, Crowbar Escapes, Mid-Body Hold, Elbow Blocks, Knee Blocks, etc. 5. THROWS: Partners take turns practicing Clinch Flips and Throws with one another. These skills are also often included in Neck Wrestling Drills (above) 6. FREE STYLE CLINCH WITH TAPPING KNEES: Essentially, partner up and go freestyle on each other with the clinch, but Knees are LIGHT CONTACT!!! We call them Tap Knees or call them "Jahb Dat", which is a Thai phrase for striking quickly with no power. 7. PAD DRILLS: There are a variety of Knee Drills with the pads. Face it, whats the point of having an incredible clinch if your knees suck? LOL Use the Thai pads to develop power and endurance for continuous knee strikes (the War Dance, LOL) Khun Kao __________________ Kru Brooks C. Miller GCA MuayThai Board of Advisors USMTA Director of DC, MD, and VA http://khunkao.com/