Combinations / Clinch / Shadow

Clinch knee / elbow exit

The clinch frame, a straight knee, and the elbow on the way out.

Set the clinch frame, drive a straight knee, then leave with a horizontal elbow. A clinch is a place you set a frame, do damage and leave. This loop is the whole shape of that: the posture, a straight knee driven by the hips, then a horizontal elbow as the hands release and the exit into the guard. There is no partner, so there is no pull; the posture is the lesson.

The actions, phase by phase

Clinch posture

1. Guard. The hands leave the guard together, not one at a time.
2. Reach. Both hands go to where the back of a neck would be, cupped, with the wrists bent.
3. Set the posture. Elbows pull in tight in front of the chest, the hips come in, the chin stays down and the back stays upright.
4. Hold. Hold the shape and breathe; the feet stay ready to move.

Watch for. There is no partner in this loop, so there is no neck, no posture to break and no pull to resist. It shows what your own frame should look like and nothing about the hand fight that decides a real clinch.

Rear knee rehearsal

1. Stance. Start balanced with no partner resistance.
2. Lift. Fold the lower leg as the knee rises and let the support heel lift.
3. Drive. The knee leads and the hips drive through while the shoulders settle back.
4. Replace. Replace the foot into a stable stance.

Watch for. Clinch grips, partner posture and impact are not shown. Without a partner to pull against, the hip drive here is a shape, not a measured effort.

Horizontal elbow rehearsal

1. Guard. Keep this a non-contact solo rehearsal.
2. Fold. Wind the shoulder back and keep the hand close to the head.
3. Turn. Drive the point of the elbow across the centreline as the lead foot turns.
4. Recover. Return the arm to guard before the next repetition.

Watch for. Do not practise elbow contact on another person from this diagram. The height and the angle of the arc are coaching decisions, not settings in this study.

Muay Thai guard

1. Base. Keep a stance from which either leg can lift.
2. Hands ready. Bring the hands into your coach-taught guard.
3. Balance. Keep the torso upright enough to manage kicks and checks.
4. Reset. Re-establish the base after every action.

Watch for. This illustration does not show clinch posture or an opponent.

Frame, knee, leave

1. Frame first; the knee is only as good as the posture above it.
2. The elbow comes as the hands let go, not after.
3. Step out into the guard, do not stand in the clinch admiring it.

Three faults a pad holder sees

1. Knee before the frame is set. elbows in and hands cupped before the knee moves.
2. Elbow after the release. the elbow comes as the hands let go, not once they are down.
3. Standing in the clinch after the elbow. the loop ends in the guard, a step out.

A starting prescription

3 rounds of 60 seconds with 45 seconds between them. Six full sequences per round, unhurried. Load the study into the session builder with these numbers and change them to suit the round you are preparing for.

What this loop is, and is not

Solo rehearsal of a shape you have already been taught. No partner, no contact, no pad impact, and no coach has reviewed this loop. It shows where the joints go, not whether they should go there for you. This study draws a second figure, an opponent held at one moment of the strike the study answers. It is an illustration of position, not a partner technique to copy without a coach.

Where it sits

Stage: Combinations. Before it: Cross, hook, rear kick. Sessions that use it: Clinch and knees. See also the glossary, the warm-up and the method and its limits.