Beginning Muay Thai With The Clinch
- jamie03066
- Oct 1
- 2 min read
30.09.2025
Having finished his 10-hour kickboxing course, my client began Muay Thai in earnest this week, and we started everything with the basics on the clinch.
The Evolution and Distinctive Use of the Clinch in Southeast Asian Combat Sports
Muay Thai's clinch is a very distinctive aspect of Southeast Asian stand-up striking combat sports. Myanmar's Lethwei uses a clinch closer to older Muay Thai, permitting hip throws and isn't so picky about the way opponents are swept. However, with its emphasis on head-butting, a technique outlawed from mainstream Muay Thai for almost a century, Lethwei fighters use the clinch in a more aggressive fashion to set up this regular fight-finishing move. Pradal Serey/Kun Khmer's clinches are restricted to shorter spells than in Muay Thai, with fighters using it more to set up elbow strikes. Recent rule changes in some matches have seen elements similar to Shoot Boxing being permitted, like standing submissions. However, for the most part, the emphasis is on landing the same techniques of Muay Thai. The other traditional Southeast Asian combat sport that is probably worth mentioning is Muay Lao. However, this martial art from Laos is identical to Muay Thai and, although it is arguably older, followed the same rule path. Of all these sports, Muay Thai clearly has the most refined and nuanced version of the clinch.
Dynamic Partner Drills: Techniques for Unbalancing and Dominance
We spent the majority of the lesson working through a series of dynamic, live partner exercises. This began with working push/pull actions on a linear path. Here, my client learned about how to unbalance an opponent and trick an individual into over-pushing. He also became mindful of using the hips to block and how to use the elbows to bump while holding a collar-tie. Both collar and elbow, as well as plum double collar-ties, were introduced. He understood the importance of gaining dominant positions and how to fight for the center. Next, we moved on to lateral movement and skipping steps. This sideways pendulum movement is often quite difficult to learn and incorporate, but once I closed down the distance during our practice, he began to see the relevance. Finally, I brought in v-steps and pivots, which are pretty much the same thing in the context of a clinch. Here, the fighter is having their posture broken as you step back at a 45-degree angle. At this point, I layered in basic sweeps and dumping actions.
Integrating Footwork and Knee Strikes in Sparring Rounds
The lesson was completed with 2 x 3-minute rounds of specific sparring. Round one focused on using all the footwork taught earlier, seeking to dominate the position, retain a strong posture and unbalance the opponent. Round two brought in the knee strikes.
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