Countering After the Clinch - Muay Thai Personal Training

jamie03066
1 day ago
2 min read

Updated: 11 hours ago

09.12.2025

Muay Thai Personal Training - Client Progression

My client is now on the penultimate lesson of his first Muay Thai personal training course. This is his third martial arts course with me overall. At this stage, I am working to improve connections between all the ranges and the art's famed "eight weapons".

Muay Thai fighters clinching in a training session with blurred black and red background. Text: Latest Blog, Countering After the Clinch. — "Discover techniques for countering after the clinch in Muay Thai with our latest personal training blog."

Muay Thai Clinch

The clinch is a range in Muay Thai that sets it apart from other kickboxing styles outside of Southeast Asia. Elbow strikes and knee strikes score very highly and are most efficient at this range. Furthermore, classic Muay Thai favours nak muays who dominate the clinch. A legal takedown can even win a fighter the round. However, less experienced fighters can suffer when they do not know how to handle the clinch. A fighter can be especially vulnerable entering and exiting the clinch. Previously, we focused on the former. Tonight was all about landing effective follow-up strikes after a clinch position was broken.

Understand Hand Positions in the Clinch

We looked at two clinch escapes and also different hand positions. This is especially important for knowing what strikes to execute and when after the clinch position is broken. We looked at going over the top of the plum (double collar-tie) and leveraging the hold (pulling and pushing in a circular motion). These defences were also used against the collar and elbow tie. Counters included round kick to the body or head (as the head tends to drop when coming out of the clinch), knee strike and overhand punch.