Clinch fighting or trapping is the part of stand-up fighting where the combatants are

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

in a clinch, typically using clinch holds. Clinching the opponent can be used to eliminate the opponent's effective usage of some kicks, punches, and melee weapons. The clinch can also be used as a medium to switch from stand-up fighting to ground fighting by using takedowns, throws or sweeps. Clinch fighting is emphasized in both striking martial arts, such as

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

Lethwei Lethwei (; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) or Burmese boxing is a Full contact fighting, full contact combat sport originating from Myanmar and is considered as one of the most brutal martial arts in the world.} * * * * * * Lethwe ...

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, and Sanda, as well as

martial arts, such as

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

, Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

In combat sports

Clinch fighting is the primary focus of many

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

such as

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and it is also a fundamental part of

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic Games, Olympic, Collegiate wrestling, collegiate, Scholastic wrestling, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, fr ...

, sambo, Muay Thai,

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. The nature of the clinch during fighting depends on the rules involved in the different sports. Muay Thai puts much emphasis on strikes from the clinch, while judo focuses on throws. The rule common to all these forms is the allowance for the

necessary to form a clinch. Other combat sports like

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

only allow clinching for a short time or do not allow it at all. If clinching is disallowed, the clinching fighter will be issued a warning, or the referee will restart the fight from a distance.

Grappling techniques

The clinch is a powerful tool for grapplers to advance into a dominant position in ground fighting, or is used for scoring points or winning a match such as a ''grand amplitude throw'' in amateur wrestling or an ''

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In judo In judo, an ''ippon'' may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the ...

'' in judo. The type of techniques employed are heavily dependent on whether or not the participants are wearing clothing heavy enough to be grabbed and used to gain leverage or unbalance them to set up throws. In competitive environments examples of such clothing would be the

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

(

Shuai Jiao ''Shuai jiao'' () is the term pertaining to the ancient jacket wrestling Wushu (sport), wushu style of Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding of Hebei Province in the North China Plain which was codified by Shan Pu Ying (善撲营 The Battalion of Excel ...

Jacket), Judogi, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gi or the Kurtka. In competition where such clothing is being worn (almost exclusively referred to as a gi) there is a strong emphasis on grip fighting where the fighters will attempt to gain a dominant hold on the opponent's gi to unbalance and throw them. Examples of such competition would be judo, sambo or some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions although in BJJ there is frequently a division for both gi and no-gi competition. In no-gi competition getting double underhooks is generally considered advantageous, as the position can be used to perform throws or takedowns. Being behind the opponent in such a position is known as ''getting the back'', and is generally considered even more advantageous, since it is harder for the opponent to defend from that position. A typical example of a technique that can be performed from this position is the suplex.

Hand and arm positions

While clinching, the position of a fighter's arms is vitally important. The fighter always tries to keep his arms on the inside of his opponent's, allowing him to press his elbows together building a tighter grip. The fighter attempts to always hold his hands in a "cupping" position.

Striking techniques

A multitude of striking techniques exist that can be used effectively from the clinch. Punching, elbows, and knee strikes in the clinch, also sometimes referred to as " dirty boxing", are an important aspect of Muay Thai, Bajiquan,

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Cantonese) or Yong Chun (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin) (, lit. "singing spring") is a concept-based martial art, a form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu, and a close-quarters system of self-defense. It is a martial ...

, Lethwei and mixed martial arts. Elbows and short looping punches such as hooks and uppercuts can be used effectively from the single collar tie position. Although disallowed in many combat sports, in Lethwei, the use of

headbutt A headbutt or butt is a targeted strike (attack), strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's Skull#Humans, cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of ...

is encouraged and can also be effectively used from the clinch. The short distance in the clinch nullifies kicking to some extent, but some kicks are still effective. In

, simultaneous grabs/traps at the elbows, wrists or behind the neck often open up a strike. In Muay Thai, the double collar tie is used to control an opponent while kneeing to the head or midsection, and stomps are used in some mixed martial arts competitions to kick the feet of the opponent.

Submission techniques

There are very few submission holds that can be applied effectively from the clinch, without engaging in ground fighting. The most well known submission hold is the guillotine choke, which can be attempted from a single or double collar tie. Height is advantageous in applying the guillotine choke from the clinch, since sufficient leverage is needed. Other possible, but more rare submissions from the clinch are the arm triangle, rear naked choke, and Ezekiel choke.

References