9 Fundamentals of Clinch Fighting

Learn the basics of clinch fighting, specifically the grips. Clinch fighting (or dirty boxing, as it is sometimes called) is one of the fundamental skills of MMA, Muay Thai, and other combat sports.
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Shanghai based MMA Coach and Kunlun Fight Combat League ringside commentator Ramsey Dewey answers questions from the viewers.
This video features original music by Ramsey Dewey
Follow me on Instagram at: / ramseydewey

[@zaldare]

Ramsey pausing for a second to remember a meme.. I felt that.

[@DeanWinchesterTheMan]

From my experience, clinching is often overlooked in many gyms. I feel that it is much more important than it seems. And you Sir, made the best sharing video and demonstration I have ever seen. Thank you so much.

[@MG-bi6mq]

This is easily a month plus worth of training. Lots of people think they know “the” clinch. But all they know is “a” clinch.

[@matthewjaworski4115]

You two have inverse facial hair. Wholesome.

[@ArmandoFloresAvila]

😂😂

[@Itsnotanymore-ku7dz]

_Daddy and son bonding time ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

[@slimkek4254]

Bro 🤣🤣🤣

[@Valorantplayer2727]

Lmao

[@The1aw]

Best comment 😂

[@Matthew-dy6gy]

2:08 If I remember right, in the interview after that fight Tyson said that it was the best punch he's ever been hit with!

[@PunchProfessor]

Fandango * * * * * Thanks for sharing that, Tyson Fury says some stuff, what a character ! True Paul D'

[@UniversalJudoAcademies]

I had that exact same conversation with the wife last week. Well played sir.

[@simonyu8838]

I used the whizzer + reverse collar tie for a figure 4 earlier today against a much, much more experienced person earlier tonight. He knew to slip out of it quickly and reset but I'm counting that as a win

[@RamseyDewey]

Pull your elbows in tight next time and pivot to break his posture. This might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpOWoWukg8pnkJo

[@PunchProfessor]

Excellent * * * * * This video needs to be on everyone's favorite list * How much KNOWLEDGE / INFORMATION can you pack into a 16 1/2 minute video? I love how Ramsey wrapped Boxing into the Lesson = Very Valuable = 5 STARS * True Paul D'

[@RamseyDewey]

Thank you! I learned how to use arm drags in boxing from an old British boxing coach named Paul about 10 years ago. He said “I don’t know much about this new MMA sport, but I can teach you dirty boxing”, to which I replied “It looks like you understand MMA better than most people!” Since then, I’ve noticed boxers like Roy Jones Jr and Shane Mosley did it when they got in close, but it happens so fast I had to see it in slow motion to understand what was happening. It’s also funny that people call it “dirty boxing” when this particular technique is 100% legal: no holding during the strike.

[@PunchProfessor]

@@RamseyDewey * * * * * Rickey Hatton was big on such tactics and Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat him at his own game. I remember Duran vs Palomino was another example.. You look very natural and smooth in your demos * Thanks for posting. Paul

[@quintork4100]

@@RamseyDewey as a kid that was picked on an one day struck back and brought up in london who decided to get all the picked on kids in my school and study martial arts,i know i did something good back then!your an inspirational very funny powerful man!all my love from uk!

[@Nanaboy1994]

You cracked me open with the hickeys. Great video coach

[@RamseyDewey]

Based on a true story.

[@Vlad_Tepes_III]

@@RamseyDewey That sounds really weird out of context...

[@GuitarsRockForever]

For few moments, I see the perfect setup for thrust of freedom.

[@ghostdude45]

You can't mean the legendary technique that can even break boards?!

[@GuitarsRockForever]

@@ghostdude45 A well trained ameri-do-te thrust of freedom would send your opponent fly over 100s of meters.

[@ghostdude45]

@@GuitarsRockForever God Bless the Thrust!

[@FedericoMalagutti]

There is a lot of Upright Clinch in medieval wrestling, and even if sometimes turns out slightly different (maybe because of rules, dresses or social context) this video helped me a lot in understanding some parts of that side of fighting I wasn’t still able to dig into! Thank you Ramsey!

[@cmay7429]

Just wanted to say, I'm writing a novel full of people beating the crap out of each other, and your channel is incredibly helpful. Always interesting to hear your insights, too.

[@StevenIuele98]

Appreciate the upload frequency! Always learning from you

[@thelastchimp8670]

that detail of back of the head rather than back of the neck for the collar tie was an eye opener!

[@herbertgearing1702]

You sir are an awesome teacher. The combination of knowledge, patience, and thoughtfulness makes you very easy to follow. Many people underestimate the value of being on the inside reducing the risk of damage from a taller longer opponent. Roberto Duran was a beast on the inside and he did some amazing work in the clinch.

[@handcraftedgetget2918]

Great vid Ramsey! My own coach often emphasizes the clinch and its importance in wrestling, so these types of vids are very helpful

[@hermanthenakmuaygerman]

Your channel really grew on me and became one of my favorites to watch. Came here because of the Self Defense Championship and first thought it‘s another one of these generic MMA/SD channels. Then I saw the video where you defended your actions during the challenge with blood/poop guys and the empathy you showed there was really unparalleled by any other „combat sports“ youtuber out there and that really got me hooked. The more videos I watched, the more I appreciate your insights, views and wisdom on life, fighting and martial arts (and comics 😅). So, thank you for your time and efforts and please keep it up. 🙏🏻

[@RamseyDewey]

Thank you!

[@luisfernandoenrique]

This was extremely useful, coach. We need more of this!! Love from Paraguay

[@paulpolito2001]

Woo! Time to polish up the old Dirty Boxing! Thanks Coach!

[@fh17522]

Super useful, clear, informative - thank you again Ramsey!! 💪👌

[@lmkestep]

I just got owned in the clinch so here I am. This is a great overview and I cant wait to start practicing these techniques! Thanks for sharing.

[@mikelundun]

Amazing video - so much to digest packed into a nice little package. Thanks for this!

[@Iron-Bridge]

Perfect lesson. I'm very unschooled in this aspect of combat. 👏

[@JohnnyBengels]

I love your quality content! Thank your very much.

[@raphaelvulfs5467]

Love it! More of this plz!

[@Slothclawcolseslaw]

As a karate guy the arm drag to body shot is *chefs kiss*

[@fabooshka]

Sick beats at the end Ramsey, sick beating during the video too.

[@jimmyfrye2307]

Love your content man! Hands down my fav fight channel on KZbin.

[@MikeD-hn9hf]

Amazing breakdown my guy! Super helpful - thanks!

[@GregP_]

This is propably my favourite clinch video on youtube ! Before watching this, it felt very uncomfortable being in a clinch, but after following some of your tips (and many, many months of sparring and lifting), I am confident to say that clinching is one of the best tools in my arsenal ! You might not see this, but thank you Coach Ramsey, you're a great teacher !

[@RamseyDewey]

Thanks!

[@morenoh149]

11:18 I like those clinch entries with both hands

[@Freely_Accepted]

You Sir. Are a great instructor. Thanks for the video!

[@vyderka]

Excellent presentation! Many thanks :)

[@uktenatsila9168]

You are an awesome instructor! And you have great coach jokes! Thank you for the video.

[@tattoodrdoke]

This is awesome picked up some great technique with some great details.

[@dialingcomic6806]

Awesome video very informative. Thank you!

[@dmorton3259]

I'm a wrestler and fight tall long guys the Philly shell and movements I love it going to work it thank you coach

[@lokhistormborn4165]

Taking notes! Thanks Ram!

[@bartimaus8738]

great video! clinch fighting is so important

[@stephanvanniekerk3438]

Love this♥️ very informative

[@silentchevalier]

Happy New Year, Coach!!

[@stevensonchambers5577]

I really like how you demonstrated clinch techniques that are permissible within boxing rules. This video is chock full of clinch technique backed by those head noddin Ramsey Dewey Phat Beatz Fo Da Streetz

[@MrNataphong]

wow so cool. u put muay thai in mma so smooth.this was open my eyes.

[@Win94ae]

Very educational! Thank you!

[@leejahn8856]

Great video of fundamentals. I learned a lot not being familiar with clinch fighting. Also Ramsey, I think you were always good but you have upped your game to the next level over the years. So smooth and effortlessly flowing in the strike combos and grappling transitions!

[@theironforce3000]

Very awesome video! Some brand new moves for me here, I only know two of these...

[@Chibodian]

He has a smooth calming voice that’s easy to keep your attention. This is really good info.

[@stevenregalado3459]

My God this is a gift to mankind. Thank you kind sir!

[@ericr2617]

Outstanding instruction

[@MeteWayne]

good fighting lessons. good background music :D

[@user-qy3jq9kr1d]

I like how you always recap at the end.

[@fireeaglefitnessmartialart935]

Good video. I've had a habit of doing the reverse tie with underhook instead of overhook. Mostly cuz of a wingchun/kali parry entry I've practiced. As well as a habit from my old wrestling days, when I would have the underhook with a front headlock from blocking their shoot. I like 3/4 nelsons, but I dont use or practice them much, so I forget to use them.

[@joonashannila8751]

Actually there are some very rare people who have organs on opposite sides. My mother in-law is one of those.

[@RamseyDewey]

Is she a cage fighter?

[@joonashannila8751]

@@RamseyDewey Nope, but you DONT want to face her with her frying pan..

[@snatchX626]

ah. situs inversus?

[@davidc.9758]

Awedome video!

[@tarsolucassarmento4416]

Dewey! When are you coming to Brazil? If you ever do, come to Bahia, I will personally show you around. Of course, it would be an honor to train with you! Your videos are fantastic man, thanks a lot!

[@justmichyd248]

Great video thank you so much

[@RamseyDewey]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@punisher-ok2dj]

Excellent!!

[@ChineseAndFilipinoMartialArts]

That 3/4 Nelson into the Kimura was delicious lol great video.

[@kaizenproductions00]

Learned more about the clinch here in this video than from high school wrestling. Maybe you could do videos the fundamentals of striking, mma ground fighting, and takedowns?

[@bryanbauer2470]

Great stuff.

[@michaelbrown655]

Good details.

[@Danchowlowski]

This is easily the best tutorial i ever seen. I dont even do mma, i do kickboxing but had my first thai boxing class yesterday and was curious to how the thai clinches would translate into mma. This video explains everything so clearly i feel like a better fighter already 😂(😬)!

[@RamseyDewey]

Glad it helped!

[@periodic98]

14:48 Im not sure if there was an audio glitch or something,or if that was the actual end of the commentary.

[@Win94ae]

Odd.

[@RamseyDewey]

Oh no... that was a glitch. What happened to my audio?

[@RamseyDewey]

Well dang... that’s upsetting.

[@UndisputedTG]

Straight gems

[@techiskek]

nice i go to a Dutch Muay Thai gym and there is very little focus on clinching, and id like to soon learn and be able to incorporate clinching effectively into fights and training as i want to be an all around good fighter

[@mistermindahenziandalasnus3754]

12:48 invaluable advice there! 😆👍

[@alwaysarmed88]

Thanks bro... My dad always told me, "Where the head goes, the body goes."

[@Eisschranck]

Thanks for the birthday gift coach. :)

[@pluviasalutor1290]

Very good video coach. For some reason I want to see your buddy Eddy(Eddie?) in a kung fu movie. He kind of has that protagonist look, it's awesome.

[@lockeddownboxing9904]

That is a very solid clinching instructional on fundamentals. Love it! I’m assuming this is specifically for MMA? I see it’s effective as in general but I wonder if that is considering martial arts clinching as far as striking goes or is it specific for MMA. Thank you

[@lockeddownboxing9904]

There is just that one rule I was taught by a 260+ Muay Thai pro fighter where you’d rather “hang” on the opponent by pressing your elbows into their torso and pulling on the head by your palms. It kind of resembles the idea you showed pulling yourself into the opponent.

[@Observer-kw7vu]

Impressive video!

[@nikzorous]

Ramsey, I love your content man! I was wondering if you could do a video like this on elbow techniques and how to practice them safely in the gym. Thanks! And best of wishes.

[@RamseyDewey]

That’s a great topic!

[@nikzorous]

@@RamseyDewey So glad you'll be covering it! Always working towards being able to flow elbows into my combos but find them really hard to practice outside of bag work. Finally got my Ramsey response 😀

[@ChateauLonLon]

@@RamseyDewey Can't wait to see it!

[@steevan]

the more i look i can see a few moves from wing chun applications

[@NaturalStateWingChun]

Ive noticed that Wing Chun hand positions and shapes are a great dictionary for understanding the basic biomechanics of damn near everything.

[@bradaen]

very interesting content. Do you ever look at clinch work from Muay Chaya , Lethwei or Lerdit? would be nice to see in a video?

[@Neightiznot]

This is dope. Also making me miss training a lot :C

[@tauhid9983]

damn the whizzer clinch is hella NOICE!

[@ghostdude45]

Actually really useful for me to experiment with. In my time of practicing the particular style of baguazhang my shifu teaches, I've made a bigger connection to clinch fighting and standing grappling in the movements I practiced than striking or ground grappling. Thank you for this video, Ramsey!

[@thejoojoo9999]

Yeah, I feel that many internal styles actually incorporate lots of (maybe even mostly) stand-up clinching.

[@junichiroyamashita]

I heard that bagua has a very rich qinna and clinch component,and that it works well with grappling martial arts. Is that true?

[@ghostdude45]

@@junichiroyamashita I wouldn't be able to speak on that as I haven't had the pleasure of training in any wrestling or jiu-jitsu. I do think some of the principles of baguazhang may lend themselves well to ground fighting, but I have not had too much chance to try. As for clinch fighting, lots of baguazhang concepts and principles are meant for clinch range or for transitioning into clinch range. So it could be a good supplementary art to Judo or other standing grappling arts.

[@jeffreywright2294]

Very nice

[@gokussj397]

Can't wait to try the liver shot from 09.35, really cool!

[@gokussj397]

By the way: one time I got a really big scratch on my face from the velcro of my partners gloves. He didn't connect the two parts of velcro straight (or how would you say that in correct English?), and left a big mark on my face with it 😅

[@RamseyDewey]

Yep, you said it right! I hate it when that happens!

[@ChocolateMilkCultLeader]

Your Clinch and Grapple is so clean.

[@RamseyDewey]

Thanks. I trained with “Rak” Channon Sinsub, a former Lumpinee Boxing Stadium champion- I have yet to meet anyone more knowledgeable on clinch fighting.

[@patrickmiller1723]

Omg I wish I new this

[@perrenchan6600]

Great video as always. Quick question, if youre on the receiving end of a clinch or a grapple and you anticipate that its going to lead into a throw, is it better to fall down in a similar way you do when youre doing drills or should you keep trying to resist? So do you fall with the throw or try to resist the throw?

[@paulpolito2001]

Good question, I *think* its usually best to "imitate dead weight" if you're trying to limit the danger of being thrown. Idea being, if they strong enough to move ya around, you're relaxed on impact and they're more tired than otherwise. I may not be on point here, tho.

[@perrenchan6600]

@@paulpolito2001 that's what I was thinking. Like I assume this is something that does get taught. I imagine like at that point it's better to go with the throw and hopefully regain your defense on the ground you know?

[@RamseyDewey]

If you know you’re on the way down, pull guard so you can use your Jiu-jitsu to stand back up, sweep, or submit your opponent. If you don’t know Jiu-jitsu, then start learning!

[@eagleflight2627]

There are counter throws and takedowns you can use to end up on top but they are more advanced stuff. For example you get double collar while getting single legged and pull the opponent in your butterfly hooks using the momentum to sweep.

[@franciscusvdlouw5436]

Some how, coach reminds me of Bob Ross's mentality: its all good, okay. Annything is possible, whatever move you do you make the of it

[@RamseyDewey]

We’re going to make a happy little clinch right over here...

[@omar.naksho]

Hey Ramsey im very much enjoying your videos, and absorbing what you have to say. As someone who is very heavily involved in combat sports, it would mean so much to be to be able to visit your school in China and learn your different teaching and fighting style maybe even see if I have something to offer as well! is this something possible at your school? I would love to do this in the future when everything is well stabilized. Much love from the US

[@RamseyDewey]

Well, the borders of China are currently closed to the USA, but who knows what the future will bring.

[@UncleT-wo2ny]

Me and a friend of mine decided to pressure test some basic standing grappling moves, firstly with cooperation then with resistance to the move (but no strikes), just to see if they would work. We are both untrained but he is stronger than me. We've tried arm drag, arm triangle, hammer lock and wrist locks. All of which we discovered were completely useless against my stronger friend. All epic fails. However we tested the double collar tie and the old fashioned schoolyard side headlock. Both techniques executed with relative ease and pass the pressure test with flying colours. So far the head manipulation strategy is working fine. The arm manipulation is a no show, especially against a stronger opponent. Also the boxer's clinch works well, with head on opponent's shoulder. Just lean in and go deadweight. He will tire more easily trying to hold you up.

[@Pan.USA.Dojang]

SUBSCRIBED

[@saibrylewis9725]

The two dislikes were people that got beat in a clinch fight by Ramsey Dewey.

[@joydevmukherjee]

Nice video Ramsey...btw I grew an year older today 😊

[@gaminghunt5837]

Live long

[@paulpolito2001]

Happy B-day, fellow fightnerd

[@joydevmukherjee]

@@gaminghunt5837 thanks...you too

[@joydevmukherjee]

@@paulpolito2001 😊

[@deenmeah2162]

Can you do you a video on when you should start going from individual martial arts to MMA? Let me know if you need more explanation of what I mean.

[@orangcurl]

This is nice, have you been doing some wc ?

[@ninthkaikan1544]

The Closed Gate Position or Buddha Position in traditional martial arts is very similar to the double color tie.

[@jerellem]

Love the videos. Are you also mindsmash?

[@RamseyDewey]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/havYhp-gYt2Ba5I

[@prastagus3]

FYI: Slight modifications to clinching techniques for those who knows pressure points, practiced finger strengthening martial arts (ie. eagle claw), etc. would be devastating to opponent's muscle, tendons, and joints in non-sport combat situations. Also, from 14:42, the audio is gone

[@amirkazemi2517]

my stile of fighting is to tie up with an overhook on the left arm....knees and strikes with my right arm

[@obliqueapplications8881]

@10:40, the Pax de DEWEY

[@rhysclough]

0:53 ...Seems like a logical application for the salute done in Kung Fu forms. Or any form/kata where the hands come together as such. 👍🏻

[@RamseyDewey]

The palm fist salute is an old Chinese cultural tradition of showing subservience and or/gratitude. The fist represents a servant, and the palm covering the fist the master. It’s basically saying “I defer to your superior judgement”. It’s not a martial arts technique, nor is it intrinsically linked with martial arts. There’s another similar looking hand gesture where a fist is held in the other hand (as opposed to a rigid open palm) and shaken 3 times as an expression of thanks or a greeting.

[@rhysclough]

@@RamseyDewey Thanks for the comment! I come from a Jow Gar Kung Fu school and we have the palm fist salute appear several times as a technique in our forms. It’s something that has me thinking of ways to apply the concept in practical applications. Love seeing this stuff, keep up the good vids man ✌🏻

[@mattlawyer3245]

It’s pretty funny that you I clouded the comment “the liver is on the right side of every human!” Haha

[@bartsimpson8117]

HOLD UP YOU'RE TELLING ME IT'S CALLED A 'WHIZZER' I'VE BEEN CALLING IT A WIZARD MY ENTIRE LIFE lmao

[@RamseyDewey]

Hahahaha!!! You are not the only one!

[@michaelspyrou1784]

nice

[@tommyakesson8858]

Man. I havent practoed any martial arts for.... 3 years? I miss it bad!