A CLINCH IS A FLINCH
A CLINCH IS A FLINCH
Some boxing matches are just plain tedious to watch, even for, or might I say especially for, a boxing fanatic. Now granted, not everybody understands the artistry of the sport of boxing. Nor does everybody appreciate the rich history that emblazons the “sweet science”, or gives a damn about the enigmatic personalities of the athletes. And for those poor deprived souls (I hope you know who you are), all boxing is tedious to watch. If you are one of these poor deprived souls, you might as well spare yourself further angst here and click on “next blog”. For you true boxing aficionados, however, I am rallying you forth to share in my outrage! The Clincher must GO! Get thee behind me Clincher, and take your beating like a MAN!
In the boxing arena there are several reasons why a fighter might resort to clinching, and all of them boil down to a fundamental lack of skill and/or proper conditioning. Now let us make no mistake about it. The fact is that some boxers view clinching as a strategy and a skill in itself, and they therefore take pains to practice tying up their opponents. Some argue that clinching is an effective offensive strategy that can be used to wear down an opponent. More times than not, however, clinching occurs when a fighter is in deep trouble and is looking to survive the round by mitigating the effect of his opponent’s onslaught of blows. Now, I have already asserted my view that the continuous use of the “technique” makes for a vulgar and monotonous fight not only for onlookers, but also for the boxer who is trying to utilize legitimate boxing skills. But putting my personal aesthetic preferences aside, the question really comes down to “Does the clinching “technique” work? Does it produce the desired result?” In response, I say with teeth clenched, “Yes, Barbarian Clinch-Master Ruffians, your savage survivalist tactics can be gainfully employed…in a clinch.” BUT, that having been said, there are much BETTER ALTERNATIVES to this roughhouse, amateurish (uh, the word is not used here in a ceremonious manner!) ploy, and they all, in essence, require superior conditioning and skill levels (which go hand in hand). Now, obviously it is well beyond the scope of my current tirade to delve into various conditioning philosophies and regimens (for that, I would advise checking out www.rossboxing.com), but let me say that a good boxer should solder into his mental template that the best defense is a good offense! That said, one needs to associate good offense with hand and foot speed and high-punch output! This has absolutely nothing to do with clinching. In short, a competitive boxer should concentrate his energies and efforts into developing the ability to punch nonstop from various angles. It is this mindset and the resultant capacity to execute that will ultimately prevent a frustratingly ugly fight. Briefly, let us consider the case of a shorter, stout boxer who is attempting to bridge the gap between himself and a taller, rangier opponent. The stout boxer finds that the long-reach boxer is constantly attempting to clinch whenever he (the stout boxer) successfully steps inside or traps him (the rangy boxer) against the ropes. What should the stout boxer do? Take heart and seize the momentum! Rest assured that if the tall boxer is constantly trying to clinch, then he is not using his height to his optimal advantage. The tall boxer, if he is well-schooled and properly conditioned, should never want to be on the inside; rather, he should be looking to maximize his leverage and punching power from a distance. If he is not accomplishing this, then it can be asserted that the stout boxer is successfully closing the gap and minimizing the would-be reach advantage. The best way to avoid the clinch on the inside is to throw a barrage of relentless punches. The stout boxer must throw fast, powerful combinations to the ribs, heart, liver, head, shoulders, and arms—wherever he can legally land them—and punish the rangy opponent. If the opponent still manages to warily hug and dance, the aggressor needs to resolve to “punch out of the clinch” and remain pit bullish in his purpose. He should not allow the Clincher any time to recover whatsoever. All of this requires that the boxer be in peak condition, and of course, many will argue that this is all easier said than done. Well, that rebuttal is true enough, but it does not negate the truth of what I have just said one iota. A boxer’s craft is to throw punches. The good boxer will be able to throw an abundance of punches each and every round and will thereby put himself in the position to dictate the pace of the fight and maintain ring generalship.
Now, what should the taller, rangier opponent do to prevent a clinch-happy stout boxer (which, form my experience, tends to be a more common scenario) from rousing my ire and making for a boring pugilistic experience? Well, he should maintain his reach advantage with the jab, jab, jab! Good fundamentals will go a long way if a boxer has height and reach on his side (hell, it’s not called a reach advantage for nothing!). Left-right combinations are great (the good old “one-two”), and so is the left jab-right uppercut combination (assuming orthodox position--if the fighter is a southpaw, then I am referring of course to the right jab-left uppercut combo.) for those times when the opponent comes rushing forth under the jab. The uppercut is particularly effective because the opponent often lunges, coming right into the full force of the punch as he strives to diminish the distance. It goes without saying that timing is everything here, and once again, that returns us to the recurring theme of practice, practice, practice. As Bruce Lee may have said “To fight clinch-free, one must THINK clinch-free”.
In closing, the advice I have rendered is necessarily general in nature, but come on—this is a rant session after all! All venting aside, however, I can virtually guarantee that if a boxer trains with an overarching mantra of “I will not clinch. I will not allow a clinch.”, that boxer will be a much more formidable force in the ring than if he had spent hours of his training time practicing the “art of clinching” (HO-FREAKIN-HUM). So Clinchers, move on to grappling! Boxers, let your hands FLY!
Some boxing matches are just plain tedious to watch, even for, or might I say especially for, a boxing fanatic. Now granted, not everybody understands the artistry of the sport of boxing. Nor does everybody appreciate the rich history that emblazons the “sweet science”, or gives a damn about the enigmatic personalities of the athletes. And for those poor deprived souls (I hope you know who you are), all boxing is tedious to watch. If you are one of these poor deprived souls, you might as well spare yourself further angst here and click on “next blog”. For you true boxing aficionados, however, I am rallying you forth to share in my outrage! The Clincher must GO! Get thee behind me Clincher, and take your beating like a MAN!
In the boxing arena there are several reasons why a fighter might resort to clinching, and all of them boil down to a fundamental lack of skill and/or proper conditioning. Now let us make no mistake about it. The fact is that some boxers view clinching as a strategy and a skill in itself, and they therefore take pains to practice tying up their opponents. Some argue that clinching is an effective offensive strategy that can be used to wear down an opponent. More times than not, however, clinching occurs when a fighter is in deep trouble and is looking to survive the round by mitigating the effect of his opponent’s onslaught of blows. Now, I have already asserted my view that the continuous use of the “technique” makes for a vulgar and monotonous fight not only for onlookers, but also for the boxer who is trying to utilize legitimate boxing skills. But putting my personal aesthetic preferences aside, the question really comes down to “Does the clinching “technique” work? Does it produce the desired result?” In response, I say with teeth clenched, “Yes, Barbarian Clinch-Master Ruffians, your savage survivalist tactics can be gainfully employed…in a clinch.” BUT, that having been said, there are much BETTER ALTERNATIVES to this roughhouse, amateurish (uh, the word is not used here in a ceremonious manner!) ploy, and they all, in essence, require superior conditioning and skill levels (which go hand in hand). Now, obviously it is well beyond the scope of my current tirade to delve into various conditioning philosophies and regimens (for that, I would advise checking out www.rossboxing.com), but let me say that a good boxer should solder into his mental template that the best defense is a good offense! That said, one needs to associate good offense with hand and foot speed and high-punch output! This has absolutely nothing to do with clinching. In short, a competitive boxer should concentrate his energies and efforts into developing the ability to punch nonstop from various angles. It is this mindset and the resultant capacity to execute that will ultimately prevent a frustratingly ugly fight. Briefly, let us consider the case of a shorter, stout boxer who is attempting to bridge the gap between himself and a taller, rangier opponent. The stout boxer finds that the long-reach boxer is constantly attempting to clinch whenever he (the stout boxer) successfully steps inside or traps him (the rangy boxer) against the ropes. What should the stout boxer do? Take heart and seize the momentum! Rest assured that if the tall boxer is constantly trying to clinch, then he is not using his height to his optimal advantage. The tall boxer, if he is well-schooled and properly conditioned, should never want to be on the inside; rather, he should be looking to maximize his leverage and punching power from a distance. If he is not accomplishing this, then it can be asserted that the stout boxer is successfully closing the gap and minimizing the would-be reach advantage. The best way to avoid the clinch on the inside is to throw a barrage of relentless punches. The stout boxer must throw fast, powerful combinations to the ribs, heart, liver, head, shoulders, and arms—wherever he can legally land them—and punish the rangy opponent. If the opponent still manages to warily hug and dance, the aggressor needs to resolve to “punch out of the clinch” and remain pit bullish in his purpose. He should not allow the Clincher any time to recover whatsoever. All of this requires that the boxer be in peak condition, and of course, many will argue that this is all easier said than done. Well, that rebuttal is true enough, but it does not negate the truth of what I have just said one iota. A boxer’s craft is to throw punches. The good boxer will be able to throw an abundance of punches each and every round and will thereby put himself in the position to dictate the pace of the fight and maintain ring generalship.
Now, what should the taller, rangier opponent do to prevent a clinch-happy stout boxer (which, form my experience, tends to be a more common scenario) from rousing my ire and making for a boring pugilistic experience? Well, he should maintain his reach advantage with the jab, jab, jab! Good fundamentals will go a long way if a boxer has height and reach on his side (hell, it’s not called a reach advantage for nothing!). Left-right combinations are great (the good old “one-two”), and so is the left jab-right uppercut combination (assuming orthodox position--if the fighter is a southpaw, then I am referring of course to the right jab-left uppercut combo.) for those times when the opponent comes rushing forth under the jab. The uppercut is particularly effective because the opponent often lunges, coming right into the full force of the punch as he strives to diminish the distance. It goes without saying that timing is everything here, and once again, that returns us to the recurring theme of practice, practice, practice. As Bruce Lee may have said “To fight clinch-free, one must THINK clinch-free”.
In closing, the advice I have rendered is necessarily general in nature, but come on—this is a rant session after all! All venting aside, however, I can virtually guarantee that if a boxer trains with an overarching mantra of “I will not clinch. I will not allow a clinch.”, that boxer will be a much more formidable force in the ring than if he had spent hours of his training time practicing the “art of clinching” (HO-FREAKIN-HUM). So Clinchers, move on to grappling! Boxers, let your hands FLY!
posted by Todd Reinhard at 4:26 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Todd,
Thanks, man. That's one hell of a fine commentary on clinching. You reminded me of some of the basics and taught me a couple of new things, too. Wanna work my corner sometime? :)
To jump into fray, let me post a few comments about clinching.
You make many good points here. I see the clinch as a last resort defensive technique. By all means, any boxer needs to avoid it except when nothing else is going to work.
In my own experience in bouts, I have only used the clinch as a defensive tactic very few times. In each instance, all of the following were true.
A. I had just gotten clocked and--though I hate to admit it--getting hit was the result of sloppy defense. (Even with overall good technique, I made some mistakes that showed weaknesses I needed to eliminate.)
B. I was stunned and needed a few seconds to recover.
C. The referee did *not* step in to give me a standing 8-count.
D. My opponent was going to start raining punches on my head if I didn't do something fast.
As Mark Hatmaker says in his book Boxing Mastery, the clinch probably saved me from losing the match. However, the fact that I had to use it at all taught me an important lesson: I needed to be a hell of a lot more skillful in and attentive to my defense.
Also, since I'm a bit on the short side, I often cut off the ring on the opponent and try to trap him in a corner. But hey, taller guys are smart boxers, too. They often try to clinch, buy some time, and try to muscle their way out of the corner. For guys like me, it's really helpful to read your comments about *preventing* the opponent from clinching.
I had been using your recommendation of "The best way to avoid the clinch on the inside is to throw a barrage of relentless punches." That's the only way to do it, I think. I had not thought of punching the opponent on the shoulders. That's an interesting strategy and I'll have to try it sometime. Let me elaborate, too, on what I have used so far.
When I have the opponent trapped in the corner or up against the ropes and he tries to clinch, firing a quick flurry of straight punches to his chin or his stomach usually persuades him to rethink his strategy of clinching!
Up close like that, when the goal is to prevent a clinch, I find the quick barrage of shots to the jaw is a little more effective than to the body for a couple of reasons. First, landing the punches on the guy's chin seems a little more intimidating. If he's trying to clinch, odds are good I can score to the body as easily as to the head. However, because I am in so close, I won't get full power on the body shots. Thus, if all he can see is my gloves in his face, I think that's a more potent psychological weapon.
Another practical reason for this approach is that the judges will probably be able to see and count the punches to the chin somewhat easier. (Just remember the 2004 Olympic Games and how the judges counted mostly head shots, much to the chagrin of the American team.) If my opponent leaves himself open in an attempt to clinch, I want to make sure every punch I land is seen and counted. And who knows? I might be able to land 6 or 8 punches on my foe before he figures out clinching is not such a hot idea. :-)
You make another good point about the importance of pursuing the clincher and pressing my advantage. Specifically, you say, "He should not allow the Clincher any time to recover whatsoever."
That, my friend, is a must. If you have the opponent trapped or he is trying to clinch, you know you have him in trouble. That is the time to act. Even if I am getting tired, I think the important thing is to keep hitting, to keep scoring good, legal punches.
Keeping the pressure on serves at least two purposes. First, I continue to score points. If I can't put my foe away, I should be able to build up a solid points margin over my opponent. Second, if I keep up the "barrage of relentless punches" that you suggest, at a minimum, I can keep the other fellow on the defensive. In that posture, he's a lot less likely to mount an effective counterattack. The last thing I want is to expend a ton of energy pressuring the guy and scoring, only to have him come back after me!
Have you ever had that happen to you, where the opponent slipped out of the corner and resumed his own offensive strategy? How'd you deal with it? My first thought is to get the trusty left jab back in his face as soon as possible. Other ideas?
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