UFC Veteran Nordine Taleb teaches special clinch concepts and an elbow drill he learned from a Lumpinee champion in Thailand.
Clinch is one of the foundations of combat and one of the most important things to master for self-defence.
Despite its importance, the clinch remains underrated and underutilized, even at the highest levels of combat sports like the UFC.
But if we look at ancient martial arts, it's was never neglected, rather many martial arts were built around it.
What Is the Clinch? Ancient Roots Across Civilizations
The clinch is the moment when two fighters are locked in close-range contact. It’s that grey zone of tension: control, pressure, leverage, disruption.
It's a position where you can grapple with your opponent while standing up and yet still have enough leverage and space to deliver powerful strikes. It's true a mix between grappling and striking.
Mastery of the clinch means the ability to dominate this in-between space: to control an opponent’s posture, shut down their attacks and open up devastating offense of your own such as knees, elbows, dirty boxing, takedowns or even standing chokes.
The clinch is not new. It’s ancient:
- Greco-Roman Wrestling refined upper-body clinch control with underhooks, overhooks, body locks and throws.
- Muay Thai developed a brutal version of clinching called "plam" to set up knees, elbows and off-balancing sweeps.
Muay Thai focuses primarily on controlling the neck of the opponent.
- Chinese martial arts like Wing Chun, Shuai Jiao and Tai Chi explored the idea of 'sticky hands,' emphasizing sensitivity, pressure redirection and control in close quarters.
- Even traditional Japanese Jujutsu and Aikido trained clinch entries to neutralize attacks before they could escalate. In Judo and original Jujutsu they also have lots of throws and trips from the clinch.
These traditions knew that once you close the distance, the fight is not over, rather the real battle has only begun.
Redefining the Clinch for Real Combat
Few modern fighters have elevated the clinch like Nordine Taleb, A UFC veteran with years experience in the cage, Taleb has taken the traditional Muay Thai clinch and reshaped it for real-world combat and MMA.
While most fighters use the clinch to stall or reset, Taleb turns it into a dominant, offensive weapon. He doesn’t rely on one-sided clinch concepts.
If you think about it, no martial art today is perfect when it comes to the clinch.
In Judo, they only have limited control and focus on throws and trips.
In Muay Thai they prioritize the neck over the rest of the upper body.
In Greco-Roman, they have control but lack strikes altogether.
What Taleb teaches is a hybrid clinch system that is fluid, adaptive and brutally effective.
In this hybrid clinch system we focus on frame control, head and elbow manipulation, and how to trap and dominate an opponent’s centerline with minimal effort and maximum efficiency.
This isn’t Muay Thai. It’s refined close-quarters combat designed to work in the cage, on the street or against any martial art with every tool at your disposal. Unlike in other martial arts, you are not limited by any aspect of the clinch.
This is very powerful stuff. Me and Eero are very experienced in martial arts and have seen nothing like it.
Why Every Martial Artist Needs the Clinch
I hope you enjoyed the video, we can say that there is more to come and you have seen nothing yet.
This whole clinch system was so powerful that we decided to create a 100% FREE mini-course on the clinch that teaches some of the fundamentals of Taleb's clinch system.
If you are a martial artist, this is pure gold. It's so effective and practical that anyone can use it.
For self-defence, I consider the clinch one of the best things to learn. You can control your opponent without hurting the enemy, yet you have all the power to end the fight once and for all if needed.
Highly recommend checking it out. I want to repeat again that it's one of the most special things we have seen in a long time in the world of martial arts.
You can sign up for free at EliteLevelStriking.com
Stay strong.
