Creative Body Lock Escape With Rafael Cordeiro
The body lock clinch is one of the most powerful positions in all of stand up grappling. This doesn’t just extend to wrestling or grappling arts, as the body lock clinch is a very powerful position in both MMA and Muay Thai. This position leads to sweeps, takedowns and can even be used to produce a ton of damage.
These are all good reasons for you to practice getting, holding and working out of this position. Something that is arguably more important however is being able to escape from this position if you ever find yourself in it.
In this video, legendary MMA striking coach Rafael Cordeiro goes over how you can escape from the body lock. Rafael Cordeiro is a legendary Muay Thai and overall striking coach. Rafael has worked with legendary fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Rafael Dos Anjos and he has produced countless champions.
This defensive technique is fairly simple but drilling it is incredibly necessary. This is because, especially when it comes to clinch work, it is nearly impossible to actually pull off a technique with zero prior drilling in a real stress test scenario. Ideally you wouldn’t end up in a body lock or you would be able to stop your opponent from fully getting control. That isn’t always the case and you will need to know how to escape if the need arises.
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The video starts off with coach Cordeiro’s partner getting a hold of a body lock. From there, you need to create space and separation. Coach Cordeiro does this by putting his forearms and elbows in front of his opponent’s collar bones in a Muay Thia plum style position. Remember to keep your hands, palm over palm, on the back of your opponent’s head, preferably on the crown and not on their neck. This is because having your hands on the neck provides absolutely no control, where the crown of the head allows you to break your opponent’s posture.
From that position, depending on how strong your opponent’s grip is, you might be able to break their body lock. If you can’t, it’s time to add in the legs for extra pushing power. To add the legs to this technique, you are first going to position your shin on your opponent’s hips with your foot in between their legs. From there you're going to push as many times as you need until you can position your foot on your opponent’s hips. Keep in mind that you are maintaining that Muay Thai clinch throughout this process.
Now with your foot in proper position and with the Muay Thai clinch, you are going to pugs off from your elbows and your positioned foot to break the body lock. There’s a decent chance that while you’re doing these steps that your opponent’s grip breaks. That being said, it’s still important to drill the complete technique just in case your opponent is really good and strong with the body lock.
When you push off, try your best to maintain the Muay Thai clinch. Doing this will allow you to follow up with knees and elbows on your opponent. Maintaining the clinch will also protect you from any attempts to regain the body lock from your opponent, as well as any counter strikes.
If you liked this drill and want to learn more clinching techniques from the legendary Rafael Cordeiro, then check out his complete clinch video series “Mastering The Clinch By Rafael Cordeiro” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!