knees

when throwing a knee, propel your hips upward—think belly button towards the sky. keep your feet pointed straight down. as your lower body positions your knee directly central, your upper body will swivel with your arms in the opposite direction of the knee that is being thrown. if not clinching, keep the hand opposite of the knee being thrown up to avoid hits.

clinching

stand with a square stance (not to the side like a regular fight stance) to avoid getting swept. keep your elbows facing outside. use a thumbless grip to maneuver on the triceps and biceps to avoid getting your thumbs caught.

if your arms are on the outside, keep your hands firmly on the forearms/elbows of the opponent to stifle them from reaching to your face. if your arms are on the inside, position your hands on the opponent’s triceps and attempt to keep this position to try to hit the opponent’s face or pull your arms around their neck for a clinch. from a clinch a knee can be thrown, or you can throw the opponent to the ground.

drills

the following are drills that are done in groups (specified by *) or can be done solo.

knee walks

walk forward by throwing a knee. switch sides at each pace. repeat for several minutes back and forth.

clinch swimming *

work with a partner, one on the outside and one on the inside. fight for dominance within the inside. at lower levels of intensity, focus on flow; at higher levels, integrate stand-up wrestling and touch sparring.