Clinching

is simply when both par tners
"hold" each other while standing.
Once a Jiu-jitsu practitioner
achieves the clinch, the ability of
his opponent to strike with a great
deal of force (damaging force) is
greatly reduced. After a level of
safety is achieved by the use of
this position, a skilled Jiu-jitsu
fighter will take his opponent to
the floor where any of the "ground
positions" previously soon to be
detailed will be used.
Getting to the Clinch
In this example to the left, I
am using a method of progressive
indirect attack to create an opening
so that I may safely achieve
the clinch position.
In figure 1, I throw a high
strike to my opponent’s head. It
is not my intention to strike my
opponent. My intention is to give
my opponent time to raise his
hand to defend my strike. By
raising his hand, he will create an
opening at his waist where his arm
would normally be blocking me
from “entering”. You will notice
that I control his right hand with
my left hand as I throw the strike
so that my opponent does not
strike me with that hand as I close
the distance.
In figure 2, I control his
arm as I finish closing the distance,
placing my head on his
chest. My left hand will wrap
around my opponent’s waits so
he cannot move back and away
from me, creating distance that
will enable him to strike.