Duck Under to Takedown from the Single Neck Tie & Underhook Control

This week, Muay Thai Kru (trainer) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Professor, Stephen "The MMA Performance Professor" Whittier, discusses the fundamentals of posture in the wrestling clinch, then breaks down simple but highly effective takedown off of the duck-under from the single neck tie / underhook control.

In the video, Coach Whittier first talks about body posture when fighting from the clinch (head over front toes, knees bent, back straight and not rounded, and elbows in tight to your ribs), and the importance of fighting for head position and dominant grips as you work into the clinch. As a corollary, he also points out that 1) your first line of defense is the "line" of your head and hands, and 2) that as you enter a clinch, sacrificing head position to an opponent will often negate any advantage you have in terms of handles or grips.

Next, Coach Whittier show the entry from hand fighting into a single neck tie and single underhook (with his head positioned tightly in the neck of his opponent, on the same side as his underhook).

As he secures the neck tie, he brings the top of his forehead into his opponent's neck, and brings his hips in as he secures a tight underhook on the other side (with his hand grabbing tightly onto the ball of his opponent's shoulder). Once he has his head and grips in place, he shoots his hips back while pulling with his arms, forcing his opponent to lean forward. This is a classic example of where the head goes, the body follows... this position allows Coach Whittier to "steer" his opponent and control him.

Once his opponent is off balance, Coach Whittier pulls on the head as he lifts with his underhook to "shuck" past his opponent's arm for the duck under. He drives up into his opponent's armpit with his head up to avoid being headlocked or choked, then (while maintaining his single neck tie grip), uses the free hand to reach around his opponent's back to control inside his opposite thigh. Pulling himself around so that he is back-to-chest with his opponent, Coach Whittler maintains these grips and simply walks backward into a kneeling position, bringing his opponent down to the ground in the process.