Hand trapping is the act of slapping, pulling or pressing one or both of an opponent's hands out of the way in order to fire a strike through the hole created. Hand trapping can be as simple as slapping someone's hand down and hurling an overhand, or can be a more complex and pressuring art form. Many forms of martial art focus largely on the many variations of hand trapping; Wing Chun and Kali being the main ones, but it exists in Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and just about any art form where free sparring is used. Many who watched the UFC match between Overeem and Lesnar will have noticed that Lesnar seemed almost helpless as Overeem stepped forwards toward him - largely due to Alistair's hand fighting. Lesnar (whose shakiness under fire is well known) had clearly been told to keep his hands up by his team and so was reluctant to fire punches, Overeem meanwhile stepped forward, covering the bigger mans hands and eliminating Lesnar's ability to punch while he stepped in to throw is infamous Uberknee. This is an advanced level of hand fighting, and one you will likely only see used by great strikers against less-than-stellar strikers, but many variations on hand trapping exist.
In this clip Japanese boxing phenomenon Hozumi Hasegawa comes out to start the 7th round and immediately drops Gerardo Martinez on the seat of his trunks. If you rewind to 0:05 it becomes clear how Hasegawa managed to drop his opponent with such a basic punch immediately on leaving his own corner. Hasegawa has fought six rounds prior to this in which he, as a southpaw, has been using his right hand to slap down, push around and annoy his opponent's leading, left hand. Immediately after slapping down his opponent's hand he has often used the path opened to throw a right handed jab straight back along his opponents arm - though it is not a damaging punch it has clearly begun to annoy Martinez as when Hasegawa does it again at 0:05 in this video, Martinez instinctively snaps his lead hand back up to cover, leaving the hole needed for the left straight which Hasegawa has already thrown in anticipation of Martinez's reaction. The result is that Martinez's lead hand flies up, exposing his chin and Hasegawa powers a fine looking left straight down the pipe, from which Martinez never recovers and goes on to be TKO'd later in the round.
Another type of handtrap is demonstrated by Fedor Emelianenko (who is going to come up again in this article) against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in their third meeting here. At 15:49 Fedor uses his lead left hand to slap Nogueira's lead left hand outwards and throw an overhand (more accurately termed a "casting punch" by sambo pracitioners) down the middle. This would normally eliminate Nogueira's ability to check the punch, but as Nogueira attempts to kick at the same time, he has the misfortune of running onto the full force of it. At 16:38 you can see what Fedor meant to do without Nogueira running on to his punch as he slaps the Brazilian's hand aside again and throws his overhand down the pipe with frightening accuracy. Nogueira's brilliant chin and heart hold him up where his boxing technique does not however, and he survives the 3 rounds in one of the best heavyweight contests in MMA history. The big hand trap to punches are repeated in slow motion at 21:15 and 21:31.
A third, more advanced form of hand trap is performed with the rear hand, then the lead hand is used to throw a power punch. Most will be familiar with George Foreman and his winning of the heavyweight boxing title for a second time at the age of 45; an interesting note is that for his comeback George hired Archie Moore "The Old Mongoose" to act as his trainer, meaning that his boxing technique and tricks were greater at the age of 45 than they had been when he was in his physical prime. At 7:12 George swings a looping right hand trap downwards, in order to slap down Cooney's lead hand and follows it with a left uppercut that connects. At 7:15 George Foreman comes out of a combination using his rear hand to smother Cooney's famous left hook preemptively, and delivers a hard jab with his left hand, following up with a right hand and a combination on the stunned Cooney, dropping him.
This same hand trap has been used to great affect in Mixed Martial Arts by the aforementioned Fedor Emelianenko and has resulted in two rapid victories for the Russian. Famed for his right hand lead, which he had used to great affect against Nogueira, Gary Goodridge and Kazuyuki Fujita, the Russian's opponents often carried their lead hand out in front of them, ready to parry the straight right. This presented Emelianenko with the opportunity to loop his right hand over their lead hand in a faked punch - turned hand trap, and follow with a hard left hook.
Against Zuluzinho the Russian executes his hand trap to left hook combination (now known around the internet as "zulu'ing") at 0:30 and it is repeated in slow motion several times at 1:00. Finally, proving how difficult this technique is to deal with, Tim Sylvia, a top ten heavyweight at the time took on Fedor in 2009, only to be dispatched in 27 seconds by the same combination and a follow up from The Last Emperor.
Other fighters with excellent hand traps are Andre Arlovski - who attempted to use them against Sergei Kharitanov most recently, Anderson Silva - who landed a wicked left straight against Nate Marquadt using exactly the same technique Hasegawa used in the first video, and Lyoto Machida who similarly uses a slap down of the lead hand to southpaw left straight almost exclusively.
Jose Aldo, UFC featherweight champion, who is ranked number four right now in the pound for pound rankings, gives his list of the greatest fighters in MMA mixed martial arts history:
Doubling up is the act of throwing two successive blows with the same hand, and can be extended into tripling up, quadrupling up or to any number imaginable - limited only by speed, ambition and arm cramp. The term Lever Punch or Crowbar punch was coined by Soviet Boxing Team Head Coach K. V. Gradapolov in his "Tactics of the Foreign Masters" to describe the legendary black pugilist Peter Jackson's seemingly unique tactic of throwing a hard left hook and without drawing his shoulders back completely throwing another one immediately afterward. This action served to break the opponents guard and concentration as after a hard left hook a hard right punch is almost always expected. The second punch did not matter much to Jackson who simply used it to "lever" open some space in which to fire his powerful right hand, but in recent years it has been possible for the second or third successive punch off of one hand to be used as a damaging blow. A brilliant example of "doubling up" or "lever punches" is Manny Pacquiao's fight with David Diaz:
Manny Pacquiao throughout his career had experienced the advantage of being a southpaw - awkward and unseen by most fighters with savvy managers. Against Diaz he fought another southpaw - effectively neutralizing Pacquiao's ability to lead with his left hand. As a southpaw against an orthodox fighter it becomes a contest of power punches seemingly as both sides find it much easier to land a straight with their rear hand (usually their power hand) than with their jab. Jabbing in a contest involving a southpaw and an orthodox fighter is usually largely ineffective unless one participant fights with their lead hand and shoulder down as Diego Sanchez made the mistake of doing against Martin Kampmann a few months back. In this fight Manny had to prove he could fight with his lead hand, and he did it VERY convincingly. At 0:25 Pacquiao uses a slapping lead hook to jump to the side of Diaz, following it with a short uppercut off of the same hand, bringing Diaz's head up for a hook off of his rear, left hand. Manny lands a lead uppercut to the body followed immediately by a lead uppercut to the head at 0:38. By not bringing his hand back to his guard in between Manny is able to bring the punch through Diaz's blind angle, the point down by his feet that he cannot see through his peripheral vision, and so the punch lands with surprise and good effect. Emmanuel Steward - a far wiser man than most in combat sports - breaks down the combination in slow motion at 1:00 noting it's rarity even in modern boxing. Pacquiao again doubles up later in the fight, this time using a jab to lead uppercut combination that lands flush at 1:43 of the video.
Another beautiful example of doubling up from the boxing world is Mike Tyson's famous combination of the jab, rear hook to the body and rear uppercut. He used this to effectively finish tough British heavyweight and all around nice guy, Frank Bruno. At 9:37 Mike has had Bruno reeling but has failed to finish by swarming on him, so he takes a step back and reconsiders his strategy. Pushing Bruno against the ropes he sinks the right hook to the body and immediately follows up with the right uppercut. Again as the punch had started down by Bruno's trunks, Tyson's uppercut was not telegraphed in the usual way by his glove leaving his own chin and dropping below his shoulders.
The professional kickboxer and K-1 superstar Gokhan Saki has some of the fastest hands in his division, also being one of the smallest men in it. Gokhan Saki throws some of the most inventive combinations of any fighter in the world, let alone at heavyweight. In his fight with "Flashy" Freddy Kamayo, he completely outshone his opponent and upstaged Kamayo's moniker by throwing heavyweight power in lightweight combinations. At 0:55 he throws a jab, cross, left hook to the head and a left hook to the body, following it with a hard low kick, and Freddy's night only gets worse from there. After stunning Kamayo with a solid counter hook, Saki follows him to the ropes and immediately begins using smoke and mirrors to baffle his opponent rather than swinging wildly for the finish. At 2:03Saki quadruples up by throwing a left hook to the body, a left uppercut (through the blind angle) and a double left hook to the head in rapid succession. At 2:31 Saki tops off his performance by tripling up with his left hand, throwing a right hand, tripling up the left hand again, then rolling his left hand over his opponent's head, using it to rip down Kamayo's left glove and land a right hand that sends Freddy sprawling across the canvas. Kamayo is game and makes it to his feet but the damage is done and a stoppage follows seconds later.
Mention is needed for how this underused tool appears in MMA. It is rare that you see it used but when it is, it almost always scores and I believe that fighters will pick up on this soon. The Diaz brothers, Nate and Nick are exceptional at throwing multiple punches off of one hand in quick succession. Nick's hands are so hyperactive throughout the fight (though in a strangely slow rhythm) that I won't even attempt to pin point all of the double ups he performs but I'll observe a few just to illustrate the point. At 4:00, 4:15, 6:48, 9:51 and9:53 and 9:54 Diaz throws two punches off of the same hand in rapid succession. There are numerous other examples of doubling up in this half of the fight alone, but good luck counting. Diaz's work rate is incomparable and on most of the occasions he doubles up a punch one of the two lands, and by the 9:50 mark both are landing.
A few honourable mentions: Takanori Gomi was a fierce MMA puncher in his prime and doubled up to great extent against the (on paper at least) much better striker Jens Pulver - using a lead hook to the body to bend Pulver towards the following lead hook to the head. Fedor Emelianenko also used a beautiful combination against Mirko Cro Cop that consisted of a right straight to the southpaws sternum, a left uppercut to meet him as he bent forward and a left hook to loop around Cro Cop's guard as he attempted to defend himself.
Finally no article on doubling up would be complete without a mention of Roy Jones Jr., I am not even going to attempt to offer individual times for this video as I believe anyone who hasn't seen it should watch the entire three minutes; it's pretty inspiring. If you're really pushed for time just forward to the end, but you'll be missing some of the best left hook work in boxing history.
'Punch and Clutch' is a term you hear from veteran commentators and coaches from time to time and is a rather old school strategy of punishing an opponent without giving him the chance to counter with combinations or outpoint you. While many times you will hear the term used in a derogatory way; criticizing a fighter who is clearly trying to stall, properly executed punch and clutch makes for exciting, brutal fights. Punch and Clutch is a method wherein a power punch can be thrown without fear of retaliation. Normally a looping right lead or a powerful left hook is thrown and the clinch is established immediately after. Floyd Mayweather is not a big puncher, but can cause damage by jumping into his shots and clinching. Take a look at this short highlight of his right hand leads against the southpaw Sharmba Mitchell. At 0:09 he lands a huge right hand and immediately moves to clinch, smothering Mitchell's counter. At 0:15 he does the same again, this time dropping Mitchell, but he is clearly already moving in for the clinch, watching the slow motion replay one can clearly see him react and change stances to punch again.
This is not something he does only against southpaws either (he's fought so few of them). Watch his performance against Hatton, a much harder puncher and an expert infighter, whom he managed to land power shots on and tie up with ease in the middle and later rounds of their contest. Watch at 1:29 where he throws the right hand, leaping in to clinch with Hatton, then when Hatton attempts to hold him, Floyd cross faces him and lands some free shots on the way out.
The first time I recall hearing the term was in reference to Roberto Duran's strategy. During Duran's lightweight career he was known as a ferocious power puncher (hence his nickname Manos de Piedra or 'Hands of Stone') and he managed to carry this punching power up in weight to extent. While an extremely able boxer with world class defense, Duran's management decided while he was young to sell his punching power above all else and asked him to assure his popularity by scoring knockouts rather than clinical decision victories. To achieve this without sacrificing his facial features or mental faculties Duran made sure that when he threw his enormous right hand he clinched up immediately after. Should his opponent cover up he began berating them with hooks and uppercuts, if they clinched back he freed one hand and began uppercutting them anyway. Two more spectacular Punch and Clutchers are Naseem Hamed and Roy Jones - both of whom got remarkable power on their shots even in the lower weightclasses, primarily by commiting their whole body weight to them and either ducking or clinching immediately after.
Punch and Clutch is especially useful in Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA due to the fact that a fighter needs neither hand free to strike and in the latter can throw his opponent to the floor. Here is a clip of Ernesto Hoost, pushing 40 years old, beating his third world class opponent in one night at the K-1 Grand Prix. In the first minute and a half it becomes obvious to Hoost his opponent is much stronger than him and is constantly applying pressure - Hoost attempts one of his trade mark low kicks and is pushed off balance into the ropes at 0:40. At 1:17 he attempts to punch and clutch but Le Banner muscles him off. The same happens at 2:22 and at 2:28. But on both of those occasions Le Banner is so concerned about keeping Hoost from clinching him so that he can get a punch off, that Hoost actually lands all his attempted right hand leads. He does again at 2:55 and 2:57 and each time Le Banner is caught because he is attempting to keep Hoost from clinching him. By the second round Hoost is tying him up more often - even landing knees as at 4:48. From the 6:00 mark Hoost is landing his right hand and clinching up immediately after at will, and Le Banner is clearly tiring from being hit and attempting to muscle the older man off of him. Le Banner's slowing movement allows Hoost the space to move back and use his kicks, such as at 6:42. Hoost is eventually given a yellow card for clinching - but his gameplan has already succeeded in exhausting the enormous Frenchman. Le Banner cannot pressure his opponent in the third for lack of energy and fear of Hoost's Punch and Clutch - at which point Hoost backs him onto the ropes for the first time with a salvo of punches. Hoost's right kick breaks Le Banner's arm and the fight is stopped - making Ernesto Hoost the oldest man to ever win the K-1 Grand Prix by tiring out a younger, stronger opponent. All through use of Punch and Clutch.
Finally an example from the world of Mixed Martial Arts. There are few who combine clinchwork and boxing so well as Fedor Emelianenko did in his prime and so I will illustrate using him. Fedor's third meeting with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a clinic in Punch and Clutch. Using his fearsome right hand lead the Russian repeatedly forces Nogueira to 1) raise his hands and expose his waste or 2) take a huge punch and not be aware of Fedor taking him down. Take a look at this handy highlight Cyrax1984 has put together:
At 0:05 and 0:12 Emelianenko uses his right hand lead to upper body clinch to throw combination. And again at 0:27, and with a different throw at 0:31. At 0:20 he instead uses a strong jab but immediately steps in and puts his head on Nogueira's chest. It makes a great difference from the jab to double leg shot that seems to still be the only set up used by anyone outside of Georges St. Pierre today.
A final brilliant example is from Fedor's fight with Gary Goodridge. I advise anyone who hasn't seen this to watch the fight first in fast motion, be amazed, then watch the slow motion and see what Fedor does. Goodridge is well prepared for Fedor to take him down as he has done to Semmy Schilt, Heath Herring and Nogueira. At 3:50 the slow motion picks up with Fedor landing his left hook, but having jumped in far enough to be able to clinch - as Goodridges arms extend to initiate the clinch Fedor pushes Goodridge off of him, offbalancing Goodridge, causing his hands to drop and allowing Fedor to land a second, harder hook at 3:52. In using Punch and Clutch it is up to the fighter to use his judgement just as Mayweather did when he realised Mitchell was hurt or that Hatton wanted to hold him. If Emelianenko hadn't felt the first hook land cleanly, I suspect in all likelihood that he would have continued into a full clinch and secured a takedown, but instead he chose to land more blows upon realizing he had struck Goodridge cleanly.
