Emmanuel Ogbah Using Martial Arts to Improve Pass Rush

In his newfound role at outside linebacker (yes, outside linebacker), Cleveland Browns rookie Emmanuel Ogbah has been refining his pass rushing skills via martial arts.

Ogbah has been exclusively working with the Browns’ strength and conditioning assistant Joe Kim to incorporate taekwondo principles in his pass rush. Kim, who is a seventh dan black belt himself, has been specifically teaching Ogbah the importance of hand placement.

“I realize that you’ve got to have more than just speed to get past offensive linemen in this league,” Ogbah told the Akron Beacon Journal. “You’ve got to have good hands, too, so I always work on that, too.”

Kim was added to the Browns staff in March. Along with intermittently working with Cleveland in the 90s, he has also worked with the Washington Redskins, the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, where pass rushing experts like Tamba Hali, Junior Galette and Justin Houston learned his unique take on pass rushing technique.

Now he brings his 25+ years of knowledge to Ogbah, who is making the switch from a defensive end to a rush linebacker in Ray Horton’s 3-4 defense.

As for his coverage skills, Ogbah still has a lot of work to do. But Browns coaches and fans should be optimistic — this 6-foot-4, 270 pounder was already a sack machine in the Big 12, and now he has martial arts on his side.