Wait, wait. I know you guys are talking about clinch positions, but let's take a step back. This is self defense, not a brawl. If you grab someone in a clinch, it's because you want to elbow, knee, uppercut... it's not like you're gonna hang onto them for the next 30 seconds looking for clean shots. They shouldn't get a chance to pull out a knife in the clinch because you've already stopped their attack, swung them around, kneed them in the ribs, thrown a left hook, and started trying to escape.
IMO, YMMV, etc.