I second the towel idea. We used to breed cats & a swaddled cat is a good cat! Seriously - make sure the towel is a full-size one. You just put it over the cat at shoulder level & pick the cat up, wrapping the towel tightly around it's chest. It won't be terribly amused. One person holds cat & towell & the other person clips claws. The big towel is essential as the weight & size of it drapes over the legs you aren't working on & prevents them opening up your arteries.

Also the waterpistol of god can be useful in training. Hide behind a newspaper & wait until the cat starts - then squirt it quickly & go back to reading behind the paper. Hopefully the cat will think that an all-seeing god has done it & not you. You need to be fast & accurate . . .