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View Full Version : AAR: Cecil Burch CMD/IAJJ DFW Oct. 2012



NickA
11-02-2012, 09:27 PM
While the nuts and bolts of Cecil Burch’s CMD (Crazy Monkey Defense)/ IAJJ (Immediate Action Jiu-jitsu) seminar have already been well covered in the excellent AAR’s by Shawn L., Byron and Eddy702, I’d like to add some more thoughts about what I got out of it. As an average middle-aged-ish guy, in reasonable but not great shape, with some good pistol training but almost no training in combatives or martial arts, I was interested in the class for a couple of reasons.
First, while I’m familiar with the basics of MUC (managing unknown contacts) from Southnarc’s Practical Unarmed Combat DVD and some work in pistol courses, I realized that after that MUC process, if it turns into a fight, or a situation that doesn’t warrant shooting, I really had no skills or a plan. So some martial arts based training tweaked for the person who generally has a gun and/or knife makes a lot of sense.
Second, the systems involved are reputedly easy to learn and easy to maintain a basic level of skill. While neither CMD nor IAJJ promises that you can single handedly take on a bar full of bikers after one weekend of training, they do give you the tools to survive that initial exchange and take the fight to the opponent, access a tool, or exit the scene.
Since I’m not likely to be able to get into regular BJJ or MMA training anytime soon, this was an important point.

So, here are a few of the big points that really stood out and made me realize how well unarmed combatives can be integrated with weapons based self defense.

Default positions, a safe place, and my new favorite word
The first thing we learned each day was a default position. The CMD default position covers your KO points – chin, temple, carotid, back of head, and the “cage” covers most of those points while raising the shoulders to keep your head stable and avoiding the “whiplash” effect that causes KO’s. The IAJJ default keeps your arms close to your body, combined with not being flat on the ground, and makes it very hard for someone to gain control. I spent most (OK all) of the seminar sparring with partners who were bigger and/or stronger than me, and I don’t remember ever being forced out of the CM cage or IAJJ default unless I did something stupid first.
Those simple, effective positions give you a “safe place” to be, even under pretty heavy pressure. As Shawn mentioned, you will get hit, and it will probably be painful, but you won’t get hurt or KO’d, and can continue to fight. It’s much easier to look for opportunities to strike back and achieve a dominant position where you can access a weapon, when you’re not getting your face punched in or your arm twisted off.
What this boils down to is that CMD/IAJJ can be successful regardless of your physical attributes; it doesn’t require the reflexes or experience to distinguish a jab from a cross from an uppercut, or a kimura from an Americana (or some other Brazilian word :)). If you maintain the structure it’s, to use my new favorite word, largely non-diagnostic. You aren’t trying to counter his specific technique, but to close off the openings for any attack. The point is not necessarily to win a spectacular victory, but to avoid a disastrous defeat while fighting back. As these techniques will be not just a tool in my toolbox, but just about the entire toolbox for now, that’s huge for me.

Integration with shooting techniques
Since I had just attended a pistol class with F2S the day before, several similarities between shooting and unarmed combat became obvious.
Two keys that Cecil stressed are a “tight economical structure” and balance.
- The structure consists of keeping your elbows tight to your body, with your hands attached to your face or forehead. While you may not want to keep a hand with a gun in it close to your face, it’s very similar to the indexing of elbows to body and hands in your workspace for a reload, remedial action, or shooting from less than full extension. Again, by making that elbow to the body index reflexive, at least part of your immediate action response (whether it’s a weapon malfunction or incoming punch) becomes non-diagnostic.
- Balance starts with your stance- an athletic stance, nose over toes, trunk kind of dropped into the pelvis, a hunched upper back, with the right foot dropped slightly back and heel off the ground. It may not be exactly like a modern iso shooting stance, but it’s close to it and easy to move from one to the other. In fact it’s got me thinking in terms of just having one default fighting stance. (Something Skyline1 and I both noticed- the CMD stance is almost identical to that used by Jack in the F2S class.)
- One additional benefit- since I carry AIWB, I think that hunched over position, with elbows tucked hard to the front of your body, should help with retention if the other guy goes to grab my gun.
- Aim small, miss small. Just like with shooting, aim for the best target. A punch thrown at the head may end up hitting the top of the head or forehead and breaking your hand. Aiming for a specific target like the nose cuts down the margin of error.
- Never sacrifice defense for offense. We heard this over and over from Cecil. While the way to win any fight is to take the initiative and bring the fight to the attacker, you always have to be aware of what you might give up to do that. You never drop your hands to try and land that haymaker punch, just as you wouldn’t blindly charge out from cover hoping to get off a shot. It’s more of a mindset thing than crossover technique, but it’s a good mantra for any kind of combat.

Easy Maintenance
Cecil recommended at least a few minutes a day of shadowboxing using the CM technique, and feels that you can maintain a good base level of skill doing that. For IAJJ, it’s easy to work on the basic moves like the hip bridge and hip escape even without a partner. So it’s pretty much like dry fire- not a substitute for the real thing, but a whole lot better than nothing. A few minutes a day adds up to a lot of practice, especially for those of us who can’t get to the range every week or train BJJ 2-3 times a week.

I’m sure none of this is a big surprise to the guys who have regularly practiced BJJ or MMA along with shooting, but I hope the above resonates with others like me who are looking to add to their skill set beyond shooting. I’m also not trying to say that Cecil’s seminar is a substitute for regular MA training. But for the minimal time and money invested, it’s a great value. And while the techniques are pretty basic, I really believe that solid fundamental techniques, practiced correctly and regularly, and executed with alacrity, are pretty much the backbone to winning any fight.

Shawn.L
11-03-2012, 09:19 AM
Nice review dude, you brought up some good points that had slipped my mind (re: aim small miss small and strikes).

phil_in_cs
11-03-2012, 07:58 PM
Excellent war. I wrote my notes, but don't have anything as organized as an aar

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

NickA
11-05-2012, 11:11 AM
Thanks guys. I was trying to get across more of what I got out of it instead of just the specifics of the class, since that's already been covered very well. Taking it right after a pistol class really helped outline the "big picture."
Phil - my notes from the actual class are terrible, never could time it right so that I didn't have gloves on when I needed to write :o luckily I got some video I can go back and review.

Byron
11-05-2012, 11:44 AM
Great write-up, Nick; you really did a good job highlighting the value of Cecil's instruction and material. I really enjoy seeing posts like this; I think highly of Cecil and like to see his good reputation being spread around.

Dropkick
11-05-2012, 01:28 PM
- Never sacrifice defense for offense. We heard this over and over from Cecil. While the way to win any fight is to take the initiative and bring the fight to the attacker, you always have to be aware of what you might give up to do that.

Another nice thing about CM is that you don't give up your entire defense when you go offensive as long as you perfect the "diving board" jab and cross. Your shoulder will raise up to help protect your jaw line on the punch.

I'd recommend the class to anyone who is looking for a more complete self-defense picture, too.