Anyone in the self-defense/fighting/tactical community with even the slightest sense of critical thinking will know that you have to practice. Regardless of how simple or efficient a fighting movement is, you cannot learn it, perform a few repetitions, and assume you have the ability to functionally apply it against a resisting opponent while in an initiative deficit. That just makes no sense (of course, that does not prevent unscrupulous instructors from selling their material as exactly that – “5 easy moves to defeat any attacker” type garbage. But I will save that rant for another post).

There is a vast amount of equipment and methods out there to help us practice. For now, I will focus on those things that are applicable to H2H, since are a metric-ton of places to get advice on how to shoot better.

I like and have used almost all the pieces of typical equipment that is out there: heavy bags, double-end bags, focus mitts, grappling dummies, speed bags, Thai pads, etc. They are all valid and at times incredibly useful. However, the single best thing you can do is also free – Shadowboxing.
Not only is shadowboxing fee, it does not require a partner, or much of anything except perhaps a bit of space. That is it! So what can we do with it, and how can it help us?

What we can do with it is literally almost anything. The only real limitation is your own imagination, and how much effort you put into it. How it can help us is in whatever way we choose to work through any possible physical situation that can arise – from a sudden ambush, to multiple opponents, to opponents with weapons, etc.

In the next article, I will go into more detail and advice on how to use this great tool. In the meantime, watch the video carefully of Tyson at this peak shadowboxing, and see if there are any lessons that jump out at you in how he performs.

There is an interesting hypothesis that a number of people in the self-defense community likes to refer to quite often. While it generally comes from those who are focused on firearms, it also pops up in those who advocate knife carry, or even the carry of “disguised” or improvised weapons (such as the Comtech Stinger). That hypothesis is essentially how it is foolish to not carry a large tool like a full size pistol or a bigger bladed knife because with proper clothing almost anything can be hidden on a regular basis. And for proof, these lecturers will pull out the “I carried X weapon at (some crowded event or location) and no one made me”. I am not sure they are accurate.

Everyone who trots out that line needs to understand the scientific concept of “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. What does this mean exactly? It means that just because there is no apparent evidence in front of you, it does not mean that you see everything. The classic way of illustrating this is with this:

If Alice bakes a pie, then she places the pie on her window-sill.
She did not place a pie on her window-sill.
Therefore, Alice did not bake a pie

Just because the pie is not on the window sill is not evidence. Perhaps she has just removed the pie from the sill to cut a piece, or that it is still in the oven, or that she is just putting the ingredients together as she bakes.

And just as the pie not being on the window-sill means little, so does not hearing someone say “Oh, you have a gun” mean that you carrying is a beautifully concealed secret.

Here is a personal experience that demonstrates exactly what I mean. A few months ago, I was at a local Mexican restaurant on my lunch hour. As I walked to my table after ordering, I noticed an older gentleman at a corner table. What made him stand out was the fact that he wore an IDPA style vest. Now, Arizona is as pro-gun a state as exists, and I can count on one hand the number of times outside of a gun-oriented event that I have seen that style of vest. So he already stood out. I took a longer look and after about a minute I noticed the tell tale outline of a full size pistol over his right hip. Did I jump up and point at him and scream “gun!”? No. Did I call the police and report a man with a gun? No. Did I go to the person behind the counter and demand they remove Mr. Gun? Of course not. I chuckled to myself, and waited for my food.

I have absolutely no doubt that guy went home that day satisfied that he walked around all day with a concealed pistol and no one knew. And he was completely wrong. I can assure you that was not an isolated incident. People carrying concealed are “made” everyday. Most likely, they are made by another gun guy, and no harm. But it does not mean they were not made. And people should be absolutely sure that they are not before making sure a bold statement.

I recently became a contributor to Gun Nuts Media and will regularly write online articles for them. The first one in up and you can read it here:

Hand to hand with Cecil Burch

I have lots of weird thoughts go through my head at times. Sometimes, a certain thought justifies an in depth look. And in many of those instances, it gives me a good blog post. Other times, the thought is only worthwhile as a passing fancy. So, when I have a number of those built up, I will just get them out there as sort of a catch-all anthology post!

Thought #1 – Why do people care so much about what other people do? I was reading a recent article on the concept of “press checks” (where you check the status of your weapon by making sure it is loaded) and the vitriol on either side is crazy. Why does someone care so much that they have to say ugly things about another person who press checks? It makes no sense. It does not affect the first person at all, so just go your own way.

Thought #2 – I have absolutely no problem with a blue belt teaching jiu-jitsu. That may be the best level of instruction available. If you are in an isolated area like a smaller town, or have a weird schedule (for instance, you work night shifts and cannot get to the standard class and your only option is a class run by a blue belt), then it is certainly better than nothing. HOWEVER, if you live in an area where there are legitimate higher belts actively teaching, and you instead opt to get online training so you can stroke your own ego and be the big man, than you are a toolbag. If you run a BJJ “school” as such an instructor, and there is within 10 miles a black belt teaching and you refuse to train at that place, you are being deceitful to yourself and to your paying students. Stop letting your own ego guide you and be willing to be humbled through real pressure. Stop fooling yourself that you have anything more than the tiniest bit of a superficial understanding of the material. If you can’t even teach a fundamental technique like a straight armbar, then you have absolutely no business teaching jiu-jitsu.

Thought #3 – As an adjunct to the previous thought, if you are that kind of blue belt who thinks online video training puts you on the same level as those who train in a legit gym on a continuing basis with high level of partners and instructors, than you are the absolute worst kind of martial artist. Your ego is out of control, and you really need to stop fooling yourself that you are on some enlightened journey. The Hero’s Journey is always based on the Hero overcoming authentic obstacles and challenges. Training in your own garage with a handful of people, none of whom have even your level of experience, is not an authentic obstacle. You are entitled to your opinions, but that does not mean your opinions are valid and have to be accepted as valid. You can have the opinion that the world is flat. That is your right. However, it is my right then to publicly point out that you are wrong, especially when I can empirically prove you are wrong. And don’t get butthurt when that happens.

Thought #4 – It may seem on a first glance, superficial level that thought #1 conflicts with thoughts #2 & #3. It actually does not, at all. If something someone does, does not affect you, then there is no reason to get upset about it. However, in the case of the situation of 2 & 3, those things affect me deeply, because it is a deep wound to the art that I love and have devoted over 21 years of my life to. When lunatics, egomaniacs, liars, and narcissists jump in and try to steal something that does not belong to them, I get angry, and I will speak out. If only so others don’t fall into their web of deceit and waste time and energy.

What the heck do racecars and eye gouges have to do with one another? Stay with me for a minute and I will explain.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to self-defense is whenever an “expert” will denigrate combat sports such as Brazilian Jiu-jitsu or boxing, or any kind of competition like Practical Pistol shooting by saying if you engage in any of those things, you are building reactions that will cause you pain, suffering, and death on the street in a real life altercation.

They insist that doing even one competition or practicing with any idea of a sport context with rules will instill training scars that are impossible to overcome. Any hint or suggestion that there is anything that limits what reactions you can have will be apocalyptic in results.

Here is the problem with that idea – they do the same thing in their own training courses! Whether it is a firearms course or a combatives/H2H class, there are rules and procedures that are just as limiting as any competitive rule set. Don’t believe me? Well, answer me this. When was the last time a one-dimensional flat piece of paper attacked anyone? So if we practice shooting against that target, and never against a real 3-D person, why won’t we go into shutdown mode when confronted with the real thing?

Another example – When was the last time a self-defense situation was initiated by someone shouting “Up”, or “Bust ‘em”, or “Threat!”? Of course the answer is never, but those are all typical firing commands in street oriented/tactical/non-competition shooting classes. And yet the exact same people, who will say that going off a buzzer in an IDPA match will get you killed, will then have the equivalent stimulus! It is just so hypocritical.

If competition/sport oriented rules ingrain habits that will dominate your subconscious and cannot be overcome in high stress situations, then why do we not see literally thousands of automobile accidents take place every year where professional race car drivers are driving in normal traffic? After all, professional drivers (NASCAR, Indy racing, sprint cars, etc) spend hours a day, practically every day, on a track with no oncoming traffic, no traffic signals, and they are only turning left. If competition ruins you, then every self-defense oriented shooter should be vocally and loudly demanding that all professional racecar drivers should be banned from normal driving.

And yet, they don’t, because it would be ludicrous and stupid! Too bad that does not stop them from applying the same poor logic to self-defense and their magical fight stoppers like eye gouging (See? I told you I would tie it all together!) that somehow will be accessible even if you never actually apply them in real time against a resisting opponent. If driving on a circular track for far more hours than any person ever spends shooting does not warp your real world reactions, then shooting IDPA/USPSA or competing in a judo tournament won’t either. Period.

What is the Pikal Jab? Essentially, it is closed fist strike that is very similar to the attack line when you properly throw a straight line jabbing strike with a knife with the blade held in the “pikal” grip (where the blade point is projected from the bottom of the grip. The strike, while not unique to the Filipino Martial Art style of Pekiti-Tersia, is heavily used in that system, and it is where Craig Douglas (aka Southnarc) did much of his knife training. And even though I had seen it and used it for decades from my previous FMA training, Craig is the one who really taught me and made me understand the tiny details of its proper execution. He is also the one who with I started throwing around the concept of an empty hand version that could actually work in a real environment, and could be taught without years of study.

So after many months of heavy, intense work, I have a few observations.

The punch works, and works well. It is very useful, and with the right coaching, it does not take too long to develop into a solid tool.

I think one of the reasons it works so well is that you are using the strike to move, so that you are using a high percentage and safe move to enable the movement, rather than the typical method of moving and then striking. It is safer and easier for a less experienced person to use. Provided they throw the strike correctly in the first place.

It is absolutely a knuckle punch. The trajectory of the strike is a straight punch, so the knuckles are the intended tool. Now, if you step out correctly and get the angle that we are trying for, there is a good chance that you will actually land it as a hammerfist, but that is an outgrowth of the correct directional move, not the strike itself. If you try to throw it as a hammerfist, I guarantee one of two things will happen. You will either throw it as an angled strike, which will open up a counter straight punch, and will NOT camouflage your intentions, or you throw it in a weird semi-straight way and you will not be able to get offline to the outside angle. Either results in a failure of the entire point of the strike. If you attempt to replicate the exact line of the knife in hand version, you will make impact with the bottom of your fist with the wrist cocked at a particularly weak angle. With a piece of hard steel in front of it, it is no big deal. Without that little bit of extra “oomph” though, it is a big deal trying to make impact that way. Either the blow will be severely weakened, or you will do enough damage to your hand that further follow-ups (including going to weapons) will be extremely problematic. We had a lot of issues early on before I got OCD about making sure it is a linear knuckle punch. The directional change happens because your shoulders rotate around the axis of that linear strike. And being linear, you are much more covered and protected from a counter punch should it fail, or if your opponent has superior attributes.

I can predict that some people will attempt to crowbar their own pre-set belief into this technique. A person with a boxing-type background may very well try to minimize the shoulder rotation and upper body opening, because that part is so contrary to their base. In doing so, the ability to step to that long Positional Dominance angle will be retarded. A person with a FMA background could try to insist that it does not have to be launched as a boxing punch and try to hijack the knife movement more directly, but that would be a complete misunderstanding of the differences in what can happen when someone is punched versus what will happen when someone is stabbed with a long, pointy, metal thing. Someone with another MA style (non-boxing) may try to change the launch of the punch as well. Sorry, it does not work. I have a student with an exceptionally strong Okinawan Karate background (he actually regularly travels to Japan and Okinawa to compete and train) and when he first learned this, you could see him visualize it as a hammerfist or backfist. I let him go a couple of weeks hoping he would see the light. Not only could he not get the angle, he was repeatedly countered punch and smashed in the face over and over. Until I showed him why it was not working for him, he was frustrated. Once he put aside his own prejudices, it worked for him.

It needs to be understood that this is hybridized technique that is contextually driven and tactically specific. The pikal jab is neither “this” nor “that”. It is its own thing that works where it is intended in the manner it is intended. I am not saying this is the final word on the technique, but if someone wants to argue about it, they better put in some actual work. I have months of diligent training with multiple people (anywhere from 4-8 per night) for multiple hours per week in that time to arrive at these conclusions/observations.

My friend John Mosby has an excellent article discussing the utility of boxing in a self-defense context. As is usual with his articles, he makes some really cogent points and does so with a good sense of humor and a no B.S. attitude. Check out the article, and while you are there, read all the rest of his stuff too. And take an extra look at the two books he has authored – more great stuff.

http://mountainguerrilla.readfomag.com/2015/01/the-ol-one-two/

Here are a couple of video clips that show two of my favorite holsters. Both are made by a buddy, Spencer Keepers. The first one is Spencer himself pointing out details about his slick Errand holster that is meant for slipping on and off when you have to make a quick trip out of the house and don’t feel the need to put on a belt.

The second clip shows his standard EDC holster being used by a terrific shooter named Gabe White, out of Oregon.

I am a regular user of both of these holsters. Either come highly recommended.

I was the worst white or blue belt that ever stepped on a jiu-jitsu mat.

That is completely true. I tell people that often at seminars, and I know many of them (perhaps most) think I am exaggerating. I absolutely am not. Not one bit.

In fact, I have a strong belief that I was my coach’s first pity blue belt. That is, he felt so sorry for me, and how hapless I was, and that all of my peers had passed me by and long had their own blue belt, and there I was still wearing that ratty, dirty white belt. I think Professor Megaton took pity on me and went ahead and gave me the next belt, undoubtedly assuming I would continue to suck and he would soon regret being a nice guy. My bud and hetero life mate Paul Sharp knew me back then, and he can tell you I was a joke as a martial artist. That is not fun to admit, but it is all too true.

Here is the true timeline of my jiu-jitsu journey. It took me seven years to go from my first day with Megaton to a one stripe blue belt. It took me four and a half more years to go from one stripe blue to black belt. So obviously for those first seven years I sucked. Bad. I fully embrace that and refuse to rewrite history to make me sound like more of a bad ass.

You may ask what changed. How did I suck so badly, but then make the switch and got good enough that I received a black belt from a man that most knowledgeable people in jiu-jitsu will tell you has some of the most stringent standards, especially for higher belts?

There is actually a specific moment and action that I can point to in answer.

In the spring of 2005, I competed in the BJJ Pan-American Championships. I had competed in some tournaments before and never really did well. This time, I exceeded any previous depths of awful-ness. I remember little about the match itself (thankfully), except that it was one of the most pitiful performances by any jiu-jitsu practitioner in history. All I can remember is thinking I should give my blue belt back to Meg, and take the team patch off my Gi so no one will know that I trained with him. I did not want to embarrass him any more than I already had (as a side note – Meg never made me feel bad about the match. He greeted me when I walked off the mat and patted my shoulder and simply said that it was time to get back to training. Most people don’t know that he has never said a bad word about any of his students when they compete, even when they fail badly. He believes that just honestly trying is worth a pat on the back. He truly believes that winning comes from being willing to try).

I left the venue pretty quickly and got in the car and headed home. Driving by myself through the desert towards home over the next six hours gave me plenty of time to think. I realized that I could never let what had just occurred happen again.

I had two options: 1) I could quit jiu-jitsu and never be humiliated again, but I would also forever be a quitter. Which unfortunately was how I had a tendency to handle things through my life. It was the easy path, but it also was deeply soul crushing. Or 2)I could suck it up, commit true energy towards jiu-jitsu (rather than just being there to get my ticket punched), lose weight, and get in fighting shape.

Most of the six hour drive was spent with the argument raging in my head. Finally, I decided – I was going to actually put real effort into something and push myself in a way that I had not really been tested.

The first thing I did was decide that no matter what, I was going to make BJJ class three times a week, and do all the training, even when the asthma was in full swing. I was not going to use that as an excuse to miss 1/3 of class, or even just miss a session entirely.

Second, I decided that I had to lose some of the 250 pounds plus of blubber I was rocking. Not just wanting to lose it, but truly take the steps to do so.

And third, start regular training at a sports performance facility under the eye of a coach who would hold me accountable and force me to work towards greater strength and cardio.

All that was cool, but I had done some of those steps before. We always “want” things. But we don’t always follow through. What I needed was something this time that would keep me in line and focused on the goal even when I mentally drifted. My solution? I was going to compete! But not just any competition – oh no. I decided I would go to Brazil and compete there, against the best in the world.
I was going to spend a good chunk of money on airfare, hotel, and various travel expenses and if I failed, it would all be a waste. And it would be a pretty public humiliation, because I decided to tell as many people as possible what I was going to do (this was pre-social media, or I would have posted it all over). I saw that the International Masters Championship was going to be held in Rio in August. Perfect! Four months to prep.

So I had a goal, and a fairly painful penalty for failing to meet that goal.

Not to bore people, but over the next four months I did follow through. I lost 35 pounds, got much more athletic and actually started to improve (finally!) at jiu-jitsu. And at the tournament in Brazil, even though I was actually forced to fight in the heavier weight category (that I spent the last four months getting out of!), I ended up taking home a silver medal, and even beat a Brazilian in the earlier round. And I only lost in the final by two points.

The most important thing that happened though was that I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. I began to see all the beautiful things that are part of this wonderful art. And in that realization, I began to steadily improve. Weird how a bit of focus and commitment actually can make a difference………….

What was my point in publicly revealing this painful admission? My point is essentially this: if we have an activity that is worthwhile, we owe it to ourselves to make some commitment to that activity. If the activity does not merit that commitment, we probably should not be wasting the time on it at all. It is either important, or it is not. Only the individual can decide for themselves what is worth the time and energy.

Whatever you do, put some effort into it.

One of the tropes the RBSD/Combatives crowd loves to drag out is the idea that grappling is really nice in the gym, but in the “real world”, will only get you killed. An oft-repeated comment is that it is okay to do jiu-jitsu moves on soft, comfortable mats, but Da Streetz don’t have mats.

I guess the implication is that those of us who do jiu-jitsu are giant wimps and need to have the equivalent of a Tempur-pedic mattress to train on!

Not only is this wrong, and incredibly short-sighted, it also shows an immense (almost willful) ignorance of history. Which is even more damning of their intellect since that history is easily discovered with the ease of the internet and search engines.

I can safely say that there are literally a metric ton of videos showing real world applications (on typical hard surfaces) of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. In addition, the US Army recently released a huge report on H2H usage by troops since the era of Modern Army Combatives (a report I plan on covering soon in a blog post).

More so, this kind of thing goes back to literally the dawn of the age of BJJ and is part of it’s very beginnings, where it was only advertised as a fighting and self-defense method. In fact, on the video tape that served to widely introduce the Gracie family to the world outside of Brazil (released in 1989 in the US), there was a lot of footage showing exactly that. One of the clips I particularity loved was that from a series of challenge matches held between representatives of Gracie Jiu-jitsu, and a large karate school in Rio.

To understand what set it up was that this took place in the early 1970’s during the karate/kung fu movie explosion led by Bruce Lee and Enter the Dragon. The head of the karate school was doing pretty well, and went on a localk TV show in Rio and talked about how perfect Karate was, and that jiu-jitsu was okay but could not stand up to Karate. Of course the Gracies disagreed and agreed to settle the dispute in the challenge matches.

The rules were no biting or eye gouging. Other than that, anything went. No gloves, and no other limitations.

Here is what I found so interesting. The event was help on an uncovered CONCRETE floor! And guess who insisted that it take place there? The Gracies. That’s right. The Karate people wanted it to be on mats or in a boxing ring. It was the grapplers, who planned to take the fight to the ground, who wanted it on a “real world” surface.

And so what was the result? See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnuHYRP0iE

Wait! How was that possible? The grapplers completely dominated and were not bothered at all by the hard surface. How could that be?

Because it is no big deal! Only someone who does not train for the groundfight and does not understand it would think it matters. Sure, we train on mats. When you are actually practicing for hours upon hours a week, it would be hard on the body to roll on concrete all the time. So in training, we prefer someone a little more forgiving. Just for longevity sakes, if nothing else. But when it comes to the real world, there is nothing at all that is the matter with fighting on a hard surface. Especially if you are a knowledgeable grappler, and can control the direction of the fight, a hard surface can actually be your ally (as in the above video). Notice in the video how every single one of the karate practitioners hit the floor extremely hard? Anyone want to think that that did not help the jiu-jitsu practitioners? Being able to take the fight to floor when they decided was a pretty good tactical decision, wasn’t it?

So the next time you hear the self-defense guru trot out the “no mats in the streets” cliche, you will understand how absolutely meaningless it is.