Monthly Archives: June 2019

Salt Lake city seminar – September 21/22, 2019

I am really excited to announce that I am going to teach my fundamental coursework for the first time in in Slat Lake City. It is a beautiful city and I can’t wait. 

Instructor: Cecil Burch
Class dates: September 21/22, 2019, 8:30am-6pm both days.
Cost: $300 for both days, $175 for one, inclusive. No facility fees; all tuition fees go to Cecil.
Location: TNT Guns and Range Murray UT 
Class size: Maximum 14 students

Contact/facilitator: http://www.tntgunrange.com/?fbclid=I…TLFOIniP3RZBLw

Immediate Action Jiu-jitsu 

Real World Application of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in a Weapon-Based-Environment

Contrary to popular belief, many empty hand fights and those involving weapons, end up on the ground. No amount of pontificating or self-proclaimed “expert” posturing will change this simple fact. If you ignore this reality, you may very well find yourself in a situation you cannot handle with disastrous consequences. This course is designed to give the layman a realistic and functional set of concepts, techniques, methodologies, training drills and experiences that will prepare them for a worst case “ground-fight” scenario. All techniques and concepts are high percentile applications which span a wide spectrum of confrontations. Training consists of presentation, drilling and Force-On-Force evolutions providing attendees with immediate feedback regarding the efficacy of the skills learned. The goal of this course is not to create a “ground fighter” or grappler. The objective is to provide attendees who have limited training time and resources with solid ground survival and escape fundamentals geared toward the increasingly violent weapon based environments they may live, work and/or travel within. And all techniques/concepts are from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and are combat proven over the past 80 years by thousands of practitioners, including the U.S. Army.

These methods are for everyone regardless of physical condition – young, old, male, female, athlete or not – You DO NOT have to be a professional fighter to perform at a functional level. This will be a class about physical training, but it is NOT boot camp. Participants may go at the pace that is comfortable for them, while trying to push the envelope of their own individual performance.
Requirements : Loose, comfortable but durable clothes, mouthpiece, cup, notebook, and an open mind
The course is divided into modules that address specific situations. Among the topics covered by the modules include:

Surviving/defending/escaping when you are on the ground underneath an attacker
Surviving/defending/escaping when you are on the ground and your opponent is standing
Functional methods of getting back to your feet
Countering takedowns and remaining on your feet
IFWA (in-fight weapon access)
Denying your opponent’s weapon access – understanding technique, positional hierarchy AND timing
Multiple opponents – realistically maximizing your chances
Surviving inside the guard
Proper usage of the guard to win/escape
Defending against punches, elbow strikes, stomps, kicks, etc…
Proper role of “dirty tactics”
Essential training principles, methods, & drills
How these concepts & techniques remain true with or without weapon involvement
Learning to deal with the most common MMA attacks and holds
Recognizing and defending against common submissions (guillotine, rear naked choke, triangle, arm bar, etc.)
Structuring and balancing your training and integrating it into a busy real world lifestyle
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Immediate Action Pugilism

Clinch for Self-Preservation in the Weapons Based Environment

Sometimes, in order to defend ourselves and our loved ones, the only tool we might have to rely on is our own body. Even if you have external weapons, you might not be able to access them. Your safety may come down to how well you can survive a hand-to-hand confrontation. The Immediate Action Pugilism course is designed to give the layman a realistic and functional set of concepts, techniques, methodologies, training drills and experiences that will prepare them for a worst case H2H scenario. All techniques and concepts are high percentile applications which span a wide spectrum of confrontations. Training consists of presentation, drilling and Force-On-Force evolutions providing attendees with immediate feedback regarding the efficacy of the skills learned. The goal of this course is not to create a professional boxer or MMA competitor. The objective is to provide attendees who have limited training time and resources with solid fundamentals geared toward the increasingly violent weapon based environments they may live, work and/or travel within.

All the techniques presented are based on orthodox and MMA boxing methods and are the best, most functional and high percentage moves and tactics available.

These methods are for everyone regardless of physical condition – young, old, male, female, athlete or not – You DO NOT have to be a professional fighter to perform at a functional level. This will be a class about physical training, but it is NOT boot camp. Participants may go at the pace that is comfortable for them, while trying to push the envelope of their own individual performance.
Requirements: Boxing gloves (at least 12oz or bigger unless per-authorized by the instructor), loose, comfortable but durable clothes, mouthpiece, cup, notebook, and an open mind. MMA gloves are strongly encouraged, but are not mandatory.
Immediate Action Pugilism is divided into modules that address specific situations. Among the topics covered by the modules include:

Why & How to use Vertical Clinch skills in a WBE
Underlying Concepts and Mindset for use
Dealing with the Sucker Punch / Ambush
The Default Cover
Transitioning to and Regaining the Initiative
Fundamentals of the Clinch/Safely Entering
Controlling the Entanglement
Individual & Partner Drills
Gradual introduction and immersion into sparring
Fighting at Close Quarters; attached and unattached
Disengaging from the clinch
Safely gaining distance for escape, weapons access, or orientation reset
Keeping the Fight standing, realistically defending the takedown
Performance Coaching and Troubleshooting
Insights and Suggestions for Solo Training
Tips and pointers on how to train the material with the limitations of a real world lifestyle

New Seminar in Bay area

I will be in Petaluma, CA on August 3rd at Esteem BJJ teaching how to make sure our BJJ skills are street ready, including dealing with the possibility of multiple opponents and weapons.

Not sure of the price, but the owner of the Academy likes to keep it low, so it will most likely be under$100. Text him at

(707)292-9457

And jump on in! If you want to understand the tiny tweaks we need to be truly ready to apply our BJJ in the real world, you will dig it.

the mat does not lie

There are many positive things about training in BJJ. Perhaps the single best one is that the mat does not lie.

Far too often, and historically speaking, self-defense training was based largely on faith. We had to trust that what we were learning would work, because we could not test them particularly well. They were “too deadly to spar”, or in the case of firearms, no one wants to get shot in practice. We did not have the gear or even a good framework to attempt to apply them.

As students, we had to accept the stories told by our teachers. That this particular technique worked 300 years ago in SE Asia to fight off pirates or marauding invading samurai, or that this other technique was really successful in killing Nazi sentries in WW2. Any martial art geek (this writer right there among that crowd) can talk about legends of people who came before, especially if said person was in the same lineage. I remember reading a ton of stories about legendary rooftop fights that happened all the time in Hong Kong in the 50’s and 60’s. A number of Chinese martial artists, including Bruce Lee, had some their laurels stemming from these encounters. Then, thanks to the wonders of the internet age, someone found actual film of some of these fights and put it online for the world to see. I cannot begin to tell you of my disappointment at seeing them. A bunch of 12 year olds fighting in the school yard had better skills and technique than these “masters” exhibited. But prior to that, we had to accept the myth that these were amazing fights and only gods among men could emerge triumphant from them.

Thankfully, there were three concurrent events happening. One, the rise of the information age made it easier to trade facts and truth rather than legends. Two, the advent of better training gear, ranging from headgear and gloves all the way to firearm marking cartridges (simunitions and UTM) allowing us to be more safe in applying real force and pressure on training partners and coming as close as possible to experiencing what a fight for your life may feel like, and three, the arrival of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu into the US and then the rest of the world.

What BJJ did, outside of giving us a functional and safe grappling methodology accessible to anyone, was to give up a template and framework in which we could truly test things. Every single time you step on the BJJ mat to train, the truth will be revealed. No longer can a “master” who is too fat to even climb a flight of stairs without stroking out can pretend to be a fighting god. No longer can someone say that all it takes to win a fight is to eye gouge or groin grab someone. It is no longer possible to pretend to know something about the mysteries of fighting without being able to demo the ability to apply that mystery.

That extends to the world inside BJJ as well. Anyone can go on Amazon and buy a black belt, put it on and walk into a BJJ academy. But they will be kindly asked to show what they can do. And it will be evident quickly if they are a phony or not. Royce Gracie once said “A belt covers two inches of your ass. You have to cover the rest.” And truer words were never said. There have been some cases of a phony belt getting caught publicly and sometimes the video even goes viral. More often, it is a quieter and more private affair where someone comes to an academy and says they are a purple belt (or any belt lower than black). But it only takes a couple of rolls to find out if that is fact or fiction. Sometimes the person does not know he is not at that rank. He was given it for some other reason by a higher belt (probably for financial or student retention reasons by the instructor – and shame on him for doing so), and moves to another school and after a bit of training realizes he is out of his depth. At a good school, they will help him to grow into that belt rather than punish him for someone else’s mistake and make him take it off. That has happened multiple times at my Professor’s academy. We know it is not his fault, and can help him, but we don’t have to tell him what is up. The mat does not lie and shows him the truth.

Sadly, there are still people out there who try to fool the world, but if they have not been caught, they will be. My favorite is the guy who never really out and out says he is a black belt in BJJ, but wears a black belt because he is a black belt in some other art like Tae Kwon Do. He knowingly knows he is being deceitful, but is desperate to get away with it. Nothing ever good comes from that, because eventually, the truth will tell, because the mat does not lie. It is fine to tell the world you are awesome, but the mat says prove it. And you either can, or cannot.

just start

I tend to be overly passionate about trying to help people become more – more safer, more capable, and more dangerous. I realize it sounds a bit too self-righteous, but I cannot think of a better description than I feel it is a calling to teach functional fighting concepts and do it in a way that anyone can benefit from them.  Not only does every single person deserve the right and the capability to defend themselves purely for their own intrinsic worth, but also because it makes society as a whole better. When all the good guys can defend themselves from the bad guys, the bad guys lose their power.

I know it can be done. I am living proof. I have no special abilities. In fact, I have a long list of things that hold me back, and they are things that I have lived with all my life. But in can be done if you do the work.

One thing that continually comes up though is this idea that you “have to get in shape for X”. I hear these things all the time – “I will take a few months to get in shape for BJJ” – Why? Nothing will get you in BJJ shape like actually doing BJJ! Or this one – “I need to spend a couple months working my shooting before taking a pistol class” – again, why? You know how you get better at shooting? Taking a training class! Here is a classic – “I need to get prepped for ECQC” – no; you need to go through ECQC so you can know what you need to do to prep for a fight.

Generally there are two reasons for these excuses.

One, the person genuinely thinks he needs to have some kind of preparation before doing one of these things. This person is afraid of not being able to do something during the training, or looking bad, or not doing well. Guess what? All those things will happen regardless! And who cares? Its training! There is not one legitimate instructor who expects a student to do everything perfectly after being told once. That is not how this works at all. Show up in whatever condition/capability you are currently at, and work to get better. It is a simple process.

The other reason for excuses like these is because the speaker is trying to get himself mentally ready to go and make the commitment. It is easy to put it off – “I need to lose 25 pounds so I am going to start eating right next month” – that is the path to failure. The commitment happens on a daily basis. It is not a thing in and of itself. Each day you say to yourself “I am going to do this” and the next day you have to repeat it. Your mind does not acclimate and make it easier. There is no magic line in the sand where it just happens. YOU have to make it happen, every day.

So what do we do? JUST START. TODAY. I don’t care what, or how much, but start right now. Don’t know hwo to start? Cool. Here are some suggestions.

  1. Find a video on how to do basic BJJ movements (I have a number on my my YouTube channel). Learn how to do a hip escape or a hip lift and do it for one minute. Tomorrow, do it for one minute. And the next day. When you feel up to it, add time or moves.
  2. Watch a video on how to do a burpee. Then do it for a minute. And every day repeat. No equipment, no gym membership, no travel.
  3. Spend a couple dollars on the e-book version of Annette Evans Dry Fire Primer book. Then dry fire tonight for one minute (are you starting to see the jist?).

There are tons more you can do. The point being to just start right now, and do what you can, with what you have, for as long a time as you can, and don’t quit.