what is wrong with your CM?

Recently, I read an internet post (I know, I know, I shouldn't even pay attention, but sometimes....) where the poster gave a back handed compliment to CM boxing. He said that CM was okay when you needed a second to handle pressure from strikes, but it didn't work overall. I had to laugh. I actually know a lot about the guy who wrote that post. I know his background, who he trains with, and his overall experience. I know, FOR A FACT, that he has NEVER trained CM with a knowledgeable CM coach. The most he knows is either through DVDs or second hand from someone who MIGHT have trained it. Yet he has no problem making public pronouncements about the system! Amazing. He must be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee to be so insightful.

What is more amusing is the one of the arts he practices is Savate, an art that is often misunderstood. I have seen where this guy gets irritated when someone makes an ill-informed comment on Savate. He will spend a lot of time posting corrections and basically saying someone who hasn't trained in Savate is probably missing a lot of the information. But, it is funny he doesn't see the hypocrisy in his own actions.

As someone who has been coaching CM for awhile, and has conducted or assisted at a good number of seminars, I have seen a lot of people try to learn this system and I have a good idea of the typical mistakes that about 99% of newbies make. I GUARANTEE that the afore-mentioned poster is making almost all of these mistakes and doesn't have the faintest clue he is doing so. Here are the typical problems I see.

1) Too high, not sinking your body down into your pelvis - This is a huge step towards defending against body shots, as well as being able to absorb force without being knocked back off balance. Beginners never realize they are not doing this because they haven't built up their kinesthetic perception.

2) Elbows everywhere but where they should be - Again, newbies don't realize where their elbows actually are. Generally, they are too far forward, not lying on the ribcage, thereby giving the opponent space to go around to land shots.

3) Shoulders down - it takes some practice to learn to keep the shoulders shrugged up. It is easy to let them drop, and forcing the arms to take on more responsibility of the defense which takes away from your ability to go on the offensive.

4) Hips angled - not keeping the hips square to the opponent.

5) Rear foot down - beginners have a hard time understanding the just the act of bringing the rear heel off the ground and leaving it there adds so much to their game in so many ways. It is such a crucial skill, but definitely one that most people lack when they start.

Numbers 1,2,3, and 5 are generally related to fatigue. If you have the proper coaching to make sure you are doing the mechanics correctly, and you actually put in a little time doing the work, they all are easily addressed. Number 4 is just a question of understanding spacial relationships and a basic level of kinesthetic perception, all things that a decent coach can bring out in you.

As you can see from the photo above of the top CM coach in the UK Phil Wright, his torso is dropped down into his pelvis making him look shorter than he actually is, his shoulders are up, his elbows are almost resting on his ribs, his hips are square to his imaginary opponent, and his rear foot is up. This is the right details. Where his hands go at this point is almost irrelevant because everything else is in place to handle the bad stuff that might be coming in.

The key underlying thread to all of them are that most people don't get them from watching a DVD. It generally takes hands on coaching to make them understood.

If you haven't taken the time to actually train it hands on, you might want to pass on public commentary so you don't look like a buffoon.