By Sergeant First Class William C. Clark From the Spartans to the Japanese ered child abuse. They learned hand-to- times. But hand-to-hand, fencing and Samurai to the Soldiers of the Ameri- hand techniques based on the economy close-weapons training were not merely can Revolution, combatives training of motion, unmatched swordsman- hobbies for Soldiers who fought using has helped produce more capable, con- ship and archery skills that made the Napoleonic tactics — they were vital for fident Soldiers, and combatives remain Samurai some of the most formidable survival. Cavalry charges and massed crucial to the training and development warriors of all time. In addition to their formations, paired with the use of fixed of the successful warrior. warrior skills, the Samarai practiced bayonets, direct-fire artillery and flint- In ancient Sparta, combatives budo (the warrior way), a belief system lock firearms, made hand-to-hand or were instrumental in the training and that gave them a calm and confidence edged-weapon conflict highly probable. It development of the warrior school, the in battle. Totally committed, they had was crucial that the forces had training agoge, which children began at the age an intense faith that their training and and experience in those areas, as well. of 7. Children of the agoge were forced skills would not fail them. From the Pacific campaigns of to fight using a style of wrestling and The Spartans and the Samurai World War II, the Korean War and submission locks called pankration. had an edge — it was their training, the occupations that followed each, They fought with spears, sticks and their commitment, and their faith in Soldiers and Marines returned with swords in brutal fashion, honing their themselves and their doctrine. Simply not only exposure to but also in some warrior’s confidence and producing an put, they possessed a “warrior’s mind.” instances extensive training in, the indomitable mindset that seared the In the 234-year history of the U.S. martial arts. Judo was brought back to tiny Greek state into the pages of his- Army, hand-to-hand training has re- the U.S. in large volume first, followed tory thousands of years ago. ceived varied attention, usually based closely by Okinawan- and Japanese- In the modern vernacular, the on the degree of personal interest of style karate. word “spartan” is a synonym for aus- those who had influence over training. After the Korean War, Soldiers and tere, hard or strong. Spartan warriors Early in our military history, “hand Marines brought back several Korean and their exploits became legend, and fighting” was practiced by George martial-arts styles later employed their dedication to military excellence Washington’s forces at Valley Forge by the Republic of Korea’s army in continues to be emulated by warriors to supplement the Napoleonic warfare a combatives program fostered by around the world. drills that Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von General Choi Hong Hi. Hi supervised During the Shogunate period in Steuben taught the Continental Army. the publication of manuals and the Japan, the sons of the professional Throughout these early days of our implementation of the new program military class, or Samurai, were taught military history, morale and competi- with an old name: tae kwon do. He had bujitsu (warrior arts) under vicious tiveness were fostered by boxing and a manual sent to his friend in the U.S., conditions that today would be consid- wrestling contests, among other pas- Jhoon Ree, who began teaching and 20 Special Warfare promoting tae kwon do as a sport and Boxing, kickboxing and muay thai wasn’t even the best fighter among his as self-defense at his schools in Texas kickboxing follow a strict set of rules, brothers! He was successful because and other states. including referees for enforcing Mar- he and his brothers trained realisti- During the Vietnam War and the quis of Queensbury-style fight formats. cally; they relied on techniques that Cold War era, the U.S. occupied bases There was no way to prove which style worked in routine live sparring. Royce in Thailand and throughout the Indo- was the best, most deadly or most and his brothers had developed a true china region, including the Malay Ar- efficient. That is, not until 1993 and warrior’s mindset. Live fighting was the chipelago, thereby exposing servicemen the debut of the Ultimate Fighting norm for Royce; it was not the norm to muay thai kickboxing; kali/escrima, Championship and a man of diminu- for his opponents. Royce had logged Philippine martial arts that emphasize tive stature named Royce Gracie. The thousands of hours participating in stick and sword fighting; and silat, original UFC showcased real one-on- live sparring, but his opponents’ hours Malayan martial arts that use strikes, one arena fights with limited rules. of live, full-contact sparring could be throws and bladed weapons). Muay Gracie demonstrated that the combat- counted on a single hand. His fam- thai kickboxing was particularly bru- ant who exhibited superior technique ily had perfected transitions between tal. It includes the familiar techniques and confidence, not necessarily brute techniques, just as Soldiers perfect of Western boxing but also includes force, was most likely to prevail. their transition from their primary trips, the use of knees and elbows, and The years since the UFC first aired weapon to their secondary weapon on shin kicks, with bouts often ending in have shed light on the realistic applica- the range. To Gracie, fighting was like knockouts. This all-out type of fight- tion of martial skills in hand-to-hand clockwork. America was watching. ing drew large crowds at stadiums contests. Gracie’s many fights and wins In 1995, Gracie was a cult hero, and in small clubs. Demonstrations against bigger, stronger opponents who undefeated in the UFC. At that time, of weapons skill in the region featured were skilled in styles that did not allow within most Army units, there was a weapons like escrima sticks and vari- for realistic training opened people’s lack of confidence in the techniques ous edged weapons in blade-wielding eyes and made them reconsider their the Army taught, in the light of these dances. They featured common and training practices. Today, many have MMA contests. The Army lacked quality concealable weapons used with grace embraced the “new” mixed martial control of its instructors, there were and logical flow. Many servicemen arts, or MMA, approach to training first no program supervisors and, most found these displays to be efficient, made popular in the U.S. by Bruce Lee importantly, there was no sustainable, captivating and exotic. During and in the 1960s. MMA requires that train- train-the-trainer instructor-certification after the war, returning Soldiers and ing be well-rounded, focusing on skills program. As it always had been, train- immigrants from the region brought from multiple disciplines of combat-like ing was driven from the bottom, by an with them these styles of martial arts. grappling, striking, trapping, in-fight- interested, mixed bag of trainers. The Overall, from the mid-1940s to the ing, takedowns and takedown defense. situation led the commander of the 2nd early 1990s, the practice of martial arts It favors live-contact sparring and drills Ranger Battalion to reinvigorate the proliferated in the U.S. and around the over rigid forms and traditional ceremo- martial-arts training within his com- world. Tae kwon do and judo became nies, more like training under a high- mand. The Modern Army Combatives Olympic sports; schools sprang up school wrestling coach than under Mr. Program, or MACP, was the result. across the country with instruction in Miyagi from The Karate Kid. Those tasked with developing and styles from around the world. Today, Over the last 15 years, the Army implementing the MACP encountered there are thousands of schools teach- and the Marine Corps have spent more serious issues: Most of the Rangers ing karate, aikido, ninjutsu and judo in time on the subject of combatives within the battalion seemed to feel that small towns and big cities. Some credit than they did during the previous 219 the techniques taught in FM 21-150, for that boom can be given to Hollywood, years. The main reason is that every- Combatives (September 1992), were which embraced Bruce Lee, David Car- one else in the world does, too. MMA is unrealistic or simply wouldn’t work. radine, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, the fastest-growing sport in the world: The fact was that in accordance with Jean-Claude Van Damme and others UFC events, when televised, are out- FM 21-150, combatives were rarely in films that cast the actors as elite watched in the U.S. only by the NFL. taught outside basic training. The Soldiers, fighters and all-around heroes. Other professional sporting events reason most often cited for that lack Box-office receipts, along with enroll- such as basketball, NASCAR, baseball of training was that units with lim- ments in gymnasiums and martial arts and hockey all receive much lower rat- ited training time, whose battle focus studios, show that Americans aspire to ings when they are telecast in competi- was on “real” warrior skills, such as be strong and confident like their heroes. tion with UFC events. shooting, road-marching and common- The perception that martial artists UFC events routinely break box- core tasks at skill levels 1-3, could not are all but invincible in a fight against office records, and they have taken waste their time with combatives. Giv- dozens of opponents and that they place in many states, as well as in en the vague combatives curriculum can train themselves to superhuman England, Ireland and Germany.