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Servicemembers learn to fight, win, in combatives class

  • Published
  • By Pfc. Gretchen N. Goodrich
  • HHB 35th ADA BDE
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  "You're struggling too much!" hollered Staff Sgt. Heath Dickson, "Relax, relax, relax." 

The Soldier relaxed and threw his leg over the instructor, grasping him in a head lock. Even though this was the Soldier's second time coming to the combatives class, the instructors weren't going easy on him. They all knew the benefits of learning this fighting skill and they all understood how important it was for every servicemember to know the basics of combat fighting. 

Combatives is defined as the hand-to-hand combat engagement between two or more persons, either with weapons such as knives, sticks, or projectile weapons that can't be fired, or without anything. It's the basic fighting skill that all Soldiers are required to know according to Army Regulation 350-1. 

"What are you going to do if your weapon doesn't always work - run?" asked Spc. Lawrence Ranches, a human resource specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th Air Defense Artillery, and level one instructor. "No, you're going to engage the enemy." 

"It can be useful in a real life scenario if you don't have your weapon," said Sgt. Jared Hinsley, who works in supply with HHB 35th ADA BDE. 

Combatives is no easy feat. For some, the idea of fighting someone else without a weapon might be scary. Combatives helps to instill courage and self-confidence in the soldier, according to the Army Study Guide Web site. 

"Most people that come to the class continue or get scared and quit," said Specialist Ranches. "We're not there to hurt people or embarrass them, we're here to teach." 

The thing to keep in mind, he said, is that everyone at some point is a beginner.
Specialist Ranches recalled his first time up against an instructor who came at him throwing punches. His goal was to close in on him. 

"I thought to myself, 'I don't want to get hit again' and after that I went back," he said. 

The class instills other principles besides self-confidence and courage into servicemembers, such as being mentally calm and having situational awareness and agility, according to Army Field Manual 3-25.150 

"During my first match, I panicked, but you learn how to control yourself, you learn how to think outside the box," said Pvt. Patricia Nicholas, an air defense tactical operations center operator with HHB 35th ADA BDE. 

When faced against someone else in a fight, some people may find it hard to keep their composure and win, especially if the opponent is bigger. 

"A lot of people think it's power and strength, but it's not," said Specialist Ranches. "It's knowing what to do in different situations." Even though Ranches isn't viewed as having much power because of his size, he said he is able to use his speed against someone larger than him. 

"Never underestimate your opponent," added Specialist Ranches. 

That includes women. 

"I want to know that I can take out people bigger than me," said Private Nicholas. "Being a girl, it is scary to go against a guy, but you learn to control that fear. You learn more with guys because they have muscles that you don't and weight that you don't." 

On top of that, in a combat situation, servicemembers won't always know who they are up against. 

"When we get to Iraq, you're going to fight whoever is against you; you don't get a choice who you fight in the real world - a man or a woman," said Private Nicholas.

Combatives hasn't been around forever. It wasn't actually part of the Army until 1995 when the commander of the 2nd Ranger Battalion ordered a new type of martial arts to be used within the battalion. Matt Larsen, who headed up the team to find a the new training method, took the Brazilian jiu jitsu and brought it to the Army because it was easy to learn, had a competitive form and was proven effective in the arena of hand-to-hand fighting, according to the Modern Army Combatives Web site. 

Army combatives today takes those basic moves of Brazilian jiu jitsu, throws in punches and takedown moves of judo and wrestling and uses the strikes of boxing and muay thai. Now, Soldiers are taught to fight in basic training and should be taught in their platoons and companies in accordance with Army Regulation 350-1. 

The 35th ADA BDE offers the combatives class every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in the old firehouse building on base. The class is open to all servicemembers.