Posted on 10/27/2001 11:48:12 AM PDT by BluH2o
QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - In a world of smart bombs and high-tech fighter planes, the Marines are putting a new emphasis on hand-to-hand combat training.
And one of the men the Corps has enlisted to help teach the tactics and conditioning required for close-in warfare is an ex-Soviet drill instructor who prepared Soviet special forces for the ``mud war'' they fought in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Pavel Tsatsouline, who has since become a U.S. citizen and a fitness guru and author, has spent the past week training Marine instructors in the techniques he taught Soviet soldiers.
Tsatsouline's techniques have not yet been officially adopted by the Marines, but they won high praise from Lt. Col. George Bristol, who leads the Marines' new martial arts program.
Bristol said the war in Afghanistan, with pockets of terrorists in mountains and caves, shows the need for well-honed skills in hand-to-hand combat.
``No matter how high-tech it gets, it's going to be a mud war,'' Bristol said. ``And there's going to come a time when they're going to say, `Send in the Marines.' And we're going to go.''
The emphasis on hand-to-hand combat is a not a response to the current situation, Bristol said. Rather, the Marine Corps commandant decided more than a year ago that all Marines need to be better prepared to deal with the one-on-one combat situations that circumstances could thrust upon them.
As a result, all Marine officers, whether they will become desk jockeys or commandos, must obtain at least the equivalent of a tan belt in martial arts, with the opportunity for more extensive instruction.
The martial arts taught by the Marines are adapted for military situations, Bristol said.
``I don't care if Bruce Lee were here, he wouldn't be ready for martial arts as a Marine. Basically, we're training Marines to kill,'' Bristol said.
In Tsatsouline's drills, the emphasis is on seemingly small details that maximize strength and power. For instance, he showed the Marines a corkscrew motion on bayonet thrusts that helps lock the weapon into its victim. Breathing techniques are taught to increase the power of punches and kicks.
The Marines who trained with Tsatsouline said they have little doubt that the techniques will be put to use.
``People have lost sight of war. They've got this concept that we're not going to need ground troops or hand-to-hand combat,'' said 2nd Lt. Nathan Cahoon. ``I think people are realizing in the current situation that it's not the case.''
Who'd have imagined this kind of crossover
Didn't the Soviet special forces run home with their tail between their legs in that little ole war?
FWIW, the most impressive h-t-h instuctor I ever met was a former French Foreign Legionaire. He was in his 40's at the time, and could truly kick ass.
We have the highest ranking Tae Kwon Do Master in the entire world right here already. Sok Ho Kang, a naturalized American from South Korea, is a NINTH Dan Black Belt. That's 9 steps above Black Belt.
Master Kang was the head of martial arts instruction for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the National Police Force, and was responsible for the training and programs that made the ROKs such hand to hand bad asses. He was selected to be the first US Olympic Tae Kwon Do coach when the sport made its inaugaral appearance at the '88 Seoul Olympics.
Hand-to-hand combat has been around in the Corps for a long time ... the difference today is the
up-graded quality and emphasis on maintaining proficiency. As far as smoking the enemy out of caves the Marines are very experienced with that concept, going back to WWII, where flame throwers were very effective ... Iwo Jima is an excellent example.
The Corps at this time spent NOTHING on hand to hand on me or anyone I served with. I was an Air Winger, and I went ut on flaots with many grunts, and they all told me they got NOTHING for hand to hand training past ITR. That shocked me. So, any training they get now is a blessing, but way too late in my opinion.
The physical demands today on a Marine recruit are as tough, or possibly even more demanding than in the so called "old Corps". The mental stress is far less ... the DI's are carefully monitored and have far less "face to face" time with recruits. Recruits today are even allowed to voice an opinion ... which drives Marine DI's off the deep end. Before the touchy feely crowd came along, during the Clinton era, Marine DI's were given a great deal of latitude in Marine recruit development. Today, at least to this point, they are still having to deal with the carry over from the Clinton era.
In fact the Army, Navy, Air Force training allows recruit stress cards. If they feel they're stressed they simply display the card and are taken aside for gentle counseling.
Here's something funny - For some reason this thread made me think of this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.