Ex-Soviet Teaching Marines Hand-to-Hand Combat ...

AP | October 27, 2001 | Matthew Barakat

[BluH2o]

Attended my platoons re-union at Parris Island in early May of this year. We were escorted the two days we were there by a DI who acted as a guide and tour director. He took us to two different areas where hand-to-hand combat training was underway. The emphasis on this type of training was apparent, it was much more extensive than our hand-to-hand training 35 years ago. Further, proficiency is expected to be maintained through out your tour in the Corps.
Semper Fi ...

[El Sordo]

The Spetnaz were nuts about hand-to-hand training.

Who'd have imagined this kind of crossover

[Chapita]

ping

[Glenn]

who prepared Soviet special forces for the ``mud war'' they fought in Afghanistan during the 1980s.

Didn't the Soviet special forces run home with their tail between their legs in that little ole war?

[Eagle Eye]

I met a former USMC CQC firearms instructor in February. He was mid 20's and very firm about believing that only cops and military should have guns. I hope he's not typical of the folks in Quantico.

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.

[eno_]

The Russians often infiltrated oppostion groups as provocateurs. These infiltrators had to be able to get themselves out of tight situations without guns. Alas, one result of this is the high quality of Mafia "muscle" in Russia.

[Dialup Llama]

Pavel Tsatsouline's videos can be ordered at http://www.dragondoor.com/ . The VRWC strikes again. Connect the dots on this one.

[RLK]

Good idea. I'd bring in some Korean and Okinawin instructors also.

[Governor StrangeReno]

If you've a few spare moments heres some short videos on line of the military skills to be imparted

[horsewhispersc]

Please don't tell me we are Just Now Starting This when we knew one day the time would come!!! God help Us

[ken5050]

All the newly minted 2nd LT's from Quantico will be taught "new" uses for the ceremonial sword.....mine is up in the attic.....

[jrewingjr]

I'd bring in some Korean and Okinawin instructors also.

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.

[BluH2o]

Please don't tell me we are Just Now Starting This when we knew one day the time would come!!!

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.

[HEFFERNAN2]

MARINE BUMP. Semper Fi, Mike

[RaceBannon]

I was in 77 to 81 and never got any hand to hand trainig except for boot camp. The only Martial Arts training I ever got was from kickboxing on the hanger deck on my own against one of our pilot officers, or from taking Tae Kwon Do at Cheery point and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

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.

[BluH2o]

Given that the DIs don’t personally, physically, knock around recruits as much as they used to, my take on the documentary was that PI and SD are turning out good people as well as they ever have.

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.

[real saxophonist]

When I was in during the first Bush Administration, we had a pretty good bit of hand to hand and bayonet training at Boot Camp. And by this time everybody was required to go to School of Infantry afterward, more hand to hand. After that, nope, but I was a Bandsman.

Here's something funny - For some reason this thread made me think of this.

[BluH2o]

Yeah ... a sharpened shovel would work well in hand-to-hand combat. Awhile back someone ran an article on a tommy-hawk (actually a hand held axe) manufactured by a company in Tennessee. High quality and expensive at around $250 per copy ... apparently certain special forces groups are big customers.