Photo By Cpl. Elizabeth Case | Sgt. Kevin Pelzel, rear center, a Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor-Trainer with...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines from various units under II Marine Expeditionary Force participated in a sustainment integration drill at the 8th Communication Battalion Marine Corps Martial Arts training center July 16, 2015, as part of a Martial Arts Instructor Course.
Conducted at the midway point of the MAI course, the drill requires the students to participate in multiple stages of combat conditioning exercises while one of their peers battles through a grappling bout. The students rotate until all prescribed exercises have been completed and everyone has had an opportunity to grapple.
“This event is definitely mentally and physically tough,” said Cpl. Michael Whalen, a student in the MAI course and a rifleman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. “It helps each Marine build their teamwork skills. It also pushes you past your limits because you don’t want to let your Marines down, especially your own team. If you’re not [giving your best effort], then your team is getting [held back] more.”
Pushing past mental barriers and working hard together teaches Marines an important lesson, according to Sgt. Michael Paul, a Martial Arts Instructor-Trainer conducting the course.
“The biggest takeaway for the Marines is to work together as a team and not think about just themselves,” said Paul. “If they start to think about themselves, then after that the team as a whole gets brought down and their teammates [have to restart the stage.] This drill shows everyone how to stay together as a team while you have [a student] fighting at the same time. You can’t just count on yourself. When a [stressful situation] happens, you’ve got to be able to count on the guys around you too.”
By coming together as a team and learning during this event, each Marine will be able to build up the Marines at their unit through MCMAP.
“In this course, it is our job to teach these Marines the true meaning of MCMAP and get all of the disciplines down,” said Paul. “When you actually look at the martial arts program, it’s a whole lot more than just doing the techniques – there are mental, physical and character disciplines. Once these Marines have a firm understanding of it and they go out and train all of their Marines in this, they’re going to be better Marines as a whole.”
Each of the students has more challenges ahead of them before they graduate from the course, but they are motivated to continue until they get there, said Whalen.
“I wanted a good challenge, and this course has definitely given it to me,” Whalen said. “There are definitely points where this is tough and I was unsure about myself, but I thought about my teammates and I pushed past that mental point. This is a great course.”
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2015 10:34 |
| Story ID: | 170515 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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