Photo By Tarah Jackson | Sgt. 1st Class Ron Gruhlke, 205th Infantry Brigade logistics non-commissioned officer,...... read more read more
By Spc. Elizabeth Gorenc
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Close the distance, gain the dominant position and win the fight.
For four days Soldiers from Camp Atterbury worked together and against each other to learn hand-to-hand combat and accomplish those three goals in order to gain their level-one Army combatives course certification. By the end of the class, certification was a lot more than a piece of paper.
It meant working with fellow Soldiers to learn moves that we would later use against each other during the rounds. It meant getting bruised, tossed around and pushed to one's physical limits. It meant working through the pain and using strength, motivation, strategy and skill to wrestle and battle your new buddies.
Unlike wrestling, modern Army combatives draws techniques from fighting styles like Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, grappling or ground fighting, Muay Thai, a form of boxing using one's arms and legs, and Eskrima or stick fighting.
Level one combatives mainly focused on basic grappling skills; gaining a dominant position, using moves to cause surrender, and closing the distance between an opponent and engaging him in a hold to avoid being struck.
As a female, this was a completely new experience to me. Prior to this course, during any physical military training I always was paired with another female. In this training, not only was I the only female, but some of the males I was going up against were the size of football defensive linemen.
I have never been in a fight and didn't think my strength would even compare to the males', so I went into this experience a little apprehensive. But the professionalism and encouragement of the instructors and other Soldiers eliminated any possible awkwardness that could stem from males and females grappling together and made me more confident to be going up against
males.
During the training, I realized (which every female in the military should) that there will not always be another female around to train with and we have to learn how to hold our own. Danger and enemies don't differentiate between genders, and training to face danger and enemies should not differentiate between genders.
Through working together and learning the basic combatives skills in our class, we learned more than just how to beat the snot out of each other. We learned how to protect ourselves without the use of weapons and in doing that, provide non-lethal responses to situations. We learned to build the instinct to strike in and aggressively meet an opponent. We learned how to fight through fatigue and pain.
Even though this class was held during the last week in October, we were always hot and sweating. Throughout the group, we had pulled muscles, tendonitis, bruises, black eyes, and overall body soreness. We were sometimes in so much pain from using muscles that hadn't been used in years, or ever, that it hurt to move a certain way and interfered with sleeping. And each day we added to the pain that we caused to ourselves and each other from giving it our all the day before. Our bodies were battered and beaten, but it seemed as the pain increased, so did our motivation and skill.
Looking back on what we endured, I truly do believe on a physical, mental and literal level that if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger. I also believe if a Soldier walks away from level one combatives certification without experiencing a little bit of pain, they didn't push themselves hard enough to find their true potential.
Yes this class hurts, but it is more than worth it. The pain is temporary but the skills learned can be used for a lifetime.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2008 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 26293 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 175 |
| Downloads: | 92 |
This work, Hand to hand combat engages strength and strategy - A Soldier's first-hand account of a combat class, by SFC Elizabeth Houx, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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