Photo By Lance Cpl. Osmar VasquezHernandez | U.S. Marine Corps SSgt. Charles Copeland, a Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor with...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Martial arts and combative sports are a skillset many people use for various ways. Some want to learn how to defend themselves in case they are ever attacked. Others have been involved in these sports for years and compete professionally. For U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Copeland, the fire and effects coordination center chief at the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), martial arts and combative sports taught him how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Copeland grew up in a small town in Minnesota . Even when he was younger, he always found himself being told he couldn’t participate in challenging sports because of his smaller stature compared to the rest of the kids around him.
“I just enjoyed challenging myself in some things,” said Copeland. “I did wrestling when I was younger and a lot of people were like, ‘Oh no, he’s going to get hurt, he’s going to get crushed by every kid’ but I ended up doing really well. I enjoyed the physical strain and challenges wrestling had for me, but I also knew I wanted to do some kind of striking.”
His passion for combative sports and challenging activities opened his eyes to the idea of joining the military. He was amazed by the idea of being part of an organization that would allow him to put the skills he learned from combative sports to use. Before he was old enough to enlist, Copeland kept looking for ways to challenge himself and give himself an upper hand when he eventually went to basic training.
“When I wasn’t doing wrestling or going to school, I started looking into kickboxing, boxing, and jujitsu,” he stated “I was around 14 years old when I started getting in contact with several recruiters. I knew I wanted to join the military but didn’t know what kind of job I wanted or what branch I even wanted to join. The Marine Corps was the first to catch my attention because they reflected a lot of what the Army does, but the Marine Corps had an entire martial arts program, which was my deciding factor. I started going to every workout the recruiting station hosted every second Saturday of every month.”
After three years of hard work and discipline, Copeland shipped off to Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, Parris Island, North Carolina, on Sept. 15, 2015, where he earned the title of Marine. Throughout months and years of training and hard work, the Marine Corps opened many doors for Copeland to challenge himself. When he checked into his second unit, 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in Okinawa, Japan, he was enrolled into Sergeants School, which would end up being one of the most challenging and uncomfortable courses he had attended up to that point.
“When I went to Sergeant s Course, I didn’t come with the intent of volunteering for anything that wasn’t required, but when they asked who wanted to be the class leader, I knew I needed to get out of my comfort zone if I wanted to grow as a Marine,” he stated. “I raised my hand, and, at that moment, I felt like I made a mistake. There were a lot of times during Sergeants School where I had to issue orders that were out of my control and put me in very uncomfortable positions. I was challenged in every aspect. The schooling fatigued me mentally, the ‘slay fests’ and workouts tired me physically, and the weight that came with being a class leader exhausted me emotionally, but the experiences taught me how to be a better Marine and a better leader.”
Copeland later moved from Okinawa, Japan, to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he checked into Fire Support Battery, 10th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division . He became heavily involved with his unit’s Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) and put himself through the very physically and mentally demanding MCMAP Martial Arts Instructor (MAI) course.
“Fighting is a very emotional sport. When you lose, you can't put the blame on anything but yourself,” he said. “As an MAI, you learn how to humble yourself and know that just because you wear a tab, doesn’t mean that you’re better or stronger than everybody else. There’s going to be times where you encounter wildcard types of fighters that throw you around, but you learn how to take it to the chin and keep pushing.”
Nowadays, Copeland finds himself searching for new ways to challenge himself and conduct additional combative training. Whether that be by teaching MCMAP to his Marines or going to the gym to learn Krav Maga, a self-defense system with Israeli origins, Copeland never fails to keep his schedule busy and his body and mind working.
“You’re never going to make progress by being stagnant. There are some people that do the MCMAP course, and once they reach their desired belt, they never dive deeper into martial arts again,” said Copeland. “For some people, it's fear that keeps them from reaching their goals. As a swim instructor, I’ve seen Marines being intimidated by the tower jump and they freeze. You’re never going to learn how to conquer that fear if the only time you expose yourself to it is during the yearly swim qualifications. I’ve always told myself and other people, if something scares you, expose yourself to that fear if it’s safe.”
| Date Taken: | 11.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.15.2024 12:31 |
| Story ID: | 485397 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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