Photo By Staff Sgt. Garrettgarrett Ralston | The 3rd Cavalry Regiment combative team and Col. John B. Richardson, commander of the...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas - The 3rd Cavalry Regiment combative team entered the 2012 Fort Hood combative tournament as the underdog, with having only minimal time for training. Despite that fact, the team rose above that image through hard work and determination, gaining the position of first runner up.
As 3rd Cavalry Regiment’s first combative team to enter the tournament, the pressure was on to set the bar for future teams to follow, said Staff Sgt. Curtis Morrow, of Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop.
Morrow, combative master trainer for the regiment, built and trained a team of more than 30 soldiers for the challenges they were to face in the tournament.
"Placing 2nd in the tournament is a tribute to how hard this team trained,” said Morrow.
Morrow, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., has more than 16 years of experience in hand-to-hand combat, which proved to be a valuable asset in the team’s success in the tournament.
The team trained from 9 a.m. to noon, everyday, learning basic ground techniques, like takedowns and submissions, and more advanced Mix Martial Arts style techniques, such as closed fist strikes to the head and body.
Many of the soldiers had previous fighting experience, while others had never been in a fight.
The team has a mesh of different styles coming into this, said Pvt. Cody Jennette, of Troop I “Ironhawk,” 3rd squadron. Some of the guys were wrestlers or cage fighters, or had training in Jiu Jitsu or boxing.
“We learned a lot from each other,” said Jennette, a native of Caro, Mich., whose previous experience as a wrestler help him achieve a top five ranking in the heavy weight class.
One of the team’s strategies was to spar together in choreographed attack and defense combinations, which was designed to train the eye to read the opponent’s body language.
Like a game of chess, this led to the team’s ability to anticipate their opponent’s next move.
Given the short amount of time to train together, the team proved their worth during the tournament against teams with years of training, said Morrow.
Morrow’s plan is to have the entire Regiment level two certified in combative training by this time next year.
“We are a Regiment of riflemen, we are fighting men, and that’s what we do,” said Morrow.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2012 12:54 |
| Story ID: | 84439 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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