A U.S. Marine with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment clears a room during a limited scale raid exercise at Stone Bay in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on April 10, 2025. 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment conducted raid training to practice and refine techniques and procedures in preparation for potential future missions as the ground combat element of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Alert Contingency MAGTF (SPMAGTF-ACM). (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jorge Borjas)
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...
