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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. \u2013 About 30 Soldiers from the Pennsylvania and Connecticut Army National Guards completed the Pennsylvania National Guard State Combatives Program’s 40-hour Basic Combatives Course June 22-26, building the confidence and close-quarters fighting skills needed to react under pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Basic Combatives Course is the first of three levels in the Modern Army Combatives Program,\u201d said Sgt. 1st Class William Dougherty, Pennsylvania Army National Guard state master combatives trainer and course noncommissioned officer in charge. \u201cWe teach the foundations of close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat with an emphasis on grappling, takedowns and basic ground fighting. The goal is to help Soldiers close the distance, gain dominant body positions and control the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
One scenario in the course involved an instructor bursting forward without warning, driving a Soldier to the ground and forcing the trainee to fight to regain control of the encounter. Moments later, the Soldier created enough space to bring a rubber training rifle onto target, demonstrating techniques learned throughout the week. The realistic ambush was the culminating event of the training.<\/p>\n
Before facing the scenario, each student demonstrated the techniques they had learned throughout the week, explaining every movement to the instructors as they executed them step by step. Together, the assessments measured not only physical proficiency, but also each Soldier\u2019s understanding of the fundamentals behind the Modern Army Combatives Program.<\/p>\n
For many students, the week meant stepping well outside their comfort zones. Staff Sgt. Ian Bradley, assigned to the 928th Military Working Dog Detachment, Connecticut Army National Guard, traveled to Pennsylvania with five other Connecticut Soldiers after learning about the course earlier this year. As a squad leader, he saw it as an opportunity to bring valuable knowledge back to his unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to take what I\u2019ve learned here and bring it back to my unit so I can prepare others on the fundamentals before they have the opportunity to attend this course themselves,\u201d Bradley said.<\/p>\n
Although Bradley had little formal martial arts experience before arriving, he said the cadre presented the material in a way that made it approachable while still pushing students physically and mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like drinking from a fire hose,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cYou learn a lot in five days, but it\u2019s surprising how much you\u2019re able to retain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bradley said one of the week’s most valuable lessons came during the clinch drill, an exercise that teaches Soldiers to push through the instinct to retreat and instead aggressively close the distance on an attacker. While protecting their heads and maintaining proper posture, students advance into striking range to establish a dominant clinch and stop the attack.<\/p>\n
“Getting punched in the face really drives that lesson home,” Bradley said with a laugh. “You understand pretty quickly why the instructors keep telling you to keep your hands up during training.”<\/p>\n
For Bradley, whose military police duties routinely place him in close contact with the public, the techniques learned during the course have practical applications beyond the training environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in an operational military police K-9 unit, so the skills we learn here are very applicable to what I do full time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Austin Blackner, an 88M motor transport operator assigned to the 121st Transportation Company, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, said his wrestling background initially sparked his interest in Army combatives, but training with Soldiers of different sizes and experience levels proved equally valuable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe highlight was getting to roll with everybody,\u201d Blackner said. \u201cPeople bigger than you, smaller than you, faster, stronger. You don\u2019t get to choose who you might have to fight in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackner said the course gave him greater confidence that he could respond effectively in a close-combat situation. He also credited the instructors for creating an environment where Soldiers could challenge themselves while continuing to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re phenomenal,\u201d Blackner said. \u201cThey know what they\u2019re talking about, they teach you well and they\u2019ll work with you if you need help. They\u2019re the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Basic Combatives Course serves as the entry point into the Modern Army Combatives Program, Dougherty said the training is designed for every Soldier, regardless of experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cCombatives is for everybody, and everybody starts somewhere,\u201d Dougherty said. \u201cPut your reservations aside, come out on the mats, see what you\u2019ve got, and learn and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. \u2013 About 30 Soldiers from the Pennsylvania and Connecticut Army National Guards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[60192,60191,16831,13529,60190,60189,60188,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-231523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-air-national-guard","tag-army-national-guard","tag-guard","tag-national-guard","tag-national-guard-bureau","tag-ng","tag-ngb","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}