10 FIGHTING SECRETS
OF U.S. MILITARY
SPECIAL FORCES
By MSG Randy McElwee
You can barely open a martial arts magazine
without seeing an ad offering to share the deepest darkest
secrets of America’s elite warriors or providing intense
testimonials about how their fighting art has been adopted
as the only true system used by the Navy SEALs and
Army “Green Berets”. The number of resume credentials
listed as “Special Forces Hand-to-hand Combat Instructor”
add up to more people than there are in all the Military
Special Operations units combined.
These ads offer all the secrets you’ll ever need for
hand-to-hand combat in a nice neat instructional video
package, available to you for just $399.99. It’s all
conveniently endorsed with a written recommendation
signed by some military staff officer that may get a purple
heart during the next conflict from a paper cut. There’s No substitute for realism in training.
The real truth about how America’s premiere Military forces and their combat training with regard to combatives holds some interesting secrets that just may surprise you.
Secret Number One: Military commanders do very little of the actual “hands-on” Fighting. The vast majority of information about how US Military Special Forces operate is perceived from the motion picture industry. The classic story line always shows a high ranking officer battling the enemy alone with his deadly combat skills. This is a perfect example of “poetic license.” Most commanders are like corporate executives that have moved through management at a rapid pace spending a total of two years or less as actual operators (just enough time to figure out how not to do things). That’s like getting Lee Ioacoka’s advice about how to work on the assembly line. So if you want to know how to build a car get your training from someone that has had a lot of time on the line not in the office.
Secret Number Two: There’s No substitute for training. Even more interesting are the countless numbers of no-name “Masters” lined up outside the gates with the magical fighting system and ninja death touch that “you Special Forces Guys really need”. These amazing systems are always so important that “only guys like you” should have them. These techniques are so effective that any one knowing them can defeat any enemy easily with “very little” practice, and no matter what physical shape you’re in. And “if you buy my magic beans you’ll grow a bean stalk up to the sky”. Well it’s a great story for kids but secret number two is TRAINING. While there are some little jewels of knowledge in the realm of real combat it all comes down to training and mostly training on the basics. The true difference between good fighters and beginners is how well they know and execute basics. There’s an old adage that states if I don’t train for a month my enemy will know the difference, if I miss training for a week my Team will know the difference, but if I skip training for just one day I know the difference. There is no substitute for experience and training is the safest way to get experience.
Secret Number Three: Realism: How many times have you been to self defense courses that told you in a real fight I’d just do this and it would be all over but we can’t practice that here because we’ll kill someone. At some point you may also hear how it must be done just right, so if I can’t work on it in training and I have to perform it just right to be effective then how do I prepare to use this deadly weapon for a life and death struggle. Secret number three is realism. Realism in training. The one thing you’ll find in the Special Forces is realistic training and you can add that component to your training too. Gichin Funakoshi said “you must be deadly serious in training; your opponent must always be present in your mind”. Additionally you may start out kicking air but sooner or later you have to start hitting something a little more solid if you ever expect to kick butt. Hitting pads and heavy bags is a great confidence builder, improves power, increases speed but you have to progress to something that wants to hit you back. Training has to also include an element of fear management and adrenaline inoculation. Unless you train your body to deal with the effects of fear-induced adrenaline you may be frozen in your tracks the first time you meet a true threat.
Secret Number Four: Conditioning. Lots of highly proclaimed masters talk about the
importance of training techniques and practicing your Kata
forms while they can’t see over their Black belts to look at their
toes or finish a two minute sparring session without having a
heart attack. Secret number four conditioning; as my friend
Tony Blauer says ” you can’t fake endurance”. Tony is right the
only way to be ready to fight is to be in shape to fight. The
martial artist that says ”I don’t run for conditioning because I
plan to stay and fight can be easily translated to “ I’m not
willing to do what it takes to get in shape. “Lifting weights will
make me slow” is just an excuse for not learning how to use
weight training to enhance your martial arts skills.
Secret Number Five: Smooth is fast. America is the land
of the 24-hour power, plastic money, and fast food so everyone
wants everything delivered quickly. Students are in a hurry to
learn and most of all they are in a hurry To be fast. Speed is a
devastating weapon but the way to develop it is to learn the
techniques first. After you have the technique down then begin to
speed up, but do it smoothly first. Secret number five Smooth is
fast, In the words of Rorion Gracie” just relax and do your move.“
Conditioning is critical for combat.
Secret Number Six: Range/ Weapon Agreement. Don’t use a shotgun as a sniper weapon, learn the ranges of your weapons and stay within the range of the technique you’re using. Don’t over extend and become off balance or throw a strike too close and get jammed up. Using the right tool for the job is important whether you’re Bob Villa or Bruce Lee. The ability to close distance, counterattack and evade at precisely the right moment is the difference in skilled fighters and beginners. Being able close distance to attack as soon as an opening develops relies on timing and the proper manipulation of distance. Moving just slightly out of the path of a strike or kick, while remaining in range to execute your own technique is the essence mastering distance. Determining exactly when the enemy is vulnerable to a specific attack or counterattack in order to finish the confrontation is timing.
Secret Number Seven: Use guerrilla warfare. Attack where the enemy is weakest. Don’t limit yourself to one type
of battle. Bruce Lee was one of
the first noted for teaching the
importance of knowing striking,
trapping, grappling, and weapons.
It is this concept of being a
complete fighter that prepares
you for the unexpected. Sun Tzu
taught that “To take on
opponents without being defeated
is a matter of unorthodox and
orthodox methods” and “Your
battleground is not to be known,
for when it is not known the
enemy makes many guard
outposts.” It’s important to
never fight the other guy’s fight,
if he’s a boxer then you don’t want to stand toe to toe and trade punches. Would you go into the ocean to try and fight a shark or would you bring him ashore and have shark steaks?
Secret Number Eight: Strike vital areas with brutal finishing techniques. To disable any fighting force you must attack strategic locations. Many conflicts are won by the over whelming use of basic tactics against key targets. In this age of high tech weapons and stealth fighters we have rediscovered the value of well placed shots, but the ugly business of ground engagement is still required to ensure complete victory. It’s not how it looks, it’s how it works. Flashy complicated techniques are risky and ineffective in real combat and may be easily countered causing a devastating loss of cool points. “A fight is not static, nor is it bound by rules and traditions. A fight in it’s most basic form, is ugly “ Bruce Lee. Fighting is an ugly business, if you want to learn how to paint go find an artist but if you want to learn how to fight find a warrior.
Secret Number Nine: Attack with SPEED, SURPRIZE, and VIOLENCE of ACTION. Above all else when it comes time to assault then execute with SPEED, SURPRIZE, and VIOLENCE of ACTION. Train your techniques to become reflexive. Every good Special Forces Team trains to instantly respond to a series of possible attacks. These Immediate Action Drills ensure that when attacked action is instinctive. Develop techniques that you will use for the most common situations that could threaten you. Practice these techniques until you automatically execute them without hesitation. Don’t count on your actions being completely prepackaged. No attacker responds the same. You have to think freely and adjust if a technique doesn’t work exactly the way it did last time. During the heat of a real battle you may not have executed it correctly. Avoid techniques that are too complicated during the adrenalin rush of real combat gross motor skills are all you can count on. Remember one of Murphy’s Laws of Combat; “No plan ever survives first contact”.
Execute with SPEED, SURPRIZE, and VIOLENCE of ACTION
Secret Number Ten: NEVER GIVE AWAY ALL YOUR SECRETS. Throughout history martial arts masters and teachers have held back some of their key secrets referred to by the Japanese as Hiden or hidden techniques. In the realm of modern warfare it is known as Operational Security (OPSEC). OPSEC means keeping your tactics, techniques, and procedures away from individuals that aren’t directly involved in the operation in order to reduce the chance of information falling into the wrong hands and be used against you. Be selective in who you train and the level of techniques you pass on. Today’s ally may be tomorrow’s enemy.
For more information about Special Forces Unarmed and Knife Combat for Special Operators and Law Enforcement officers, check the website;
Special Operations Combative Arts Association @
http://socaa.homestead.com/SOCAAwebsite.html.