Marines are training in martial arts at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
Marines engage enemies in hand-to-hand combat.
The Corps' martial arts program is used to prepare Marines for such a fight.
The Marines must pass a brutal test to become martial arts instructors.
A Marine Corps martial arts instructor recently told Insider that if a Marine is engaged in hand-to-hand combat in a combat theater environment, things have really hit the fan.
Marines have demonstrated during modern combat deployment overseas that having to put hands on an enemy is not uncommon.
In Afghanistan, a Navy Cross recipient fought the Taliban after shooting two others. When a third fighter appeared, he dropped his gun, wrestled the man's machine gun from him, and bashed him in the head repeatedly with it, killing him.
According to some accounts, Dakota Meyer fought with an enemy in Afghanistan. Meyer wrote that he beat his opponent to death with a stone.
Marines fight with batons.
The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program prepares Marines for dangerous moments.
MCMAP is a combat-tested, weapons-based hand-to-hand combat program created by Marines for Marines to introduce them to violence and prepare them for the brutality of the battlefield, be it a gunfight or fistfight.
Staff Sgt. Chase Enfinger, a martial arts instructor trainer, told Insider that the program draws techniques from Taekwondo, Karate, Jujitsu, and various other combat arts.
He said that they try to give the Marines all the tools they could possibly need.
The final test for becoming martial arts instructors for Marines must be passed during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. It was a long test of their fighting skills.
This challenge was done in full gear and involved a lot of fighting, from ground fighting in cold water to bayonet combat in a smoke-filled forest, as can be seen in the following photos and videos.
It tested their resilience and ability to hold their own. They were forced to fight in undesirable environments and fight through exhaustion because they were pitted against different opponents with and without weapons.
"It is a mental and physical challenge, but that is the job of the Marines," said Capt. John Robinson, one of the martial arts instructor students.
'Tap into the combat mindset'
Marines are fighting in muddy water.
Two dozen Marines, a mixture of students and instructors, climbed aboard two large trucks and drove out into the woods in the morning of November 4, 2021. When they stopped at the trail, the sun was just starting to rise, and the temperature outside was in the low to mid 30s.
The students were ordered to run over the mud puddle after exiting the vehicles. They fought in the muddy water.
The students were called to fight in the mud to try and get the best position to deliver a killing blow, just as they would in combat.
The first combat event of the day was fighting in the muddy water.
The mixed martial arts program chief told Insider that they would like them to go through the real thing as close as possible.
Even with the technology, there is still a chance that you will be face to face with a guy and have to put your hands on him.
The Marines must be able to pull that "mental Trigger needed to be able to kill your aggressor" if they are to be able to put them in these situations, according to Staff Sgt. Demetrius Thigpen, another martial arts instructor trainer.
Many members of the armed forces have never been in a fight before, and that is no different for them.
It is not a sport when you are on the battlefield. They need to be killers and be able to turn that on in combat, according to a martial arts instructor student.
McVicker said that Marines need to have the control to be able to turn that off and keep the peace, which is something that also requires training and discipline to avoid unnecessarily escalating a situation.
The Marines have not used lethal martial arts techniques in combat, but they have used non-lethal force to resolve situations in the US.
Any weapon to kill the enemy.
Marines jump up and run after diving for cover along the side of the road after an instructor dropped a simulation grenade.
The fighting in the mud was the start of a three-hour training event that included a five-mile run, exercise, and sparring.
A Marine shoves another.
The Marines used wooden rifles called mokujus to practice thrusting a blade into or slashing at vital parts of the body, the head being a priority target.
The fights with weapons ended in seconds.
"If you take one of these strikes, it's over," Enfinger told Insider, "I can't afford to not try to end the fight as quickly as possible." You don't get to help your friend, and you don't get to go home.
One of the Marines explained that the Marines were fighting with weapons of opportunity, which could be anything.
He said it could be a stick, a broken rifle, or a bar on the battlefield. "Anything you see on the battlefield that gives you the tactical advantage is a weapon of opportunity."
A Marine enters a thick cloud of yellow smoke as he approaches his opponent.
The Marines dropped into a creek filled with yellow smoke and used batons to mimic a pipe. As their instructors screamed and shouted, they charged one another, striking hard and fast with techniques derived from stick fighting.
Two Marines are training for a weapon of opportunity.
"We have them use the baton, but it is primarily supposed to be used as a weapon and kill the opponent," he said.
Robinson said that one of the most important lessons it teaches is how to use any weapon to your advantage, "any weapon to kill the enemy."
It is important for a Marine to remember to use everything available to them in an engagement, even if they have a weapon and know how to use it.
"They have their other hand, kicks, terrain that they can use to their advantage," he said. The Marines used a momentary shock to gain an edge, and shoved their opponent into the banks of the creek.
"Use all available resources," he said. "Like the lead hand, use it to feint or do something like a palm strike before using the weapon."
A Marine pinned his opponent's arm against the bank of the creek as he prepared to deliver a winning blow.
The Marines fought in the smoky woods with training knives that were replicas of weapons that every Marine carries on their person in combat and must know how to use.
Two Marines are fighting with training knives.
The biggest rule in a knife fight is that you understand that you are going to get cut. The weapon of opportunity is to control the opponent's weapon as quickly as you can.
He said that getting cut doesn't mean you are going to die, and that the goal is to get through that, fight and kill the opponent with a knife.
Ryan Pickrell is a marine martial arts instructor.
The martial arts training Marines go through is not extensive.
He said that they were not trying to train to defeat every person in the world.
We are trying to give the Marines the tools, tips, and skills that they can sustain on their own time, progress, and eventually get to the point where they can defeat an opponent in a combative environment.
No such thing as a fair fight.
The Marines did a number of different challenging exercises during the test.
Between the combat events, the Marines ran and completed physical tasks such as squad push-ups, buddy deadlifts, and team sit-ups.
The movement takes its toll on them. "It wears them down."
When the Marines get to a fight, they still have to be ready for anything, even if it's trading fire with the enemy or fighting him in hand-to-hand combat.
A Marine leads the way as others run behind him.
There is no expectation of fair play or that the enemy will allow you to rest.
There is no such thing as a fair fight once you are in combat. There isn't a battlefield level. McVicker said it was chaos. Marines have to be prepared to face that when they are tired.
They have to be able to think through the fight and make the right decisions.
McVicker said there was a million things in his mind during a fight. "You're looking at your opponent's stance, where their weapon is if they have a weapon, you're looking at their posture, you're watching their shoulder movement to be able to counter their attacks."
"You're worried about your balance, your position, and so on," he said.
Two Marines are fighting in a ground fighting event.
The Marines were forced to work their way through a lengthy obstacle course after the knife fighting, which was followed by a few more rounds of ground fighting, no easy task after hours of running, exercising, and fighting.
McVicker said that they have to be good at what they do so they can be there for their fellow Marines when they need them.
You are fighting for more than your own life. He said you are fighting for your friend's life. You use your heart and your will to fight through fatigue.
Two Marines are fighting in a ground fighting event.
One of the hardest things to teach in the program is heart, according to the instructors.
Thigpen said anyone can be taught techniques. It's pointless if you are not prepared to fight.
Enfinger said that an outstanding fighter isn't necessarily the person who punches hardest.
He said that it was someone who was willing to deal with the friction and had a willingness to win, as well as someone who was willing to apply these things for the preservation of life.
The Marines received their new belts after a close-quarters fight in a small shack. The Marines graduated as martial arts instructors the next day.
Business Insider has an original article.
