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William
5th December 2000, 22:33
Lt. Col. Manaka, thank you for being part of this forum. I had the opportunity to train with Shawn Havens a few years ago and, for some of us, it was an eye opening and, at times, painful experience!

I would like to ask you about training military personnel in hand-to-hand combat. I am a Sergeant in an United States Army Infantry battalion, and one of my responsibilities is teaching hand-to-hand. Our available time is very limited and it is often true that the same individuals will not be at more than a few consecutive classes, due to other duties and responsibilities. This makes it very difficult to develop a program that builds on previous classes, since new soldiers are constantly coming in.

In your experience, what are the most important qualities and abilities to train soldiers in, for use on the battlefield? Is there any guidance that you could give me, that would help me to bring across to my fellow soldiers the critical aspects of budo, while teaching in a military environment? If there was one thing that you would teach a soldier, what would it be?

Thank you for your time and thoughts.

William Johnson
Sergeant
82nd Airborne, Ft. Bragg

Fumio Manaka
7th December 2000, 15:37
"Nama Byoho wa Kega no Moto" ("Half-baked martial skill will only get you hurt"). It is best not to teach anything to those who only come a few times. This is the kindest thing you can do.

Manaka Unsui

Jeff Cook
7th December 2000, 19:51
SGT Johnson,

Although your question was addressed to Manaka Sensei, I feel compelled to offer a few suggestions to supplement his response.

Have your commander and training NCO include combatives in the PT program on the training schedule. A combatives program based upon FM 21-150 and the fitness principles of FM 21-20 can certainly increase hand-to-hand skill in your soldiers while at the same time achieving an excellent training effect for muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness.

If I had only one thing to teach a soldier regarding CQC skills, it would be to teach the soldier to have respect for the enemy's skills.

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu
SFC, Btry C 3-265th ADA

Eric Baluja
7th December 2000, 20:23
Thanks, Mr. Cook. I sincerely look forward to your appearance in a "Spotlight on Budo" forum of your own.

Hintfully but also respectfully yours,

Eric Baluja

Jeff Cook
8th December 2000, 11:41
My apologies for not understanding. I mistakenly thought that this was an open forum discussion board.

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu