SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is one of the fastest growing sports in recent years, and the idea is pretty simple. There is stand-up fighting, which is boxing, kick-boxing and mauy thai, and then there is the "ground game," which consists of wrestling, jiu jitsu, grappling and submissions.
To be the best, cage fighters have to be well-rounded in all areas of fighting. The concept for combative training is very similar -- the differences of fighting and combat on the other hand, are life or death.
Thirty five members of Joint Task Force-Bravo recently participated in an Army level-one combative certification course from Dec. 7 to 11 near the base soccer field.
"The strategy behind combative training is closing the distance, achieving a dominant fighting position and finishing the fight," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Tohonn Nicholson, U.S. Army Combatives School instructor. "When training [service members] the primary goal is always instilling the courage at closing the distance."
"Threats typically come at three different ranges - 300 meters, six meters and one meter," Sergeant Nicholson said. "Teaching and instilling the combative training techniques brings a stronger level of confidence at submitting and securing the one-meter targets."
Students learned everything from basic fighting positions to submissions and clenches to sweeps and take downs in the five-day course. On the final day the students turned the table and taught the instructors what they had learned in the previous days.
"Being this is a certification course the students will have to explain to us how to perform each maneuver," Sergeant Nicholson said. "Once they have the certification everyone who went through the course will be able to train their unit's the basics in combative training."