The Military Institutes Hand To Hand Combat Training

By Jake Ross

Although formalized instructions in hand to hand combat became aparamount concern to military experts around the world duringthe Second World War, a person interested in the development ofhand to hand combat techniques and training in the 20th centuryactually needs to step back in time to World War I. Indeed, itwas during World War I -- the infamous Great War -- that trenchwarfare and hand to hand combat became viciously intense andforever changed the face of modern military combat.

During World War I there were more than 40,000 kilometers --more than 24,000 miles -- of trenches along the Western frontalone. It was within and around these trenches that some of themost brutal and horrific hand to hand combat in all of historyoccurred. In the aftermath of the conflict, the leaders of manyof the countries involved in the Great War concluded that theirown forces simply were not well prepared when it came to hand tohand combat. As a result, many countries moved to implement veryspecific hand to hand combat training regimens within theirbasic military training programs.

As World War II emerged on the horizon, countries including theUnited States and United Kingdom focused a great deal of timeand energy in military training on hand to hand combattechniques. In point of fact, at some point during this periodin

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the United States, the motto that was emblazoned on a Marinetraining facility was:

"Let's be damned sure that no boy's ghost will ever say, 'Ifyour training program had only done its job.'"

Doing the job -- getting the job done effectively -- includedintensive hand to hand combat training. Training in the ways andmeans of hand to hand combat became crucial. Ultimate militarysuccess and defeat of the enemy might well depend on how wellsoldiers were trained in hand to hand combat during the SecondWorld War.

Interestingly, in the United States (and in other Alliednations), when it came to training servicemen for hand to handcombat, a great deal of time was spent implementing what wereessentially martial arts techniques and practices as well assubmission fighting skills. These hand to hand combat techniqueslargely were of Oriental origin; many of these techniques werecreated or refined in Imperial Japan, the nation that ultimatelypulled the pin that brought the United States fully onto theWorld War II battlefields in both Europe and the Pacific.

Since hand to hand combat instruction became aninstitutionalized part of the basic training regimen, learninghand to hand combat principles and techniques has remained anelementary part of basic training regimens the world over.Indeed, even in the early 21st century, hand to hand combattraining programs are well ingrained and major components ofbasic training regimens across the globe.

About the author:Jake Ross is an internationally recognized authority onhand-to-hand combat, martial arts and self defense. Jake hasresearched a multitude of martial arts from around the world andthroughout history, but he prefers the realistic combat systemsfrom the late 19th to early 21st centuries. For more informationon fighting techniques, visit http://www.combatclassics.com/