Combatives is the term used by the United States Army term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques.
As you know Militaries have been teaching and training in unarmed combat to build up the soldier’s physical conditioning, build courage, self-discipline and obviously to supplement armed combat on the battlefield. Here’s the actual definition of hand to hand combat as stated on the U.S.A. Combatives Field Manual:
“Hand-to-hand combat is an engagement between two or more persons in an empty-handed struggle or with handheld weapons such as knives, sticks, and rifles with bayonets. These fighting arts are essential military skills. Projectile weapons may be lost or broken, or they may fail to fire. When friendly and enemy forces become so intermingled that firearms and grenades are not practical, hand-to-hand combat skills become vital assets.”
To become extreme fighting machines, soldiers follow basic principles that the any hand-to-hand fighter must know and apply to successfully defeat an opponent. Here are some of the essential basic guidelines which through years of study become intuitive to a highly skilled fighter.
1.Physical Balance. Without balance, the fighter has no stability with which to defend himself, nor does he have a base of power for an attack. The fighter must understand how to move his body to keep or regain his own balance and how to exploit weaknesses in his opponent’s balance.
2.Mental Balance. Do not allow fear or anger to overcome his ability to concentrate or to react instinctively in hand-to-hand combat.
3.Position. Position refers to the location of the fighter (defender) in relation to his opponent. To position for a counterattack, a fighter should move his whole body off the opponent’s line of attack. Then, the opponent has to change his position to continue the attack.
4.Timing. A fighter must be able to perceive the best time to move.
5.Distance. Distance is the relative distance between the positions of opponents. A fighter positions himself where distance is to his advantage. The hand-to-hand fighter must adjust his distance by changing position and developing attacks or counterattacks.
6.Momentum. Momentum is the tendency of a body in motion to continue in the direction of motion unless acted on by another force. Body mass in motion develops momentum. The greater the body mass or speed of movement, the greater the momentum. See this article I wrote The Secret of Punching Power.
7.Leverage. A fighter uses leverage in hand-to-hand combat by using the natural movement of his body to place his opponent in a position of unnatural movement. The fighter uses his body or parts of his body to create a natural mechanical advantage over parts of the enemy’s body. He should never oppose the enemy in a direct test of strength; however, by using leverage, he can defeat a larger or stronger opponent.
Now, I’m pretty sure there is much more about hand to hand combat than this “basic stuff” but as a good civilian you can definitely use these guidelines for your personal training and incorporate each element into drills and techniques. If it works for paramilitary units and S.W.A.T. teams maybe it can work for you too…
Keep it up,
Paolo Rocchi
