Every Marine to be a Kung-Fu Fighter

Military.com ^ | July 22, 2007 | Jeff Schogol

[2ndDivisionVet]

First the Marine Corps made Chuck Norris an honorary Marine. Now the Corps wants all Marines to follow in his footsteps.

All Marines must now qualify for their tan belt in the Corps' version of martial arts by the end of 2007, Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said in a recent Corps-wide message.

The move mostly affects those who joined before 2001, when the service made the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program part of basic training and the Basic School, said 1st Lt. Brian P. Donnelly, a spokesman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

The Corps originally hoped to have all Marines earn their tan belt by the end of fiscal 2003 and then have Marines attain higher belts by the end of fiscal 2004.

Now the higher belts are no longer goals but requirements for Marines, Donnelly said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.

"All infantrymen will be trained to green belt by the end of CY [calendar year] 2008," Conway said in the July 16 message. "All other combat arms Marines will be trained to gray belt by the end of CY 2008."

The changes apply to all Marines, including reservists, said retired Lt. Col. Joseph C Shusko, director of the Martial Arts Center of Excellence.

"A Marine is a Marine," he said.

The tan belt shows that Marines have mastered basic skills such as how to fall, move, throw punches, choke an opponent and counter someone coming at you, Shusko said.

The gray belt is the next step up and shows Marines have learned techniques such as lower-body strikes, chokes and how to get out of a headlock, he said.

The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.

The martial-arts training also teaches Marines how to hone their mental skills as warriors, Shusko said. This involves learning about other cultures such as the Spartans, Zulus and Apaches.

Another component of the training is character development, which ties the physical skills Marine learn with what they do as good citizens, he said.

Conway praised the character development aspect of the martial-arts training in the message.

"It has, at its center, the Marine Corps ethos that includes our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, as well as the legacy of selfless and honorable services passed from one generation of Marines to the next," Conway said in the message.

The switch to mandatory martial arts training came after Training and Education Command recommended revamping the program as part of changes to Marine character training, Shusko said. Those changes include moving the climactic "Crucible" exercise — where Marines march about 40 miles over 54 hours with little food or sleep — to the end of basic training.

[300winmag]

Ping to a favorite subject of yours.

[Lions Gate]

“Other readers of the post probably missed my implication that it was God who was on the side of our dear fighting men when they met the Japanese in combat. At sea, in the air, on the beaches — it was God who helped them. We still had a very large population of devout biblical Christians in the 1940s who were on their knees for our soldiers; and our cause was just.”

Excellent point - I couldn’t agree with you more. Being a born again Christian on God’s side makes all the difference - in spiritual and natural warfare.

Rom 8:31b If God be for us, who can be against us?

[Mr Rogers]

Martial arts include boxing, wrestling, etc. All countries have traditional techniques, and all need to rely on physics to work. A throw is a throw.

Some people add a spiritual side that isn’t required.

[300winmag]

Some people add a spiritual side that isn’t required.

Agreed. But there is also a psychological side that can be very helpful for many things, and not just martial arts.

Slow, patient practice of a movement builds "muscle memory", and increases the ability to produce the movement at lightning speed while under stress.

Visualization is also important, and can be done anywhere when you have a few minutes of peace and quiet available. Visualize yourself doing the perfect block, the perfect shot, even the perfect putt. You're training neurons, not muscles, this time.

[John Leland 1789]

The Eastern Martial Arts were all originally based on a system of worship. A mysticism and an appeal to spiritual forces are pre-supposed by the masters of those Arts. Much of the physical and technical portions may be imitated TO A CERTAIN EXTENT without participating in the spiritual side. But if the physical exercise and technical aspects is all one wants, I recommend that they stick with Western boxing and traditional military hand-to-hand combat techniques.

If you are one who teaches your children that if they begin something, they should be the very best they can be, then I would suggest you don’t introduce them to the Martial Arts of the Eastern/Asian schools. To get to the top in the Eastern realm will require participation in the mystical and spiritual side; worship.

[g'nad]

The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.

just outstanding...

[Mr Rogers]

I believe you are correct. That is why I would encourage someone to learn traditional wrestling/boxing...I think they also emphasize more practical and faster to learn techniques for basic self-defense, and I don’t believe in devoting massive hours to it unless you want to do so purely for the fun of it. There is a lot more to life than learning how to beat someone up...if someone is that worried, they should get a concealed carry permit and get on with life.