Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) is a combat system developed by the United States Marine Corps to combine existing and new hand-to-hand and close combat techniques with morale and team-building functions and instruction in what the Marine Corps calls the "Warrior Ethos".[1] The program, which began in 2001, trains Marines (and U.S. Navy personnel attached to Marine Units) in unarmed combat, edged weapons, weapons of opportunity, and rifle and bayonet techniques. The MCMAP program has several nicknames, including "semper fu" and "Mcrap".
History
The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) was officially created by MCO 1550.54 as a "revolutionary step in the development of martial arts skills for Marines and replaces all other close-combat related systems preceding its introduction."[2] MCMAP comes from an evolution dating back to the creation of the Marine Corps, beginning with the martial abilities of Marine boarding parties, who often had to rely on bayonet and sword techniques. During World War I these bayonet techniques were supplemented with unarmed combat techniques, which often proved useful in trench warfare. After World War I and before World War II, Major Anthony J. Biddle began the creation of standardized bayonet and close combat techniques based on boxing, wrestling, and fencing. Also during this period, Captains W.M. Greene and Samuel B. Griffith learned martial arts techniques from Chinese Marines and brought this knowledge to other Marines throughout the Marine Corps. These different techniques eventually evolved into the LINE System in the early 1980s. Later, the system was found to be lacking in flexibility and techniques for use in situations that did not require lethal force, such as peacekeeping operations. The Marine Corps began searching for a more effective martial arts system. The result was MCMAP, which was finally implemented as part of the CMC's initiative of the summer of 2000. General Jones assigned LtCol Geaorge Bristol and MGySgt Cardo Urso, with almost 70 years of martial arts experience between them, to establish the MCMAP curriculum to be taught at the Martial Arts Center of Excellence (MACE).
Disciplines
"MCMAP is a synergy of mental, character, and physical disciplines with application across the full spectrum of violence."[3] The disciplines are the foundation of the MCMAP system, as it serves a dual purpose. MCMAP was implemented to increase the combat efficiency, as well as to increase the confidence and leadership abilities of Marines. As stated above, the three disciplines of MCMAP are mental, character, and physical.
- Mental discipline is the study of the martial history of the Marine Corps and other cultures. It also includes guided discussions of individual experiences, awards citations, and general combat behavior.
- Character discipline is discussion on Marine Corps core values, ethics, and good citizenship.
- Physical discipline is the training of fighting techniques, strength, and endurance. This discipline also includes sustainment of skills and techniques already taught.
Belt System
The program uses an advancement system of colored belts similar to that of most martial arts. The different levels of belts are:
- Tan belt, the lowest color belt and conducted during entry level training, signifies the basic understanding of the mental, physical, and character disciplines. It is the minimum requirement of all Marines with a training time of 27.5 hours and has no prerequisites. Recruits receive these belts after completion of the Crucible in Recruit training.
- Gray belt is the second belt attained after 46 hours of training. It signifies an intermediate understanding of the basic disciplines. There are no prerequisites for this belt.
- Green belt is the third belt, requiring 54.9 hours of training. This belt signifies understanding of the intermediate fundamentals of the different disciplines. This is the first belt level in which one can be a MAI (Martial Arts Instructor) and can teach tan through green techniques with the power to award the appropriate belt. The prerequisites for this belt include a recommendation from reporting senior, rank of LCpl or higher, and completion of appropriate PMEs for rank (such as the Fundamentals of Marine Corps Leadership MCI.)
- Brown Belt is the fourth belt level requiring 64.9 hours of training. It introduces Marines to the advanced fundamentals of each discipline. In addition, as with green belts, they may be certified as MAIs and teach tan through green techniques. Prerequisites for this belt include recommendation of reporting senior, rank of Cpl or higher (able to waiver to LCpl), and appropriate PMEs completed for rank (Such as Corporal's Course).
- Black belt 1st degree is the highest belt color and requires 71.5 hours of training. It signifies knowledge of the advanced fundamentals of the different disciplines. A 1st degree black belt may teach fundamentals from tan to brown belt, and a MAI may award the appropriate belt. In addition, they can also be a MAIT (Martial Arts Instructor Trainer) which authorizes them to teach tan through black belt 1st degree and award the appropriate belt. Prerequisites include recommendation of reporting senior, rank of Sgt or above, and appropriate level of PME completed (Such as Sergeant's Course.)
There are an additional 5 degrees of black belt, with several of the same common prerequisites, including recommendation of reporting senior, appropriate level of PME completed, must be a current MAIT. Black belt 2nd degree to 6th degree signify that the holder is an authority in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. In addition to the above prerequisite, each belt also has its own rank requirements.
- Black belt 2nd degree requires the rank of Sgt or above.
- Black belt 3rd degree requires the rank of SSgt or above.
- Black belt 4th degree requires the rank of GySgt for enlisted and Major for officers or above.
- Black belt 5th degree requires the rank of MSgt/1stSgt for enlisted and Major for officer and above.
- Black belt 6th degree requires the rank of MGySgt/SgtMaj for enlisted and LtCol or higher.
Because the belts are worn with the Marine's Utility Uniform, the complete range of belt colors such as red, yellow or purple are excluded as a practical consideration. Once a Marine obtains his green belt, he can attend additional training to become a martial arts instructor. MCMAP instructors can train other Marines up to their current belt level, and certify Marines at one level below their current belt level. A green belt instructor can therefore certify others for tan and gray belts, a brown belt instructor can certify tan, gray, and green, etc. The instructor status is signified by one vertical tan stripe on the MCMAP belt. A Marine must have attended at least the Martial Arts Instructor (MAI) course to advance beyond first degree black belt. The only one who can train a Marine to be an instructor are black belt Martial Arts Instructor-Trainers (MAIT). An MAIT's status is signified by a vertical red stripe on the MCMAP belt. To become an MAIT, a Marine must have already completed a local MAI course. The Marine then attends the MAIT course at the Martial Arts Center of Excellence in Quantico, Virginia.
Martial Cultures
In MCMAP only 1/3 of the training involves martial arts techniques. Marines are required to develop the mind, body and spirit simultaneously; and the martial culture study is one of the methods used to develop the mind and spirit. Martial Culture Studies focus on societies that produce warriors either primarily or exclusively. The primary martial cultures that are studied are the Marine Raiders, Spartans, Zulu and Apache. By studying these cultures Marines learn fundamental tactics and methods of the past and reconnect themselves with the warrior ethos of the Marine Corps.
Marine Raiders
Courtesy of www.military-graphics.com
The Raiders were created by an order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, acting on proposals from Colonel William J. Donovan and Major (later, Brigadier General) Evans F. Carlson. Carlson, a former Marine, had spent years observing the tactics and strategy of Communist Chinese irregulars (Zhu De and the 8th Route Army in particular) as they fought the occupying Japanese, and had become enthralled with their version of guerrilla warfare. Carlson rejoined the Marines in April 1941, gaining a commission from the Commandant as a reserve major. Carlson had the President's ear as well, since FDR's son Captain James Roosevelt was his friend and protégé.
With America thrust into the war, the President became interested in creating an American counterpart to the British Commandos and the Marine Corps was the natural place for this organization. Indeed, the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division initially proposed the name "Marine Commandos". The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major General Thomas Holcomb, was of the opinion, however, that "the term 'Marine' is sufficient to indicate a man ready for duty at any time, and the injection of a special name, such as 'Commando,' would be undesirable and superfluous." General Holcomb redesignated the 1st Battalion 5th Marines as the "1st Separate Battalion" and created the 2nd Separate Battalion to be commanded by Carlson in response to pressure from the President. (1/5 had been previously employed to practice experimental landing techniques using high-speed transports and rubber boats.)
The debate over the creation of these elite units came to a climax when the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, requested "commando units" for raids against lightly defended Japanese-held islands. The commandant selected the term "Raiders" and created two battalions. The 1st Raider Battalion was activated on February 16, 1942, followed by the 2nd Raider Battalion on February 19. Carlson was given a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 2nd Raiders, and Lt. Col. (later, Major General) Merritt A. "Red Mike" Edson, command of the 1st.
Spartans
Spartan boys left home for military boarding school at the age of 7 and were required to serve in the army until age thirty.[4] Then they passed into the active reserve, where they remained until the age of sixty-five. Spartan education from the ages of seven to thirty emphasized physical toughness, steadfastness in military ranks, and absolute obedience to orders. The ordinary Spartan was a citizen-warrior, or hoplite, trained to obey and endure; he became a politician only if chosen as ephor for a single year. He could be elected a life member of the council after his sixtieth year, in which he would be free from military service. Men could marry at the age of twenty but could not live with their families until they left their active military service at age thirty.[4] The Spartans perfected the craft of hoplite warfare. They called themselves "homoioi" (similars), pointing to their common lifestyle and the discipline of the phalanx, which demanded that no soldier be superior to his comrades.[5]
If male babies born in Sparta were too small, weak or sick (all of which were believed as early signs that they would not be suitable for military life), they were abandoned on the slopes of Mt. Taygetos to die. The mountain was also known as Apothetae, or as the Place of Rejection. The Spartans began military training about the age of 7, where they would enter the agoge system for education and training—everything from physical training such as hunting and dancing, to emotional and spiritual training. At that age they would have to go through what was known as the gauntlet. They would have to run around a group of older children, who would flog them continually with whips, sometimes to death. As they were lightly clothed, and had no bedding to speak of, children would often put thistles in their pallet because the prickling sensation made them feel warmer. On leaving the agoge they would be sorted into groups, whereupon some sent into the countryside with nothing, though some believe they had knives[citation needed]), and forced to survive on their skills and cunning; this was called the Krypteia, believed to be an initiation rite to seek out and kill Helots who were considered to be troublesome to the state, or were found to be wandering the countryside with no good reason.
At the age of twenty, the Spartan began his membership in one of the syssitia (dining messes or clubs), composed of about fifteen members each, of which every citizen was required to be a member. Here each group learned how to bond and rely on one another. The Spartan exercised the full rights and duties of a citizen at the age of thirty. Only native Spartans were considered full citizens, and needed to undergo the training as prescribed by law, and participation in and contribution to one of the dining-clubs. Those who fulfilled these conditions were considered "peers" (homoioi), citizens in the fullest sense of the word, while those who failed were called "lesser citizens," and retained only the civil rights of citizenship.
Spartans were debarred by law from trade or manufacture, which consequently rested in the hands of the perioeci, and were forbidden (in theory) to possess either gold or silver. Spartan currency consisted of bars of iron, thus making thievery and foreign commerce very difficult and discouraging the accumulation of riches. Wealth was, in theory at least, derived entirely from landed property, and consisted in the annual return made by the Helots, who cultivated the plots of ground allotted to the Spartans. But this attempt to equalize property proved a failure: from the earliest times, there were marked differences of wealth within the state, and these became even more serious after the law of Epitadeus, passed at some time after the Peloponnesian War, removed the legal prohibition of the gift or bequest of land. Helots were ruthlessly controlled, primarily through the secret police or Krypteia.
Full citizens, released from any economic activity, were given a piece of land (kleros), which was cultivated and run by the Helots. As time went on, greater portions of land were concentrated in the hands of large landholders, but the number of full citizens declined. Citizens had numbered 10,000 at the beginning of the 5th century BC, but had decreased by Aristotle's day (384–322BC) to less than 1,000, and had further decreased to 700 at the accession of Agis IV in 244 BC. Attempts were made to remedy this situation by creating new laws. Certain penalties were imposed upon those who remained unmarried or who married too late in life. These laws, however, came too late and were ineffective in reversing the trend.
Perhaps the most widely known event on the efficiency of the Spartan war-machine is related to the Persian Wars. The Spartan stand at the Battle of Thermopylae has been repeatedly cited in a military grand strategy context as a role model on the advantages of training, strategy and bravery against extremely overwhelming odds.
Zulu
Impi warriors were raised from the age of as low as six, joining the army as udibi porters at first, being enrolled into same-age groups (intanga). Until they were buta'd, Zulu boys accompanied their fathers and brothers on campaign as servants. Eventually, they would go to the nearest ikhanda to kleza (which literally means to drink directly from the udder), at which point they would become inkwebane, or cadets. They would spend their time training until they were formally enlisted by the king. They would challenge each other to stick fights, which had to be accepted on pain of dishonor.
On being formally formed into regiments -ibutho (plural amabutho) after their 20th birthday, they would build their ikhanda (often referred to as a 'homestead', and it was basically a stockaded group of huts surrounding a corral for cattle) which would be where they would come when mustered for active service. They would have to come for this muster until they married, which was a privilege the king bestowed. The amabutho were recruited on the basis of age rather than regional or tribal origin. The reason for this was to enhance the centralised power of the Zulu king at the expense of clan and tribal leaders. They swore loyalty to the king of the Zulu nation.
Every ibutho was a thousand warriors strong and originally contained warriors from the same intanga (this practice later changed as casualties suffered by the regiments made reinforcements necessary). Each ibutho had its own colors in colored shields, headdress and other ornaments. An impi - a force which contained several amabutho - was also accompanied by udibi, young boys who carried implements like cooking pots and sleeping mats and on occasion acted as scouts. Shaka insisted that troops wear no shoes—they could run faster and were not disabled by the loss of their sandals. Training for this was to stamp thorns into the ground with bare feet.
In wartime, the Zulu soldier went into battle minimally dressed, painting his upper body and face with chalk and red ochre, despite the popular conception of elaborately panoplied warriors. In Shaka's day, warriors often wore elaborate plumes and cow tail regalia, but by the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, many warriors wore only loin cloth into battle. As weapons he carried the iklwa stabbing spear (losing one could result in execution) and knobkerrie (clubs or cudgels) for beating an enemy in the manner of a mace. He also carried shields, which were property of the king. The iklwa with its long (c. 25cm) tip was an invention of Shaka that superseded the older thrown assegai. It could theoretically be used both in melee and as a thrown weapon, but warriors were forbidden in Shaka's day from throwing it, which would disarm them and give their opponents something to throw back. Moreover, Shaka felt it discouraged warriors from closing into hand to hand combat. However, after the Zulus encountered the Boers and the British, who were armed with firearms, the Zulus re-introduced the throwing spear in an effort to counter their enemies' firepower. By the time of Zulu War, king Cetshwayo also equipped them with muskets and they also used rifles captured from the British. However, many of their weapons were obsolete or in bad condition and warriors were usually badly trained in their use.
Shaka used impis with a modified encircling tactic - impondo zankoma ('bull's horns'); Impi troops would divide into four groups. The main group (isifuba, 'chest') would face the enemy, two wings (izimpondo, 'horns') on two sides of the enemy and then force them towards the center. The fourth party (usually the veterans) remained as a reserve. They travelled light, and carried their own food or foraged along the way. The image of the Zulu warrior who could "run fifty miles and fight a battle at the end of it" is not at all true, but the barefooted Zulu warrior was swift, and could cover perhaps 25 miles a day. Thus tactics against their enemies (other African tribes, the Boers, and the British) were surprise and overwhelming force, rather than siege or long campaigns. During the Anglo-Zulu War, British commander Lord Chelmsford complained that they did not 'fight fair'.
Apache
Geronimo is probably the best known Apache warrior of that time period, but he certainly was not the only one. He belonged to a Chiricahua Apache band, and his story is typical of other bands and their leaders. After two decades of guerrilla warfare, Cochise, one of the leaders of the Chiricaua band, chose to make peace and agreed to relocate to a reservation in the Chiricahua Mountains. Not long afterward, Cochise died in 1874. In a change of policy, the U.S. government decided to move the Chiricahuas to the San Carlos reservation in 1876. Half of them complied and the other half, led by Geronimo, escaped to Mexico.
In the spring of 1877, the U.S. captured Geronimo and brought him to the San Carlos reservation. He stayed there until September 1881, when a gathering of soldiers around the reservation caused him to fear that he would be imprisoned for his past deeds. He fled to Mexico again, taking 700 Apaches with him. In April of the following year, Geronimo returned to San Carlos with horses and guns and liberated the rest of the Apaches, leading many of them back to Mexico.
In the spring of 1883, General George Crook was put in charge of the Arizona and New Mexico reservations. With 200 Apaches, he journeyed to Mexico, found Geronimo’s camp, and persuaded him and his people to return to the San Carlos reservation. Crook instituted several reforms on the reservation, but local newspapers criticized him for being too lenient and demonized Geronimo. On 17 May 1885, Geronimo, drunk and intimidated by demands for his death printed in the papers, escaped once again to Mexico.
Crook went after Geronimo in the spring of 1886 and caught up with him just over the Mexico border in March. Some reports say that while setting up a meeting for negotiations, many of the Apaches were given strong drinks and fed rumors by a local rancher. Geronimo and his group fled and Crook could not catch up with them. The War Department reprimanded Crook for the failure, and he resigned. He was replaced by Brigadier General Nelson Miles in April 1886. Miles deployed over 2 dozen hiolographs points, coordinating 5,000 soldiers, 500 Apache scouts, 100 Navajo Scouts, and thousands of civilian militia against Geronimo and his twenty-four warriors. Geronimo was found in September 1886 by Lt. Gatewood and persuaded to surrender to General Miles. Geronimo and many other Apaches (including the Apache Scouts) were sent to Fort Marion in Florida. Many died there. Apache children were taken to the Carlisle school in Pennsylvania, where fifty of them died. Eventually some of the Apaches in Florida were allowed to return to the Southwest, but Geronimo was sent to Fort Sill Oklahoma.
Similar stories to Geronimo's could be told about many other Apaches groups.
See also
Notes
References
- USMC Martial Arts Center of Excellence
- Training and Education Command MCMAP
- "U.S. Marine Corps Orders and Directives - MCO 1550.54A: Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2006-08-30.