Close combat
Hand-to-hand combat is the physical confrontation at the shortest possible distance between opponents with the aim of a power-related superiority over the opposing party. In addition to the own body with hand-to-hand combat techniques such as levers and handles, the means used in the event are also technical means such as edged weapons , but also firearms , especially pistols , which are effective at the shortest possible distance. Both parties accept willful or deliberate damage to their own person as well as to that of the counterparty.
Melee combat can be divided into two subforms:
- Close combat without sporting character as military and civil combat at short distances. Violations of the laws applicable at the venue or for the combatants or opponents will be punished according to civil and / or criminal law.
- Close combat with a sporty character. It is regulated according to sporting standards, and a violation is punished according to sporting law aspects.
The objective of all forms of hand-to-hand combat, i.e. power-related, mainly physical superiority, is retained regardless of any reward system.
Military and police close combat is summarized in English under the term hand-to-hand combat in Close Quarters Battle .
history
Even in the early stages of human civilization, hand-to-hand combat was the original and predominant way of carrying out physical conflicts. As the biological and civilizational development of man advanced, his ability to instrumentalize things, to manufacture technical instruments and to use them appropriately increased. So man developed greater motor skills, u. a. especially with thumbs, hands and arms, in the use of tools and weapons . In terms of civilization, the ability to join forces in groups and associations and to pursue common goals increased.
With the ability to develop technical instruments and weapons that unfold their effect at greater distances, the importance of direct close combat from a military point of view decreased. In spite of this, the ability to deal with it at close range with purely physical means or with instruments retained its importance.
Civilizational developments in close combat are, for example, wrestling in ancient and modern times and Japanese martial arts, as they are subsumed under the name Budo , as well as martial arts or martial arts of other origins and the like. a. Boxing .
Delimitations
Close combat without sporting character
The aim of hand-to-hand combat is to use appropriate means at a short distance to have an effect against the attacker. It is irrelevant whether the effect is sought with or without aids such as a tonfa. The police did not want to cause damage during the arrest.
Both firearms and edged weapons such as knives or battle axes (whose actual purpose serves as a weapon) and makeshift weapons such as feldspades (whose actual purpose does not serve as a weapon) - as well as sticks, tonfa , pepper spray or other aids that are basically non-lethal - are used in close combat Weapons are - as well as in unarmed hand-to-hand combat, blows and thrusts with bare hands or kicks.
From the summary definition of hand-to-hand combat, weapons-oriented applications stand out separately. Due to their effect at close range, however, they are also to be counted in their entirety as close combat and are described in more detail under the respective instruments.
A silent or noisy application is not a criterion for close combat. Noiseless use is only a means in combat, but it is only possible with a few tools. In contrast, in many practical applications, vocal support is a deliberate and effective support that is not only used to intimidate an opponent. Various hand-to-hand combat techniques develop their full effect only through vocal support due to their positive influence on breathing.
Unarmed melee combat
In the unarmed application of close combat techniques, a user makes use of the body with the aim of preventing an opponent from taking action. Damage to the counterparty as well as to the user's own person is accepted with approval. The movement repertoire consists of individual as well as combinations of different movements and techniques of self-defense with block, push, punch, kick, grip, pressure or throw.
Military melee and melee weapons
The aim of military close combat is to make the opponent incapable of combat - especially if they come into contact with one another unexpectedly and with as little noise as possible. This can be carried unarmed, but also with firearms or makeshift weapons. Damage to the opponent is intentional in order to prevent him from further fighting.
The Wehrmacht awarded soldiers for close combat with the close combat clasp or the close combat clasp of the Luftwaffe and defined as a close combat situation that the soldier must have waged it with the bare weapon and close combat means hand against man, whereby the excellent soldier found the opportunity to keep the white in the eye to see the enemy (under 100 m). In addition to the personal bravery awards, this was high in the ranking of the Wehrmacht awards.
According to the definition of the Austrian Armed Forces , hand-to-hand combat is combat below 30 meters in the sense of the throwing range of hand grenades as close combat means, or the fight man against man - with and without weapons. This definition therefore includes the local and house wars as a fight in urban terrain, if it takes place in the immediate vicinity, and the fight in forests.
In close combat with makeshift weapons, every type of cutting, cutting and striking weapon that is available is used militarily. These included u. a. the bayonet , now a combat knife or dagger and brass knuckles , also as a grip protection on short edged weapons, in the past also hatchets , slingshots and spears . In the trench warfare of World War I , the British soldiers used the separate handle of their bulwark spade as a club, which was reinforced with a metal ring on the head. The close combat weapons that are also common in the civilian sector include a. the Kubotan . A special form is the garrotte , a choking weapon made from a medium-strength metal wire with two handles.
In Japan, special constructions made from everyday tools such as B. the kusarigama , the tonfa or the nunchaku , as well as the halberd as a saber-like cut and stabbing weapon to the special features of melee weapons. The melee weapons also include edged weapons such as a throwing star that is used at close range.
With the advent of single-shot muskets, the bayonet was used in hand-to-hand combat until the era of repeating rifles . This replaced the pike , which was used to protect against attacking cavalry and, after the shot, as a polearm against enemy infantry. The edged weapon was still important in the time when handguns were ignited with black powder . This was sensitive to the weather and did not ignite when it rained due to humidity. However, with the advent of semiautomatic and fully automatic weapons, the bayonet already lost its importance in the trench warfare of the First World War, especially with machine carbines as primary armament and pistols as secondary armament. This was due on the one hand to the limited space in the trenches, later also to the spatial conditions in the urban and urban warfare, and on the other hand to the length of the weapon, since only the Gewehr 98 with attached bayonet has a corresponding length to defend against an opponent and rifles used later became shorter and shorter.
As edged weapons, the Gurkhas still use the kukri and the Russian infantry , marine infantry , paratroopers and spetsnaz use the fixed short spade as a melee weapon, also by throwing. The short spade, known as the Pioneer Schanzzeug, was used by the assault battalions as a close-range weapon during a coup d'état on enemy trenches as early as the First World War . However, these are only of importance at the shortest possible distance and only subordinate to an opponent equipped with a firearm. Every German paratrooper was equipped with a pistol for close combat, also because the handguns except for the submachine guns were dropped in dropping containers.
The use of physical techniques is the exception in military close combat , as General Hermann Geyer stated after the First World War in his handbook The attack in trench warfare: "Close combat is decided with the firearm." Every soldier in the assault battalion was therefore with a pistol equipped. However, hand-to-hand combat and makeshift weapons can occur in local and house combat and, to a limited extent, in forest combat. It is basically not possible to approach the opponent silently. In the trench warfare of the First World War, the surprising approach often took place under the fire of their own heavy weapons, the impact of which was superimposed on approach noises.
In the present, hand-to-hand combat is carried out with handguns, as was shown in the trench warfare of the First World War. For the noise-suppressing use of firearms at close range, silencers have been used since the Second World War , especially for handguns . Today the Israeli Krav Maga , which is also taught in the Bundeswehr, and Sambo and Systema in Russia are used for hand-to-hand military combat .
Police close combat
In order to enforce police measures, especially in the area of arrest technology , physical coercive measures can be used through handles, throws, but also blows or knocks, passively for defense also with a block. Police close combat also includes the use of pepper spray , baton , telescopic baton or tonfa .
More recently, weapons with limited lethal effects have been developed. Police these are u. a. Tasers and irritant sprayers. However, these may not be used by soldiers, including military police and police officers on missions abroad, in accordance with international martial law and the agreements on the prohibition of chemical weapons.
In the past, boxing and judo were taught in police sports and in training. Combined hand-to-hand combat is taught today, which includes various elements to enforce arrest and defense.
The boundaries between civilian sporting and military hand-to-hand combat styles are fluid. Aikijutsu is taught by the Japanese military , Kobudo and Aikido are taught to the Tokyo police .
Close combat with a sporty character
Close combat with a sporty character pursues the goal of achieving a victory according to sporting standards with the superiority over the opponent. Even in antiquity, sporting victory was characterized by a system of rewards (fame, honor, social privileges). The legitimate means to achieve goals in sporting close combat disciplines are set out in the relevant regulations or in civil legislation. They consist, for example, of blows and lever techniques, which force the opponent to give up, or a point-wise superiority after a time-limited assessment period.
Many of these disciplines have a positive effect on the practitioner in terms of motor skills (agility, dexterity, body control, perseverance), technical skills (precision) and the development of personal skills in overcoming defeat and learning fairness and respect.
Examples of sporting close combat disciplines are:
| origin | discipline |
|---|---|
| worldwide | Boxing , fencing , kickboxing |
| Europe and the Middle East | Wrestling of various styles ( Greco-Roman , freestyle , catch wrestling , Lucha Canaria ) |
| Switzerland | Swing |
| Eastern Alps | Rangels |
| Russia | Sambo and Systema |
| Brazil | Gracie Jiu-Jitsu |
| China | Wushu , San Shou , Shuaijiao , Goju Ryu , Wing Chun |
| Japan |
Jiu Jitsu and Judo , Aikijutsu and Aikido , Bujinkan , Karate , Kobudo , Sujutsu, Yarijutsu (spear fighting), Naginajutsu (Jap. Halberd), Tojutsu, Kenjutsu and Kendo (sword fighting), Tantojutsu (knife fighting), Jojutsu and Jodo (stick and Sword fighting), kasarijutsu (handling the chain), ninjutsu (compared to ninja ), sumo |
| Korea | Taekwondo , Tang Soo Do , Ssireum |
| North Korea | Kyŏksul |
| Vietnam | Viet Vo Dao |
| Philippines | Filipino Martial Arts also Arnis or Escrima or Kali |
| Thailand | Muay thai |
| Indonesia | Pencak Silat |
| Israel | KAPAP and Krav Maga |
literature
- Frank Pelny: GJOGSUL: Military close combat in the NVA. Books On Demand, ISBN 3-8334-2228-9 .
- Close Combat (MCRP 3-02B). USMC, February 1999, ISBN 1-58160-073-9 .
- William E. Fairbairn: Get Tough! Details basic commando techniques. 1942. Reprint ISBN 0-87364-002-0 .
- Rex Applegate: Kill or Get Killed. 1943. Widely redistributed within the USMC from 1991 as FMFRP 12-80. ISBN 0-87364-084-5 .
- Richard Strozzi-Heckler: In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to the Green Berets. Third edition. ISBN 1-55643-425-1 .
- Fleet Marine Force Manual (FMFM) 0-7, Close Combat. USMC , July 1993.
- Combatives: FM 3-25.150. Commercial reprint of 2002 US Army manual incorporates Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . ISBN 1-58160-448-3 .
Web links
- Melee videos of the Bundeswehr on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ^ Federal Criminal Police Office : Determination notices BKA for the classification of makeshift weapons . Retrieved May 21, 2019 .