LEVEL I INSTRUCTOR HANDBOOK

 

Fight Tactics/Training Strategy

In order to train soldiers efficiently it is necessary to develop a systematic approach to both fighting and training.  The three phases of basic fight strategy are:

 

1.  Close the distance       

Controlling a standup fight means controlling the range between fighters.  The untrained fighter is primarily dangerous at punching range.  The goal is to avoid that range.  Even if you are the superior striker, the most dangerous thing you can do is to spend time at the range where the enemy has the highest probability of victory.  When training Soldiers, the primary goal should be instilling the courage to close the distance.

 

2.  Gain dominant position 

Before any killing or disabling technique can be applied, the Soldier must first gain and maintain dominant body position.  It is the leverage gained from dominant body position that allows the fighter to defeat a stronger opponent.  An appreciation for dominant position is fundamental to becoming a proficient fighter because it ties together what would otherwise be a long confusing list of unrelated techniques.  If a finishing technique is attempted from dominant position and fails, the fighter can simply try again.  If, on the other hand, a finishing technique is attempted from other than dominant position and fails, it will usually mean defeat.  The dominant body positions will be introduced in order of precedence.

 

3.  Finish the fight 

When dominant body position has been achieved, the fighter can begin attempts to finish the fight secure in the knowledge that if an attempt fails, as long as he maintains dominant position, he may simply try again.

 

Training should start with ground grappling, which is not only easier both to teach and to learn, but also provides a sound base from which to move to the more difficult standing techniques.  Past programs started with techniques that took a very long time to master.  The result was almost uniform disillusionment with combatives in general.  The material covered in this handbook is considered the baseline knowledge that every Soldier should know.

 

1. Stand in Base

-- Sit like a fighter

-- Knee through the armpit

-- Assume a fighter’s stance

 

2. Escape the Mount, Trap and Roll

-- Elbows in and on the ground

-- Capture the arm

-- First hand with no thumb

-- Second hand with the thumb on the outside

-- Capture the leg on the same side

-- Knee in the butt

-- Lift with the hips

-- Roll over into his guard

 

3. Pass the Guard

-- Assume good posture

-- Control the arms at the biceps

-- One leg comes up to turn the hips

-- Same side hand goes through the legs, fingers first

-- Place the hand on the ground and the knee on the ground and scoot away

-- Step and reach

-- Grasp the collar with the thumb on the inside

-- Change the knees and bring the hips around to the side

-- Stack him up, pushing his knee straight over his head until you break the grip of his legs

-- Let his leg past your head

-- Place the elbow in the elbow notch

-- Place the other hand under the hips and assume a good side control position

 

4. Side Control

-- What will the opponent be trying to do (e.g. moving under and putting you in the Guard)

-- How the position prevents this (Positive control of the opponents hip)

-- Elbow pressure

-- Hand under the hips

-- Back hand up with knee

-- Straighten the other leg

 

5. Achieve the Mount from Side Control

-- Sit through and place your knee against the hip

-- Spread your legs to avoid being taken over backwards

-- Use the hand to clear the legs

-- Step over and mount

 

6. Escape the Mount, Shrimp to the Guard

--You have captured your opponent’s arm in an attempt to roll him. He moves his leg to avoid being rolled and creates an opening

-- Uses your elbow to lift his leg, face toward the opening and move your leg under it until the knee comes out, loops over leg, and hooks that leg

-- Places your weight on the foot of that leg and turn to face the other side

-- Use your hands to push on the opponent’s leg

-- Moves your other leg under the opponent’s leg and over like before

-- If you foot gets caught faces away from it and moves your hips back to make space

-- Places your opponent in your guard

 

7. Arm Push and Roll to the Rear Mount

-- Trap opponent arm with your chest

-- Ratchet opponent onto his stomach

-- Position your feet near opponent’s hips

-- As opponent rises to hands and knees execute the rear mount

 

8. Escape the Rear Mount

-- Arms beside your head and other hand in your armpit

-- Opponent’s hand points the way

-- Fall to the side

-- Scoot out to that side

-- Use the ground to “scrape” him off your back

-- Get the knee on the ground at his hip

-- Use the foot to hook under his knee

-- Roll into and gain the mount

 

9. Rear Naked Choke

-- Biceps against one side of the neck

-- Forearm against the other side

-- Shrug to synch it up

-- Place the hand of the choking arm on biceps of other arm

-- Hand comes behind his head as if you where combing his hair

-- Tuck your head down

-- Choke by expanding the chest

-- Only done from the rear mount

 

10. Cross Collar Choke from the Mount and Guard

-- Weak hand opens the collar

-- Hand goes in fingers first

-- All the way behind the neck

-- Second hand goes under the first

-- Fingers on the inside all the way until it meets the other hand

-- Turn wrists so that your palms face you

-- Pull him into you

-- Choke by expanding the chest and pulling the shoulders back and elbows in to your sides

-- Done from either the mount or the guard

 

11. The Bent Arm Bar (Mount and Side Control)

-- You are mounted and your opponent blocks with arms parallel

-- With the heel of the hands, strike the opposite arm and drive it to the ground

-- Elbow in elbow notch and thumbless grip

-- Other arm goes under the elbow and grasps your own wrist

-- Drag like a paintbrush and raise the elbow at the same time

-- Keep head down on the wrist /protect eyes

 

12. The Straight Arm Bar from the Mount

-- The opponent tries to defend the mount by pushing straight up against your chest

-- Lean on his arms and decide which arm you want to break

-- Arms go over and under the arm to the broken

-- With all of your weight resting on his hands, pop up to a low squatting position  Note: Keep butt low

-- Turn away from the arm to be broken and move the foot over

the head

-- Slide down the arm like a fireman’s pole

-- Pinch the arm between your legs

-- Break the arm by raising the hips up against the elbow joint

-- Do not cross the feet

 

13. The Straight Arm Bar from the Guard

-- Your opponent is in the guard and attempting a choke

-- Decide which arm to break

-- Grasp the arm to be broken at or above the elbow

-- Place the other hand to the knee, palm up

-- Relax the legs and bring them above you

-- Curl your back

-- Pull with the arm under his leg and spin

-- Place the leg over his head

-- Pull the hand from behind the knee and grasp his wrist

-- Break the elbow with forward hip pressure

 

14. Sweep from the Attempted Straight Arm Bar

-- The enemy tucks his head to avoid the arm bar

-- Pull his leg close to your head

-- Swing leg to gain momentum, and curl it

-- Push him straight over to come up mounted

 

15. Scissors Sweep

-- Enemy creates space when raising leg to pass guard

-- Grasp opposite arm, relax guard, pivot on his thigh with your calf

-- Drop opposite knee flat on ground in front of his posted knee

-- Drop knee of pivot leg across enemy’s waist line, hook hip with foot

-- Grasp collar with free hand, pull down

-- Scissors legs, end up mounted

 

Combat Takedowns: 

An enemy can most easily be controlled or disabled from a position on the ground.  It is therefore important that a fighter should understand how to take an enemy down.  Takedowns, like all standing combative moves, require more practice than is normally available for combatives training.  Takedown training should focus on the things that all successful combat takedowns must accomplish.  These three things are:

             1.  Achieve the clinch without taking serious damage.

             2.  Taking the enemy down by breaking his base.

             3.  Ending in dominant body position.

 

16. Close the Gap and Achieve the Clinch

 -- Start from a fighting stance outside of kicking range

 -- Tuck in your chin and use the arms to cover the vital points of the head

 -- Aggressively close the distance

 -- Head goes to the enemy’s chest and cupped hands to his biceps

 -- Face away from the side you are moving to

-- Control the far side arm by reaching over it and pulling into your armpit,   holding it at the elbow

-- Drive the other elbow under his elbow

-- Grasp him around the waist

 

17. Front Takedown to the Mount

-- Release the grip on the elbow and grasp hands behind his hip

-- Step slightly to his front

-- Pull with the hands and push with head to push him over backwards

-- Release the grip as he falls and step over to the mount

 

18. Rear Takedown

-- Head in opponent’s lower back

-- Trap opponent’s far foot

-- Sit down while maintaining hold on opponent

-- Release grip as opponent falls and step over into mount

 

19. Front Guillotine Choke

-- The opponent attempts a traditional double leg takedown

-- Sprawl slightly so that his head is in your armpit

-- Reach around under his chin

-- Without going around his arm grasp the hand of the first arm with the second

-- Both palms should be facing you

-- Pull up to tighten the choke

-- Sit down to place the enemy in the guard

-- Finish the choke by pulling with the arms and pushing with the legs

 

MACP Level I Techniques