Martial Arts/CQC Trg in CAF (split fm Probe of WPG soldier's suicide)

[quadrapiper]

"Fight clubs' have been around for a looooong time ... they were fairly open in the 1960s, every unit had a boxing team until about 1966 or '67 and there were active sub-unit programmes that aimed to "foster" fighting spirit and produce regimental level boxers. We also had unarmed combat programmes that often got pretty aggressive. This was, usually, all overseen by Physical Training Instructors; sometimes the unit MO didn't approve, sometimes he did. The thing was that the institutional Arny, from the top down, "liked" rough, tough physical activity. There was a lot of angst when (mid to late '60s) boxing was done away with. Some people thought that was a serious mistake. There had, in my experience, always been some (maybe too much) tolerance of "rough and tumble," including settling disputes with fists.

Do you think a (re)introduction of some sort of martial art would be of value, whether something like the MCMAP, one of the "traditional" disciplines, or something MMA-ish?

Could see avoiding systems where blows to the head are a key feature.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Do you think a (re)introduction of some sort of martial art would be of value, whether something like the MCMAP, one of the "traditional" disciplines, or something MMA-ish?

Could see avoiding systems where blows to the head are a key feature.

No. This is not something that will fix this problem. I served for many years in 'tough guy' units where there was alot of boxing (formal and informal), and bullying still occurred.

Good leadership, and ruthlessly well executed military discipline, is the best solution.

 

[ballz]

After many years of being repressed for some reason (shitty leadership), martial arts is making a comeback in the CAF. Largely led by the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Canada, it's grown a lot and finally after many years of "why do I have to convince people this is a good idea" it's growing and being hoisted aboard.

As a result of being a bit emboldened by this, there's a movement afoot to get legit striking competitions started again. Sadly our current system of CQC and PSP sports is set up poorly for this but people will eventually make it happen.

In fact, the Div Comd who was in place for this incident, BGen Cadieu, wanted to try to harness this into a useful and productive outlet by putting more focus into combatives. Why have underground fight clubs when we can pay soldiers to actually train and fight? It was toward the end of his tenure, we did make some strides in the right direction including having professional instructors teaching on base (BJJ, Judo, and Wrestling) and today I received an email that the large renovation we've been pushing for has been approved by the Base Comd, which will quadruple the size of the mat space here.

Could see avoiding systems where blows to the head are a key feature.

If it's a striking art, then that's probably a very bad approach.

 

[ballz]

No. This is not something that will fix this problem. I served for many years in 'tough guy' units where there was alot of boxing (formal and informal), and bullying still occurred.

Bullying will always occur to some extent. My experience with martial arts is that people who train together usually respect each other. This underground fight club stuff manifests from a bunch of young troops who joined for this kind of thing, and they aren't having their needs met. You won't stamp it out, it's a symptom of a bigger issue.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Do you think a (re)introduction of some sort of martial art would be of value, whether something like the MCMAP, one of the "traditional" disciplines, or something MMA-ish?

Could see avoiding systems where blows to the head are a key feature.

I'm with daftandbarmy, 100%. Leadership and discipline are what's required; that's all that's required to address most issues.

 

[Haggis]

My sense, no proof, just bar chat at reunions and so on, is that modern COs are overloaded with administrivia from too many HQs ~ stuff that, in my days in command, late 1970s and early '80s, would never have been allowed to leave Mobile Command HQ.

Edward your sense is correct.  A sample of the constant and often intrusive demands on a Class A leader's time can be found in this thread.

I retired almost a year ago as the Ops O of a very busy little Reserve Infantry unit.  Before my commissioning, I was a unit and Brigade Battle School RSM.  I can say with some authority that had I attempted to do all the administration that was expected of me by my unit CO, the Bde and Div HQs on the six paid Class A hours I had each week I would have never gotten up from my desk. I was lucky in that I had, first, a DND Blackberry and, later, a DND laptop.  Without those tools which allowed me to stay in the loop and meet the often redundant and repetitive RFIs - "off the official clock" - I would never see my troops.

Unless things have changed in the last year, anyone in a Bde or higher HQ that still believes that Reserve unit and sub unit leadership is a "part-time job" that can be easily done in three to six hours a week has been making more than casual use of legalized cannabis.

 

[Haggis]

After many years of being repressed for some reason (shitty leadership), martial arts is making a comeback in the CAF. Largely led by the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Canada, it's grown a lot and finally after many years of "why do I have to convince people this is a good idea" it's growing and being hoisted aboard.

This is a bit of a tangent, but....

My former unit tried for at least five years - unsuccessfully -  to incorporate some type of combatitives/CQC into our training cycle.  Unfortunately, there is precious little white space in most unit calendars to do this once mandatory training, IBTS and Bde/TBG collective training is programmed in.

Coupled with the Bde's insistence that CQC of any type only be taught by qualified CQCI and any sport martial arts overseen by PSP it became a non-starter as we are over 100 km away from our support base and most other Bde units.

Despite asking year after year after year, my unit was never able to secure either CQC or CQCI seats and those CQCI in the Bde tended to not want to travel inconvenient distances to help their brothers out.  I had three LEA use-of-force instructors in my unit and one was an ex-JTF-2 guy (a plank holder, no less).  I even tried to get a CQC/CQCI equivalency granted to my ex- JTF-2 guy but that fell through as well.

Tangent ends.

 

[Remius]

We are lucky enough to have two CQCI instructors.  We also have equipment, pads, tatami mats and redman suits etc.

It is inexpensive, easy and relevant training to fit in if you can.  It is also very motivating.

it would be good if it could be the norm and not the exception.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Unless things have changed in the last year, anyone in a Bde or higher HQ that still believes that Reserve unit and sub unit leadership is a "part-time job" that can be easily done in three to six hours a week has been making more than casual use of legalized cannabis.

This was exactly my experience as well. The militia is focused on putting the Officer back in the Office.

There is little focus on requiring leaders to go into the field, or spend time watching or even (shock horror) participating in training activities.

But you just try not responding to one of the over 100 emails per month that you get (I counted them so that I could tell my CO approximately how much 'off the clock' work he was passing on to us) and you're doomed.

 

[quadrapiper]

If it's a striking art, then that's probably a very bad approach.

Was thinking of boxing, primarily.

I'm with daftandbarmy, 100%. Leadership and discipline are what's required; that's all that's required to address most issues.

Certainly; however, you'd mentioned prior use of boxing. Interested in your thoughts on whether or not something similar should be reintroduced.

 

[ballz]

This is a bit of a tangent, but....

My former unit tried for at least five years - unsuccessfully -  to incorporate some type of combatitives/CQC into our training cycle.  Unfortunately, there is precious little white space in most unit calendars to do this once mandatory training, IBTS and Bde/TBG collective training is programmed in.

Coupled with the Bde's insistence that CQC of any type only be taught by qualified CQCI and any sport martial arts overseen by PSP it became a non-starter as we are over 100 km away from our support base and most other Bde units.

Despite asking year after year after year, my unit was never able to secure either CQC or CQCI seats and those CQCI in the Bde tended to not want to travel inconvenient distances to help their brothers out.  I had three LEA use-of-force instructors in my unit and one was an ex-JTF-2 guy (a plank holder, no less).  I even tried to get a CQC/CQCI equivalency granted to my ex- JTF-2 guy but that fell through as well.

Tangent ends.

Exactly what I was talking about*:

Sadly our current system of CQC and PSP sports is set up poorly for this but people will eventually make it happen.

The Army can't even get out of its own way. This is relevant to this conversation because I can be the best leader in the world, if I'm not enabled to provide my troops with good, hard, challenging training (not just combatives... marksmanship, urban ops, raids, defensives, etc), the kind of stuff they are starving for, guess what.... troops are going to find a way to satisfy that hunger in less positive ways.

Or we can keep making the troops do IBTS stands and scratch our heads wondering how underground fighting clubs manifest....

but people will eventually make it happen.

*By this part I was meaning that eventually training safety / CQC PAM is going to be forced to be updated through sheer grassroots pressure. Sadly, like the boot allowance, it may take 20 years.

 

[Jarnhamar]

One of the biggest problems with CQC courses, which might explain the oversight, is when these Royce Gracie Cobra Kai wannabe instructors run off the rail CQC courses and get off on students trying to murder each other. Everyone gets hurt and there's either investigations or, more likely, shit gets swept under the rug. Seen both.

Fight clubs aren't necessarily a bad thing. For the most part I think they're positive. The problem is when someone gets pressured to partake in them and it turns into a big joke that the unpopular guy is getting the shit knocked out of him instead of a skill and confidence building thing.

CQC et el is doomed to fail because brigade cares more about what % of the brigade is at 100% IBTS and everyone is GBA+ qualified even though many can't articulate what it actually means.

 

[daftandbarmy]

One of the biggest problems with CQC courses, which might explain the oversight, is when these Royce Gracie Cobra Kai wannabe instructors run off the rail CQC courses and get off on students trying to murder each other. Everyone gets hurt and there's either investigations or, more likely, crap gets swept under the rug. Seen both.

Fight clubs aren't necessarily a bad thing. For the most part I think they're positive. The problem is when someone gets pressured to partake in them and it turns into a big joke that the unpopular guy is getting the crap knocked out of him instead of a skill and confidence building thing.

CQC et el is doomed to fail because brigade cares more about what % of the brigade is at 100% IBTS and everyone is GBA+ qualified even though many can't articulate what it actually means.

The main issue for Class A units is, of course, there is no time, given 30 man days per year if you're lucky, to do even the minimum acceptable amount of training for your trade and position, as well as for the new 'Mission Taskings'. And then just try and find enough properly qualified instructors to make it work...

Adding a formal boxing/ combatives component to the training schedule is likely a non-starter when we find it hard to even squeeze in the FORCE / BFT tests we have to complete annually. And it won't stop the bullying, as I mentioned earlier, either.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

After many years of being repressed for some reason (shitty leadership), martial arts is making a comeback in the CAF. Largely led by the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Canada, it's grown a lot and finally after many years of "why do I have to convince people this is a good idea" it's growing and being hoisted aboard.

As a result of being a bit emboldened by this, there's a movement afoot to get legit striking competitions started again. Sadly our current system of CQC and PSP sports is set up poorly for this but people will eventually make it happen.

In fact, the Div Comd who was in place for this incident, BGen Cadieu, wanted to try to harness this into a useful and productive outlet by putting more focus into combatives. Why have underground fight clubs when we can pay soldiers to actually train and fight? It was toward the end of his tenure, we did make some strides in the right direction including having professional instructors teaching on base (BJJ, Judo, and Wrestling) and today I received an email that the large renovation we've been pushing for has been approved by the Base Comd, which will quadruple the size of the mat space here.

If it's a striking art, then that's probably a very bad approach.

I'll be perfectly honest, I like fighting and I think it's good for soldiers to fight for fitness and aggression but also to train the mind, especially with grappling and striking as there is a certain science to it.  Being an effective grappler, particularly when setting up submissions and passes, requires you to chain attacks together much like chess, you can also use feints and plenty of deception to bait your opponent.

Striking adds more complexity and is even more useful than grappling in some ways because it is the quickest way to end any fist fight and is less "sporty" and more a reflection of what would happen for real, striking also adds another dimension to grappling, particularly clinch fighting.  One of my favorite ways to get a takedown is to use simple 1-2 combo punches to setup underhooks for an attempt at a sweep/throw or to get the opponent to lift their arms and worry about their head so I can go for a single or double leg takedown. 

I train BJJ but am less of a fan of grappling with the Gi than NoGi as you are never going to be fighting someone wearing a super tough Gi that doesn't rip or tear.  Many of the techniques some BJJ fighters use aren't very effective with someone punching you in the face, particularly BJJ practitioners who always pull guard and try and fight off their backs.

As for striking without targeting the head, complete waste of time to train that way for actual fighting.  It's not fighting at that point, it's simply a sport like Taekwondo which doesn't allow punches to the head (only kicks).  Taekwondo practitioners generally have some bad standup habits for actual fighting because many of them train with their hands down by their chests/stomach due to the rules of Modern Taekwondo heavily favouring point scoring as opposed to trying to KO/TKO your opponent.

The CAF should absolutely have boxing, kick boxing, wrestling and combatives as recognized sports. 

We have even had a former member of the CAF fight for the UFC Middleweight Championship.  He won't talk about his time in the CAF though or his service in Bosnia because the CAF wouldn't give him any time off to train so he was forced to release to fight in the UFC.  They will give time off for Officers to go running though :

One of the biggest problems with CQC courses, which might explain the oversight, is when these Royce Gracie Cobra Kai wannabe instructors run off the rail CQC courses and get off on students trying to murder each other. Everyone gets hurt and there's either investigations or, more likely, crap gets swept under the rug. Seen both.

Fight clubs aren't necessarily a bad thing. For the most part I think they're positive. The problem is when someone gets pressured to partake in them and it turns into a big joke that the unpopular guy is getting the crap knocked out of him instead of a skill and confidence building thing.

CQC et el is doomed to fail because brigade cares more about what % of the brigade is at 100% IBTS and everyone is GBA+ qualified even though many can't articulate what it actually means.

CQCB & CQCI have to be two of the dumbest courses because the people who have the "quals" aren't actually qualified to teach anything. 

The idea that you can give a soldier a couple of months of training and call them an instructor is laughable. Especially in something as complicated as unarmed combat.

What the CAF should do is create a Martial Arts system like the Marines have with the only way to gain ranks being mat time and actually fighting. 

The main issue for Class A units is, of course, there is no time, given 30 man days per year if you're lucky, to do even the minimum acceptable amount of training for your trade and position, as well as for the new 'Mission Taskings'. And then just try and find enough properly qualified instructors to make it work...

Adding a formal boxing/ combatives component to the training schedule is likely a non-starter when we find it hard to even squeeze in the FORCE / BFT tests we have to complete annually. And it won't stop the bullying, as I mentioned earlier, either.

I agree that this wouldn't have stopped the bullying. This unfortunately seems to be a classic case of the Pack eating one of their own who couldn't keep up. How many courses or training have you done where you've seen this play out?  It's human nature to isolate the weak link and you see it in every organization, not just the CAF. 

As for Reservists training unarmed combat, if we had a belt system with legitimate gradings, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

[ballz]

I'd recommend a threat split on this, as I will happily discuss these issues for a long time.

Striking adds more complexity and is even more useful than grappling in some ways because it is the quickest way to end any fist fight and is less "sporty" and more a reflection of what would happen for real

I doubt that to be honest, but these discussions we have are akin to the discussion that started the UFC. The debate was always "which martial art is the best," and so they created the UFC to find the answer. The truth is what they did was create an environment... and the martial art that worked best in that environment prevailed. And of course, the transcendence occurred / is occurring. People took parts from every martial art, created new techniques, etc. and what you have is a a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. The key here is, the environment determines what is effective.

So for example, Judo, which as you know is pure grappling and no striking, came from the environment the samurai fought in. They had helmets, armour, chainmail, etc. So punching wasn't very useful because you'd break your hands, kicking wasn't very useful because you were so top heavy you'd lose balance. The best way to win in that environment was to throw your opponent on his back, get on top and control him, long enough to take a knife out and stab him in a vulnerable area (which you could now do because you had control unlike when you were standing).

If you think about it, what I just described sounds a lot like how our soldiers and conventional enemies are dressed now..... so I tend to think punches and kicks between two soldiers fighting in full kit would be very ineffective. But it's all opinion, we need to create the environment and let competitors find out what works the best (and they will).

you are never going to be fighting someone wearing a super tough Gi that doesn't rip or tear.

I've never understood why people think this, as every fight I've seen people have clothes on. But particularly for the military, they will also have tac-vests, helmets, etc and the ability to establish the dominant grip gives you control of their upper body and likely determines who lands on top. Put a wrestler against a judoka in full battle kit and I'm definitely putting my money on the judoka. But hey, it's all talk until we actually create the environment and try it.

Many of the techniques some BJJ fighters use aren't very effective with someone punching you in the face, particularly BJJ practitioners who always pull guard and try and fight off their backs.

Again, environment dictates what works. The environment created by IBJJF rules doesn't punish you for pulling guard, and for some people it helps them. You likely wouldn't see any guard pulling in an environment that does not favour guard pulling. The CAF Combatives rules rewards your opponent 2 points for a takedown if you pull guard, and you really never see it because of the points and because our combatives culture frowns upon it (reinforced by the points).

As for striking without targeting the head, complete waste of time to train that way for actual fighting.

Agreed. Again, it's just training for an environment... and then we switch the environment to one where targeting the head is allowed and you're now hooped.

The CAF should absolutely have boxing, kick boxing, judo, wrestling and combatives as recognized sports.

Technically under the CAF Sports Program, only boxing and kick boxing out of that list is not allowed. However, we don't have a culture that values it. We have a culture that values curling instead. Judo and wrestling are CISM sports and we actually have some really strong athletes in both in the CAF, but the CAF doesn't even participate in CISM Judo or Wrestling. Thanks to the grassroots movement and the hard work of some key individuals though, PSP across the country is 100% trying to support combatives. It's just difficult because it's not like PSP generally knows anything about it* so rolling it out is not straightforward.

*I'll add a shout-out here that Edmonton PSP actually has legit judoka, wrestlers, and BJJ players on their staff, but that's a lucky anomaly.

CQCB & CQCI have to be two of the dumbest courses because the people who have the "quals" aren't actually qualified to teach anything. 

The idea that you can give a soldier a couple of months of training and call them an instructor is laughable. Especially in something as complicated as unarmed combat.

Agreed. That's the Canadian Army's box that it constrains itself to though, and it doesn't know how to think outside the box. We think we need to create our quals and run our own training, and we create a basic course and then an advanced course, and then you are an "expert." It's insane. The only reason it works for things like Recce and Snipers is because before you ever go on Advanced Recce, you've already gotten lots of experience. And even then we don't treated ARP grads like they've been ordained by God and make it so you're not allowed to practice an OP unless an ARP grad is supervising. The whole CQC/CQCI thing is poison in the well as far as I am concerned.

And CQC/CQCI combined is 25 training days, let's not exaggerate by saying "months" 

What the CAF should do is create a Martial Arts system like the Marines have with the only way to gain ranks being mat time and actually fighting.

If you look at the CQC program, we actually have created a martial arts system, hell it's even got ranks (basic and instructor... kinda like Judo belts started out when it was just white and black!). We've just done it very poorly. You don't just "invent" a martial art, martial arts develop organically by people who are thrust into an environment and must find the best way to win in that environment. What we need to do is create an environment that mimics unarmed combat, and allow the competitors to find the best way to win. 

 

[Singh47]

Should we have an un geared and geared martial art thing? Like fighting in ffo to get used to it. That would probably be forward thinking of most armies. Time is always a problem

 

[ballz]

Should we have an un geared and geared martial art thing? Like fighting in ffo to get used to it. That would probably be forward thinking of most armies. Time is always a problem

I proposed providing training on base in judo, wrestling, muay  thai, boxing, and BJJ*.... and a few others... depending on what you had available. The challenge is most bases are not positioned next to a large city like Edmonton, where access to that kind of skillset is very easy, and so that's a big constraint.

And then, create our own environment (i.e. sport) to as closely mimic unarmed combat as possible. Those people training would find out which parts of the other martial arts are still useful and which parts aren't.

This has historical precedent, this is exactly how the Sambo was created. Primarily, one person trained in catch wrestling and the other trained in Judo, and so they taught wrestling and Judo to the soldiers, but the soliders trained in their kit. Eventually, people threw out some techniques and combined others, and the product was Sambo.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Should we have an un geared and geared martial art thing? Like fighting in ffo to get used to it. That would probably be forward thinking of most armies. Time is always a problem

There's a long history of unarmed combat training in the military, usually centred on the use of various knives as a last resort. If I can mix metaphors, when the chips are down, six inches of cold steel can turn the tide quickly if used properly. It calls for the adoption of a system of training that is likely beyond our ability to sustain, mainly because I doubt the current 'sunny ways' regime would endorse anything like this:

https://hroarr.com/article/the-ka-bar-and-the-fairbairn-sykes-two-fighting-children-of-different-philosophies/

The other problem is, of course, when you train teenagers to 'gutter fight', they'll use it on each other. Don't ask me how I know

 

[brihard]

Another thought, something that comes out of the professional world I’ve found myself in- training for a fight, especially a ground fight, is a good way to build a survivor/victor’s mentality. Getting smoked on the mats and finding yourself surviving it is a good way to build an attitude of don’t give up, and survive at any cost.

 

[Navy_Pete]

Combat effectiveness aside, martial arts and contact sports are an awesome way to build real team spirit and esprit du corps. One thing working with someone, but totally different when you know they'll drop the proverbial gloves and have your back. Played rugby before joining, and there were people that you didn't even like but would jump into it because they were on your side. In my personal experience, something like an extended work ups for a ship's company tends to develop kind of the same thing for when you're ashore, but those are complex, expensive exercises that cost millions.  Why not keep it simple with something like martial arts training, that only needs the pers and some knowledgeable instructor?

Similarly, with some a good coach that has a positive attitude, have seen the same thing develop very quickly in a boxing club. Punching stuff was good exercise and great for blowing off steam, but also in the right atmosphere, great for encouraging others and building up a lot of positive vibes while working hard. Discipline and trust are both key elements in safely training in contact, so seems like a natural fit for an organization that needs people to be fit and work together in teams.

I think sometimes we get so wrapped up as an organization in processes and SOPs that we lose sight of the fact that we ask people to spend a bunch of time working/living cheek to jowl doing unpleasant stuff. That's where time spent doing small stuff like section breakfasts or whatever pay off. Needing the CQC qual seems like needless CYA when there are martial arts places in pretty much every small town. Surely with the level of responsibility COs have, they can exercise a bit of oversight and set up some kind of 'unit PT' sessions doing boxing, kickboxing, whatever. Pretty sh*t simple to show people how to do some basic punches and kicks and run them through some drills hitting the pads, and you can do lots of stuff without anyone actually getting hit in the head.