Dec. 26, 2007; Submitted on: 12/26/2007 09:36:26 AM ; Story ID#: 2007122693626
By Staff Sgt. Leo A. Salinas, Headquarters Marine Corps
WASHINGTON (Dec. 26, 2007) -- Stifling.
That’s this gym. A true sweat box. Just standing there, the heat was, well, stifling. Cramped, compact, full of chaos.
There wasn’t much room for just sitting on the sidelines.
And this is where Marcos Estrada and family were hanging out for the day.
Estrada, along with his son and brother, is one of many aspiring fighters and martial artists in the gym.
Between the long nights and hectic pace of his day job, he is a fighter. He trains in grappling and Gracie-Barra – a sort of scientific jiu-jitsu. He practices boxing and kickboxing for striking.
What separates Estrada from the rest of the sweat-soaked pugilists is he’s not fighting for a title. He already has one.
Estrada is a Marine.
He serves as a master sergeant in one of the most challenging duties in the Marine Corps: wartime recruiting.
The Marine Corps has the reputation as the America’s premier fighting force and one of the most prolific fighting militaries in the world. But sharp uniforms and boastful bravado is not what got them there. They are known as warriors, and warriors fight. With whatever they can grab, they fight. Sometimes it comes down to bare hands.
What separates Estrada from the other paper lions of his hobby is he is not only training for a fight, he is training for war. Like the Marine warriors before, his warrior mindset is only as good as his training, and he is always training for war. Hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat is a small but powerful tool for the Marine.
In the beginning
The bayonet is what brought Marines closer to their enemy. Although Marines were used and are known as accomplished riflemen, fighting in trenches during World War I and World War II proved to be a birthing of close-quarters combat with the Marines.
This brought new ideas and research by Marines fighting in foreign wars that would improve the Corps’ fighting skills. However, the Marine Corps would use a hodgepodge of ideas and methods. Along with a killing attitude, this would prove useful over many years. But war evolves. Bullets would get bigger and badder. So the Marine Corps decided that it was time for it’s warriors to evolve.
By 1989, a new fighting system would integrate both physical conditioning and open handed tactics to the Marine Corps.
“Marines have always stood up to the evil of the world, we have always understood the need for the ability to kill our opponent in combat,” said Ron Donvito. “Close combat is the oldest and most basic form of combat known to man. The individual Marine has been, is now, and always will be the true weapon. Technology only enhances the efficiency of the weapon.”
With this mindset, Donvito would devise a new close-quarters combat method as a civilian. He would eventually enlist in the Marine Corps and introduce this fighting system to his command. After careful deliberation, the Corps found a fighting form they liked and would teach it for the next decade.
The system, known as Linear Infighting Neural Override Engagement, was designed to be executed at full speed and full contact with no special training aids or training areas.
“The focus of all close combat training is to foster aggressiveness and to instill the warrior spirit,” Donvito. “Marines have always been the cutting edge of combat proficiency; LINE was designed to inject this skill set into every Marines’ daily life.”
LINE system develops confidence in the abilities of the individual Marine and toughens the Marine through the repetition of striking, being struck, throwing and being thrown, grappling in boots and gear on the ground in all types of terrain and weather to fit the Marines every clime and place attitude, said Donvito.
“It has always been a source of pride for me to have made a difference in the training of Marines,” said Donvito. “The lessons that I learned and the experience that I gained as a Marine have allowed me to continue to refine the system.”
However, the Marine Corps would eventually want to evolve with modern-day tactics.
These tactics included a termed used by a previous commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Charles Krulak, called the “three-block war.” This was a way that the lowest enlisted leaders would view the modern day battlefield; able to adapt to any situation. What the Corps wanted were complete warriors, not just efficient killers.
A review board of Marines and civilians with various degrees of martial arts experience concluded that the current system had to be revamped to better equip Marines with the skills needed in the changing mission of the Marine Corps, said Master Sgt. James Coleman, chief instructor trainer for the Marine Martial Arts Center of Excellence.
“Less than lethal skills were identified as an integral part of the "new" three block war principle. All techniques were utilized with gross motor skills, not fine motor skills which are needed for non-lethal techniques,” said Coleman.
This new program, known as the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, was further pushed by another former commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James L. Jones, Jr. His experience as a young platoon commander in Vietnam would propel Marine close-quarter combat into the next century.
“He noticed that there was a perception about the Republic of Korea Marines all being black belts in a martial arts discipline,” said retired Lt. Col. Joseph C. Shusko, MACE director. “The North Vietnamese would not engage them. The ROK Marines also looked different because they wore a tiger stripe uniform. So when the bad guys saw the tiger stripe uniform they avoided confrontation and attacked other forces. That’s why we have a different uniform and martial arts - thanks to General Jones.”
MCMAP would be based on basic martial arts discipline, but would incorporate extra criteria that would enhance the Marine as a more complete warrior. Special emphasis was placed on physical, mental, and character discipline. Also, Marines would now study warrior cultures such as the Spartans, Zulus, and the Apache. Moves, such as throws and strikes, are borrowed from various fighting styles, along with a colored belt system that would show program progression.
“MCMAP reinforces the concept that all Marines are riflemen and that the end state is always combat readiness and the Warrior Creed,” said Shusko. “The Warrior Creed teaches the following: Wherever I go, everyone is a little safer, wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend, when I return home, everyone is happy I am there.”
What the future holds for close quarter combat is anyone’s guess. The Marine Corps has initiated a more rigorous physical fitness program, which is at its infant stages at the MACE. However, as the battlefield changes, so will the modern-day warrior.
“We are doing well teaching all Marines MCMAP,” said Shusko. “We are now incorporating Combat Conditioning under the physical discipline of MCMAP to make Marines more physically fit to meet all challenges throughout the entire spectrum of violence they may encounter.”
Fight for fun
Master Sgt. Marcos Estrada is no stranger to combat.
Estrada served as an infantry unit leader in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
“The command is aware that I do this and has been a great means of support. They are aware of how intriguing this is to our target market here in the community and how it has effectively appealed to the young men and women in selling the Marine/elite warrior image,” Estrada said.
Estrada constantly draws analogies between MMA and the Marine Corps.
“In a combat zone, you don’t always know when you are about to get into a shoot out. Here (in the cage), you do,” said Estrada, a 32-year-old Chicago native. “So I was more nervous than being on any patrol that I had ever been during Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom and being an infantryman, I’ve been on a couple. Not to mention, you have the support of twenty something other Marines strapped to the teeth with weapons and ammo if things go wrong.”
The thrill of competing inside a cage in front of hundreds, possibly thousands of MMA enthusiasts is tempting for Estrada to take his craft to a higher echelon.
“I would love to fight on the bigger stage, but my work schedule is not conducive with that of which would be required of someone in a bigger stage, so I think that I’ll stick to local shows,” the 33-year-old Estrada said.
In 1999, a former Marine named Joey Goytia came into Estrada’s recruiting office with one of his kickboxing students that expressed interest in the Marines. As the young man was took the Enlistment Screening Test, he told Estrada about the school that he ran and the classes he taught at his school.
“It was right about the time the Ultimate Fighting Championship had really begun to get popular so I was already excited. I got hooked,” Estrada said. “From the time that I began training in MMA to my first fight was about 5 years.”
With grueling hours in the office and on the streets and demands of the recruiting environment, Estrada makes sure that his training does not interfere with his mission of seeking out and recruiting the best young men and women America has to offer.
“I train early in the morning or late evening so that it doesn’t interfere with my work schedule. I often come back to the office after my evening workout to ensure that there are no surprises waiting for me when I get to the office in the morning,” Estrada said.
Mixed-martial arts, which has recently experienced a surge in popularity thanks to increased cable television and pay-per-view exposure, along with a modest acceptance in mainstream sports, recently developed a relationship with the military.
“It’s a great way to get in shape, and a very humbling sport. Find a place that is a right fit. The first or maybe even the second or third place that you try may not be the right one for you. The place that I train right now is the perfect balance of humble but very talented athletes. We are there to help each other, encourage one another and support each other, whether it’s to fight or just for recreation,” Estrada said.
Who are the Warriors?
Marines have prepared each other for battle for over 230 years. Techniques have evolved but Marines have adapted and made them their own.
Anyone can be taught how to punch, how to kick, how to defend himself , but the Marine Corps continues to find way to master their enemies with the primal extinct of hand-to-hand combat.
Future focusing on hand to hand combat centers on conditioning the body for the rigors of combat. As the military find itself in the Long War, new armor and weapons have become a focal point and precedence for troops.
However, hand to hand combat teaches the Marine to be the self-sufficient warrior. One mind, any weapon.
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