Usmc Combat

Posted September 6, 2006 By admin

Whats the best way to become a USMC combat or martial arts instructor?

Neither job is entry level, so what are good entry level MOS so I could get one of these jobs.

There really is no "entry-level" MOS for teaching such things in the Marines, bub. They have their own specific art, so forget the crap that guy said about getting belted in a number of different arts. Their system was formerly called "LINE" (linear infighting neural-override engagement) and is now called MCMAP (Marine Corp Martial Arts Program). It might be said to combine Boxing and Jujutsu with knife-fighting, bayonet-fighting and gun-craft.

One of the main concepts of LINE was what other schools might call "autokinematics" (found in LINE through the phrase "neural-override"). This means that it builds on the idea of causing certain responses and then using those responses to max advantage. For instance, one of the common basic sentry neutralization moves they taught was to lay down in the bush hidden, to spring up into a crawl stance just long enough to stab a passing guard in the balls with a knife, then to pull his dropping head down into a fall toward you as you sliced his throat or stabbed under his armpit to his lungs or such. Then, you would quietly lay there and smother his death sounds with your own body as you observed the enemy camp for any possible reaction. Most traditional arts are NOT going to teach you such things, so it would be a waste of time to learn other arts in the hopes of teaching them in the MC.

The modern colored belt system used in MCMAP uses military rigger's belts and does not recognize any prior training you may have in other arts. In fact, the official stance from the Marine Corps is that prior traditional training gets in the way of what they really want you to know as a soldier Marine.

More important to this discussion, however, is that the ranks of the MCMAP are also directly tied to the Marine Corps ranking system. In other words, no matter how much you know about fighting, they will not allow you to teach anyone their system until you are at least like E6. They literally have MILITARY rank requirements for their new martial arts system ranks. So, even if you know a lot about fighting and have great skill, you won;t be certified to do so until have the proper rank required and have been approved to attend (and successfully complete) the instructor training program for that.

Good enough? I may be bursting some bubbles, but I'm always convinced that it is better to be truthful and honest with potential recruits than to build them up to be unhappy later. You will last longer in the service if your expectations are realistic from the start.

As for the MOS question, the best you can do is hope to get what you want. Score high enough on the ASVAB, and you might be able to get some good jobs. However, it is ALWAYS the Corps that makes the ultimate decision of what you will do for them, not you.

Every Marine is an infantryman, first and foremost. Therefore, starting off as a rifleman would be pretty much the ONLY job you could truly be guaranteed to get. If you meet the height and weight requirements, then going for Military Police (one of the most deployed MOSs out there) would be another good option. Scout is another.

I suggest these because they would expose you to the practical skills needed for combat moreso than other fields. They also tend to be promoted faster than most other MOS functions, since they lose a large number of re-enlistees to other fields.