ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England -- For anyone who has thought about learning self-defense rather than attempting to cross train into the combative forces, there is an opportunity to participate in a combative training class offered here.
The goal of the class is to give students the confidence and skills to defend and protect themselves against an enemy.
“We’re in a position where we can provide people the tools and the knowledge to protect themselves, or those around them,” said Tech. Sgt. Brian Sweeney, 100th Operations Support Squadron NCO in charge of combat crew communications and combative instructor. “The style of combatives taught is a mixture of the modern army combatives program and Jiu Jitsu. The class begins with an introduction to combatives, and learning the basic fight principles: projectile, striking and grappling.”
Students are taught lessons in the form of drills, Sweeney explained. The first drill is the foundation for all the others. Drill one focuses on the ground game and concept. The following drills expand on striking and projectiles, which are taught later in the course.
“The class is quite strenuous, and patience is a necessity in order to learn,” said Airman 1st Class Ryan Moore, 100th OSS airfield system technician, and a student of the class. “When you join at first, you will probably find that the more experienced students have far more skill than you, and that's normal. So don't get discouraged, just keep learning and practicing.”
Once students understand the concepts of a fight, they can become better prepared for the fight and gain confidence.
“A big portion of the training is understanding what happens in a fight and what a fight is like,” Sweeney said. “There are a lot of misconceptions due to movies, seeing an untrained fighter, or watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Real fights are not like that, fights go to the ground very fast and tend not to last too long. Fights are very fast and violent, and can catch a lot of people off guard.”
The class builds the students strengths, and test their weaknesses, making sure that those in the class are coming to better themselves.
“I've learned that when you're in a fight you shouldn't waste energy if you don't have to,” Moore said. “In that situation, it’s sometimes more productive to think about your options than it is to flail or panic. It’s forced me to learn new things and to approach self-defense in a different way. I feel safer since taking this class.”
The confidence and skill to defend yourself is important and being prepared is key. The opportunity to learn is available at RAF Mildenhall through the combative training class. The classes are offered Monday through Friday at 5 p.m.in building 614.