The Road to Master Combatives Trainers Course

The Road to Master Combatives Trainers Course
6 years ago in basic training, our drill sergeants had us write down three goals that we wanted to accomplish in the Army. The first thing I put down was to become a combatives instructor. 6 years late I have finally accomplished that goal.

It was significantly more difficult to accomplish that goal that I had originally thought. In May 2013 I graduated Infantry OSUT and joined the Illinois National Guard as a freshly minted and highly motivated PFC (I even got a Sergeant Major certificate of achievement for motivation my first month in 😂) In November 2013 I won the Heavyweight division of the Illinois state combatives tournament after two 10-minute rounds, that was mostly me being punched in the face repeatedly. That win was the last fight of the day and the fight that gave my squadron the team points to beat the rest of the state out and secure the team title. The Army's heavyweight division is 205lbs and up with no limit. I weigh in between 205-210lbs which has meant that most of the people that I've competed against have been 40-60lbs heavier than me. Either because of my team needing a heavyweight or not wanting to get molly-whomped by my older brother Chad in the light heavyweight, I've almost always competed in that division.

My Unit's reward for me for the win was getting to attend BCC (The Army's basic combatives course and the first level of certification) in January of 2014.

At the end of 2014, my squadron sent me back to compete again, this time though as my company's combatives coach and squadron's co-coach. I lost this year in the finals by a Kimura, but my team came out in 1st place again.

In 2015 my unit wanted to send me to the second level of combatives certification of TCC, (Tactical Combatives Course) but I had moved and transferred to the North Carolina's National Guard and had to drop the school date as a result.


I was really disappointed to find out that North Carolina was lacking any type of combatives program, and also lacked any interest in the program (Something I hope to drastically change now that I've graduated CMTC!). Although we didn't have a formal combatives program, the soldiers didn't lack any enthusiasm for training. We sparred whenever we could, mats were preferable, but we pulled out Bradley tarps in the desert of Idaho and New Mexico, or just rolled around in the grass or dirt when those weren't an option. Soldiers are warriors, and warriors love testing themselves against each other in any fashion. Combatives I've found though is one that they are particularly fond of.

In December of 2015 I entered into the All-Armed Combatives tournament on Fort Bragg that was open to service members of any branch. I had taken a long hiatus from JiuJitsu because of work and college. I found that this venue had drawn in a dramatically higher level of competition than I had experienced at the state level, and lost both of my matches. The really cool thing though was that this was the first time that my brother Chad and I were in the same bracket at a competition. I watched almost every one of his wrestling matches over two years in high school, and it was really really cool to have both our names on that bracket sheet. He even went on to win the whole thing by a quick TKO.

That loss actually re-ignited my passion for training and was when I went from training here and there to an everyday type of commitment to this whole JiuJitsu thing.

In 2016 I won what was my favorite combatives tournament at the Fort Bragg open in the Heavyweight division. This was a highlight one because it came after dedicating myself to training and I won all of my matches by submission with my brother watching. It was also a highlight because it's always fun as a National Guard soldier to beat out the full-timers at something 😉.

December of 2016 I re-entered into the All-Armed Forces combatives tournament. I took a loss in the intermediate rounds but won the next match to make it on to the finals and compete for 3rd. Going into the tournament, I told my brother that there's one guy I didn't want to fight, and that was SSG Brown. At the time a combatives instructor on Fort Bragg, JiuJitsu purple belt, amateur MMA fighter, and a scary looking guy that weighed in at 260lbs. I found myself in the cage standing across from that same guy, and thought "I'm going to die in here" when I heard the pin drop in the cage's gate. I lost that match by an armbar from guard, but it was a thrilling and unforgettable experience for my first time in the cage. It's funny how the closer you feel to dying, the more alive you feel.  I took 4th that time in the heavyweight division and Chad took 2nd place in the light heavyweight division, even though he had been off the mats for over a year doing Army training.

In December 2017 I made another appearance at the All-Armed forces, this time without Chad and in the light heavyweight division. It was funny, competing in my actual weight class didn't help me at all, and I finished 5th that year. Losing on points to a wrestler in the grappling rounds, and my next match a later match in the intermediates. That intermediate match was eye opening though because it was painfully apparent how different a JiuJitsu match is once you add in striking. As much as my submission grappling skills had progressed over time, I got caught with a flurry of punches that wreaked havoc on my JiuJitsu game and resulted in a loss by referee decision.

In the spring of 2018, I became frustrated that after four years I still hadn't progressed in combatives certifications. Tired of asking my unit for a slot to TCC, I took matters into my own hands. I took two weeks of vacation from work and walked in on a class taking place on Fort Bragg. Something that was possible because of frequent competitions and showing up to lunchtime open mats on base. I'm extremely grateful for that cadre letting me join because otherwise my certification progression would probably have been delayed by years. I might have gotten into a bit of trouble for doing that, but it showed the leadership at my unit that I was serious about this combatives thing.

After a long Hiatus from competing in combatives, November of 2018, I made a four-hour drive down to Fort Lewis, WA from Whidbey Island. I slept in my car that Friday night in a Walmart parking lot, woke up, slammed a monster and jumped into the Ghost brigade's standard rules, (submission grappling only) open weight class tournament. I ended up taking first place and received probably the most fantastic first place prize ever, a whole entire cooked turkey!

I don't know if it was the constant competition, frequent nagging 😝, or deployment funds that finally opened the opportunity, but several months ago I got the phone call that I had been approved to go to the Master Combatives Trainer Course in June. On the phone call I was all "Yes sir, thank you very much for the opportunity sir, I greatly appreciate it sir." Then as soon as I hung up I screamed, threw my phone across the room, and started happily dancing around, my coworkers staring at me in shocked bewilderment 😆

I'll be honest, I kinda didn't believe it was actually going to happen. There have been a number of times I have prepared for something for the Army, only to be let down when it didn't materialize. I told only a couple of close friends about it and started driving across the country in May half expecting to show up and be told to turn around. June 3rd though I found myself doing push-ups back at Fort Benning for the entrance PT test to the course and it finally allowed myself to believe that those years of hard work had finally paid off. All that was left was to cross the finish line of the course without a concussion or failing any of the tests!