Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a generic term often referring to weaponless fighting conducted from a military based point of view. The phrase "hand-to-hand" indicates unarmed combat but often allows for the consideration of weapons usage and implementation.
Close combat Close combat has two close meanings which sometimes overlap; close quarters battle and hand to hand combat is the common term for combat Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition within close range. It may include lethal and nonlethal methods across a "spectrum of violence" or within a "continuum of force Conflict escalation describes the escalation of a conflict to a more destructive, confrontational, painful, or otherwise "less comfortable" level; in particular, it is concerned with how persons or forces can be controlled or subdued in conflict. In systems theory, this kind of behaviour is modeled as positive feedback" as established by rules of engagement. Unarmed close combat is sometimes called combatives Combatives is a United States Army term for hand-to-hand combat technique. It encompasses various hybrid martial arts that incorporate fighting techniques from conventional martial arts and combat sports. Unlike combat sports, combatives fighting systems usually have limited sport application, because they often focus on simple self-defense and. Close combat with weapons may be called close quarter battle Close Quarters Battle or close quarters combat (CQC) is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat or fighting with hand weapons such as swords or knives. In the typical CQB scenario, the attackers try a very fast, violent takeover of a vehicle at the squad level. Current NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO (pronounced /ˈneɪtoʊ/ NAY-toe; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord ), also called the "(North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, terminology is to use MOUT for higher-level strategic and tactical considerations of urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain or MOOTW for "military operations other than war" such as peacekeeping Peacekeeping is defined by the United Nations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking or disaster relief.
Combatives Combatives is a United States Army term for hand-to-hand combat technique. It encompasses various hybrid martial arts that incorporate fighting techniques from conventional martial arts and combat sports. Unlike combat sports, combatives fighting systems usually have limited sport application, because they often focus on simple self-defense and is a term used to describe various hybrid martial arts Hybrid martial arts refer to martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts, which incorporate techniques from several different martial arts Martial arts or fighting arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of combat. Martial arts all have similar objectives: to physically defeat other persons or defend oneself or others from physical threat. Some martial arts are also linked to beliefs systems such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism or Shinto while others follow and combat sports A Combat sport, also known as a Combative sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat. Boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling, puroresu, mixed martial arts and fencing are examples of combat sports.
Definitions
As defined by U.S. Army FM 3-25.150 Combatives:
- 1-1. Hand-to-hand combat- Hand-to-hand combat is an engagement between two or more persons with or without hand-held weapons such as knives, sticks, or projectile weapons within the range of physical contact.
- 1-2. Combatives- Combatives are the techniques and tactics useful to Soldiers involved in Hand-to-hand combat. Proficiency in Combatives is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern Soldier.
History
| Warfare War is a behaviour pattern exhibited by many primate species including humans, and also found in many ant species. The primary feature of this behaviour pattern is a certain state of organized violent conflict that is engaged in between two or more separate social entities. Such a conflict is always an attempt at altering either the psychological
Military history Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships
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Eras
Prehistoric Prehistoric warfare is war conducted in the era before writing, and before the establishments of large social entities like states. Historical warfare sets in with the standing armies of Bronze Age Sumer, but prehistoric warfare may be studied in some societies at much later dates
Ancient Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe and the Near East, the end of antiquity is often equated with the fall of Rome in 476. In China, it can also be seen as ending in the 5th century, with the growing role of mounted warriors needed to counter the ever-growing
Medieval Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. In Europe, technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery. In terms of fortification, the Middle Ages saw the emergence of the castle in Europe and
Gunpowder Early Modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive. Gunpowder was first invented in China and then later spread to the Middle East. It then found its way into Eastern Europe following the invasions of the Mongols, who had employed Chinese gunpowder-based
Industrial Industrial warfare is a period in the history of warfare ranging roughly from the early Nineteenth Century and the start of the Industrial Revolution to the beginning of the Atomic Age, which saw the rise of nation-states, capable of creating and equipping large armies and navies through the process of industrialization. The era featured mass-
Modern Modern warfare, although present in every historical period of military history, is generally used to refer to the concepts, methods and technologies that have come into use during and after the Second World War and the Korean War. The concepts and methods have assumed more complex forms of the 19th and early-20th century antecedents largely due
Battlespace Battlespace is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea and space to achieve military goals. It includes the environment, factors and conditions that must be understood to successfully apply combat power, protect the force,
Air Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift. Developing from unpowered observation hot air balloons in the 18th century and even older kite, aerial warfare has become a high-technology affair that
Information Information warfare is the use and management of information in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. Information warfare may involve collection of tactical information, assurance that one's own information is valid, spreading of propaganda or disinformation to demoralize the enemy and the public, undermining the quality of opposing
Land Land warfare, sometimes also called ground combat, is the term used to describe military operations eventuating in combat that take place predominantly on the land surface of the planet
Sea Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers
Space Space warfare is combat that takes place in outer space, i.e. outside the atmosphere. Space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth, as well as space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites
Weapons A weapon is an instrument used for the purpose of causing harm or damage to people, animals or structures. Weapons are used in hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat and range from simple implements like clubs and spears to complicated modern machines such as intercontinental ballistic missiles. One who possesses or carries a weapon
Armor Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armoured warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units
Artillery Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons. These engines comprise specialised devices which use some form of stored energy to
Biological Biological warfare , also known as germ warfare, is the use of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, other disease-causing biological agents, or the toxins produced by them as biological weapons (or bioweapons)
Cavalry Cavalry , were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest (after infantry and chariotry) and the most mobile of the combat arms. A soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman or trooper
Chemical Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together are the three tenets of (NBC), the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical. Neither of these fall under the term conventional weapons which are primarily
Electronic Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly unimpeded access to, the EM spectrum. EW can be applied
Infantry Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies,
Nuclear A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount of energy as approximately 20,000 tons of TNT. The
Psychological Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PSYOP), have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda. Various techniques are used, by any set of groups, and aimed to influence a target audience's value systems, belief systems, emotions,
Tactics Military tactics, the art of organizing an army, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics
Attrition warfare Attrition warfare is a military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and matériel
Guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army
Maneuver warfare Maneuver warfare, also spelled manoeuvre warfare, is the term used by military theorists for a concept of warfare that advocates attempting to defeat an adversary by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption brought about by movement. Its concepts are reflected by a number of strategies seen throughout military history
Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity
Total war Total war is a war of unlimited scope in which a belligerent engages in a mobilization of all available resources at their disposal, whether human, industrial, agricultural, military, natural, technological, or otherwise, in order to entirely destroy or render beyond use their rival's capacity to continue resistance. The practice of total war has
Trench warfare Trench warfare is a form of warfare in which both combatants occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops were largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and were substantially sheltered from artillery. It has become a byword for stalemate in conflict, with a slow wearing down of opposing forces. Trench warfare
Conventional warfare Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opposing army. It is normally fought using conventional weapons, not chemical, biological,
Unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare is the opposite of conventional warfare. Where conventional warfare is used to reduce an opponent's military capability, unconventional warfare is an attempt to achieve military victory through acquiescence, capitulation, or clandestine support for one side of an existing conflict
Asymmetric warfare Asymmetric warfare is war between belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly, or whose strategy or tactics differ significantly
Counter-insurgency Counter-insurgency is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognized government of the territory in which the conflict takes place. In the main, the insurgents seek to destroy or erase the political authority of the defending authorities in a population they seek to control, and the counter-
Network-centric warfare Network-centric warfare, now commonly called network-centric operations, is a new military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense
Cold war A cold war or cold warfare is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, propaganda, acts of espionage or proxy wars waged by surrogates. The surrogates are typically states that are "satellites" of the conflicting nations, i.e.,
Proxy war While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed. It is hoped that these groups can strike an opponent without leading to full-scale war
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Close combat is the most ancient form of fighting known. A majority of cultures have their own particular histories related to close combat, and their own methods of practice. There are many varieties within the martial arts, including boxing and wrestling. Other variations include the gladiator spectacles of ancient Rome and medieval tournament events such as jousting.
Military organizations have always taught some sort of unarmed combat for conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Soldiers in China were trained in unarmed combat as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1022 BC to 256 BC).[1]
Despite major technological changes such as the use of gunpowder, the machine gun in the Russo-Japanese War and the trench warfare of World War I, hand-to-hand fighting methods such as bayonet remained common in modern military training, though the importance of formal training declined after 1918. During the Second World War, bayonet fighting was often not taught at all among the major combatants;[citation needed] German rifles by 1944 were even being produced without bayonet lugs.
Sometimes called close combat, Close Quarters Combat, or CQC, World War II era American combatives were largely codified by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes. Also known for their eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, Fairbairn and Sykes had worked in the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) and helped teach the British armed forces [3] a quick and effective and simple technique for fighting with or without weapons in melee situations. Similar training was provided to British Commandos, the Devil's Brigade, OSS, U.S. Army Rangers and Marine Raiders. Fairbairn at one point called this system Defendu and published on it, as did his American colleague Rex Applegate. Fairbairn often referred to the technique as "gutter fighting," a term which Applegate used, along with "the Fairbairn system." In practice, such military systems are the fruit of dozens and even hundreds of dedicated instructors and personnel, known and unknown.
Other combatives systems having their origins in the modern military include European Unifight, Chinese Sanshou, Soviet/Russian sambo and Rukopaschnij Boj, Israeli Kapap and Krav Maga.
The prevalence and style of combatives training often changes based on perceived need, and even in times of peace, special forces and commando units tend to place higher emphasis on close combat than most personnel, as will paramilitary units such as police SWAT teams.
De-emphasized in major militaries after World War II, insurgency conflicts such as the Vietnam War, low intensity conflict and urban warfare tend to encourage more attention to combatives. The general discipline of close-proximity fighting with weapons is often called Close Quarters Battle (CQB) at the platoon or squad level, or Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) at higher tactical levels.
The current Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) replaced the Marine Corps LINE combat system in 2002. Every Marine keeps a record book that records their training, There is a colored belt system similar to many Asian martial arts and advancement in MCMAP is not a requirement for promotions. Also in 2002, the U.S. Army adopted the Modern Army Combatives (MAC) program developed by Matt Larsen who was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, with the publishing of US Army field manual (FM 3-25.150) and the establishment of the US Army Combatives School at Ft Benning, Georgia. MAC draws from systems such as Brazilian Jiujitsu, Muay Thai and Kali which could be trained "live" and can be fully integrated into current Close Quarters Battle tactics and training methods. As of April 2008, for the first time in US Army history, soldiers who graduate from an official Army course can earn an MOS identifier, H3B and H4B for level III and IV MACP certification respectively.[2]
The US Air Force adopted MAC as its hand-to-hand combat system in early 2008.[3]
Military instructors
At the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario officer cadets in first year take an introduction to Unarmed Combat course. In third year, courses are offered in Unarmed Combat (Grappling), Unarmed Combat (Kicking) and Unarmed Combat (Hands). Unarmed Combat (Grappling) covers the response to various attacks and situations and ground fighting. The Unarmed Combat (Kicking) course covers kicking distance, kicking targets, the use of front and rear kicks and mobility. The Unarmed Combat (Hands) course covers hand distance and targets, and the use of single and multiple strikes with the hands. [4]
Military instructors and Civilian instructors
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Most civilian instructors in hand-to-hand combat train police, martial artists or combat sport athletes, but some may train civilians for private self-defense.
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