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Joint combatives training brings Airmen, Soldiers together

  • Published
  • By By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  For Army Sergeant Kristopher Woodworth, deployed here from Fort Bragg, N.C., mixed martial arts is a passion.

A group of deployed Airmen and Soldiers benefited from Woodworth's love for the sport and gained valuable training along the way during a weeklong Modern Army Combatives Program course at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia.

Woodworth, a patriot system maintainer for the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and a handful of Army-certified MACP instructors gave the group a week's worth of grappling, arm bars and choke-holds in the process of teaching the level-one certification course.

"I decided to hold this class because I think all service members should be offered the opportunity to get realistic training because it gets realistic results," the Anoka, Minn. native said. "I live and breathe this stuff!"

Woodworth is a level three MACP instructor and holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and trains in muay thai and kick boxing. This course teaches basic ground technique and how to maintain a dominant position, get simple submissions, gain a clinch and subdue a striking opponent, he said.

The class here was mostly attended by Airmen, but there were a few Soldiers in the mix as well. The Soldiers get eight promotion points for completing the 40-hour class.

"At some point all Army has this training, but it's a perishable skill," Woodworth said. "For the Air Force, they really had no idea what they were getting into. Surprisingly, they really loved it. They want more. They can't get enough. They are taking instruction well and retaining information."

Though the Airmen might have come into the course not knowing what to expect, they soon realized it was a physically demanding week of training.

"It's a good challenge -- very demanding physically and mentally," said Senior Airman April Spilde, a marksman with the 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. "You quickly learn to get over fear of being choked, hit and kicked."

The course was mostly male, but Spilde was joined by several other females.

"It's equal opportunity here," she said. "We get treated just like the men. We are expected to dominate no matter what."

For the Soldiers it was an opportunity to train alongside Airmen in what is normally an Army training course.

"It was my first time taking this class to get certified in a classroom environment," said Spc. Ryan Bradway, a 3-4 ADAR patriot switchboard operator and maintainer. "It's good training; very intense. We are learning a lot of things. It's definitely different than normal Army training. It's different having mostly Air Force in the class, but it's good to do training with the other services. This is the most interaction I've ever had with the Air Force."

Some of the students had previous training in other martial arts or contact sports, such as wrestling, but this training is geared to prepare them for survival, Woodworth said

"Some of these guys have other disciplines, but it's not realistic if they get in a fight on the street," Woodworth said. "This is self defense and it's proven that it works. Grappling is a realistic technique."

Staff Sgt. Melissa Aubrey, the NCO in charge of operations for the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, is a black belt in taekwondo and said this training helped her become a well-rounded fighter.

"This class is great for me. Taekwondo is an art based on standing, so I don't have much experience on the ground," Aubrey said. "I would recommend this course. We are in the military and I think everyone should have fighting training."

The Airmen taking the course see a practical use for the training.

"This will help me in my job. Hand-to-hand tactics will help in the event of hostile contact, and it's amazing conditioning," Spilde said. "It's a challenge to control your mind and breathing while trying to take down your opponent. It's your life or theirs and you do what it takes to survive. "

The class honor graduate was Staff Sgt. Manasseh Blancaflor, from the special events section of the 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, who won an elimination tournament on the last day to gain the honor. Blancaflor won the title bout by tap-out using the triangle choke.

To Blancaflor, the victory means that everyone in the course worked hard and learned from the instruction.

"The system works if you do everything they teach," he said.

Though Blancaflor has trained in wrestling since the 6th grade, the MACP course taught him some new tricks.

"In wrestling you never want to be on your back, but with jiujitsu there are many moves from that position," he said. "The curriculum was very practical and useful."

Woodworth said he plans to hold more training classes in the near future and has been getting requests from many Airmen to continue the program.

"This has been one the most joyful classes I've ever taught," Woodworth said. "They want to be here. They all volunteered to be here."

At the conclusion of the event, the only question asked by the participants was when they could start level two training.