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380AEW Article

Soldiers teach combatives class at 380th AEW

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The word "surrender" does not exist in this dojo.

Mostly because Army Sgt. Kristopher Woodworth refuses to let his students give up. After all, his job is to teach people how to defend themselves in a fight.

Woodworth and his team of instructors held a five-day course March 5-9 for 24 Soldiers and Airmen deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. At the end of the 40-hours, each student learned a little more about self defense and was certified as a basic combatives instructor.

"What we teach gives people a great chance of survival if they're ever in a dangerous situation," Woodworth said.

Woodworth is a martial arts instructor, currently deployed as a maintainer with a Patriot air defense unit to the 380th AEW. A student of jiu jitsu growing up, Woodworth enrolled in the Army combatives program and became a certified instructor. With more than 280 hours of instructor training under his belt, he's been passing on his knowledge ever since to anyone with a desire to learn.

"When we found out they were advertising for anyone who wanted to attend the class, I was jumping up and down," said Airman 1st Class Christian Donner, a security forces defender and Houston native deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, U.K. "I wanted to learn this stuff because it's important to be able to protect yourself and the people you love."

During the course, students learned 18 different martial arts techniques like chokes, joint locks, takedowns and the principles of grappling, said Woodworth, an Anoka, Minn., native.

"The idea is to learn how to subdue someone without killing them," he explained. "This is an Army-wide program and we're happy to share what we know with anyone who wants to learn."

For Donner, the experience is one he'll take back home with him.

"I've learned a lot in this class; one minute you think you're doing fine and the next they have you in a choke hold," he said. "I'm glad they took the time to have this class. I hope they let me teach combatives when I get home. This is definitely stuff we can use on the job."