To practice Military Combatives is a broad stroke understanding Martial Arts tactics. In Gunji Taiho Jutsu (GTJ), the second curriculum for students is the GTJ Military Combatives Core. We get very specific in our practice and training to focus on how to use stances, movement, offensive, and defensive techniques and strategies. The objectives are to teach as close as possible to Military Combatives programs in place; however, to build off this core to incorporate additional concepts and techniques that are useful for arresting technique. The results have been amazing in finding what we call bridging techniques that link Combatives systems and different Martial Arts.

One of the most important elements of the GTJ Military Striking Core curriculum is the stance work and using movement effectively. We have made progress in our system of taiho jutsu build off of and link the footwork strategy called the V-Step or the X-Step. This technique comes from Filipino Martial Arts (FMA)....

We were in our 5th or 6th week of Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas in 2015. The story I am going to tell occurred during BEAST Week. BEAST week was designed to challenge us both mentally and physically enduring long hours of physical training, combatives, and tactical skills tests. I will never forget the training night where I had to stand guard in the late hours of the night only to transition back to a cold, hard and stiff genuine US Army issue folding cot with an aluminum frame. This was the night I did not sleep because I was coughing and had the beginning of the flu. Many of us in the flight were sick as we caught it from another trainee. The next day we all met under a large roof area with open walls. The ground surface was small rocks and dirt. There was a stage with BEAST instructors on it. The topic of Air Force Combatives was next.

I can remember the instructor showing basic stance work, use of the M-16 training weapon for...