FORT BENNING, Ga., (Feb. 3 2016) -- The U.S. Army Combatives Course opened the doors to its facilities in the Briant Wells Field house Jan. 25 to increase training opportunities for Soldiers that are interested in learning, or advancing their martial arts skills.
"We're opening the doors to Briant Wells (Fieldhouse) to Soldiers, not just for program of instruction, but for non-POI events as well in order to help Soldiers gain confidence in their fighting skills," said Lt. Col. Ken Reed, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment commander.
As of now, the gym is open for Soldiers to use during physical training hours Monday through Friday from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and during lunch hours Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for open mat Army Combatives training. Beginning Feb. 8, there will be additional training times in the evenings from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Staff Sgt. Jose Ramirez, a U.S. Army Combatives Course instructor, said that the instruction offered is good for physical fitness, but they also provide the self-defense skills tailored for real-life situations.
Instruction offered will include combatives, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - which will also offer a belting system - boxing and kickboxing.
"We finally have the right crew in place where we can teach not just Army Combatives, but we can expose Soldiers to Jiu-Jistu, boxing, wrestling - all of which we're doing to help Soldiers gain confidence in their fighting skills," Reed said.
Programs will be tailored to offer everyone from beginners to the more experienced participants for valuable training opportunities.
"Our intent is to help out as many people as we can by giving them the skills necessary to defend themselves in any situation and also develop good physical fitness and that warrior mindset that Soldiers and dependents should have," Ramirez said.
The program will initially be focused on bringing in Soldiers, but may eventually be open to the wider community of Family members, DA civilians, and possibly even the greater martial arts community.
"We want to produce smarter, faster, more precise, and more lethal Soldiers and we genuinely believe that teaching Combatives, teaching a fighting skill is one way to approach that," Reed said.
For information, Soldiers can contact the Combatives Course at 706-545-5777.
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