combatives

How to stab someone with your rifle like a Marine

The technique of using a bayonet is a somewhat lost art out of military circles, probably for the obvious reason that it’s a bit impractical for civilians. That being said, I’m going to teach you anyway because it’s cool and who knows? There could be some cross relevance to it in relation to close quarters […]

Slashing versus stabbing, knife tactics and their relevance

In combat marksmanship, shot placement is incredibly important and more often than not it is the determining factor in lethality. No matter the caliber of bullet or model of firearm, the location on the body where the round strikes determines how much damage is done with the exception of scenario-modifying circumstances. It is the same […]

Watch: Practice blades and unique knife training with Kyle Defoor

Kyle Defoor is one of the few, if not the only firearms instructor that incorporates blade work and combatives into his training. We’re not talking about folding knives clipped to your pocket either. These are concealed fixed blades with one purpose. To defend your life with. Watch as Kyle goes over the knives he uses and a simple knife training method for practicing your […]

Crate Club Neck Knife – A discrete slasher

Maybe it’s just me, but the tactical world and tactical industry are starting to trend towards discrete and concealed carry. I’m in no way against this, in fact, I rather enjoy it. It’s fascinating to see the industry change and evolve into one that’s more friendly to concealed carry and civilian carry. Crate Club is […]

Dual weapons deployment: The future of combatives

Not every encounter or engagement is going to be a static target 25 yards away. Most attacks happen within what’s called the combative bubble. If you were to draw a circle around yourself that was 7 yards from your centerline, that is your combative bubble. Anything that happens within this 7 yards will more likely […]

Combat blades and the Gerber Ghoststrike

Gerber Ghoststrike (Left), SOCP Dagger (Middle), SOCP Trainer (Right). I’m fond of the SOCP Dagger. It’s light, sturdy, and it has a great sheath. It falls into the category of an effective combat dagger. Although one problem with the SOCP dagger is that in many States in the US it is classified as a dagger […]

Street Fighting | The Essentials

If I had to condense my thoughts and advice on street fighting into one brief outline, it would look something like the following. What is important? Believe an assault could happen to you or a loved one at any time or any place. Prepare yourself mentally and physically. Train by practicing real scenarios and situations that have happened repeatedly through […]

Watch: Dual weapons deployment

Not every encounter or engagement is going to be a static target 25 yards away. Most attacks happen within what’s called the combatives bubble. If you were to draw a circle around yourself that was seven yards from your centerline, that is your combatives bubble. Anything that happens within this seven yards will more likely […]

So you want to learn Combatives?

Damian Ross is a lifelong martial artist, wrestler, bouncer, and fighter who studied under Carl Cestari who was a teacher of the William Fairbairn / Eric Sykes method of military combatives. This system of combatives was developed prior to World War II for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was the predecessor to the […]

Hand-to-hand combat for SOF (Pt. 5): 1980s and ’90s

Note: This is part of a series. You can read parts one, two, three, and four, here. The late ’70s and ’80s was a time of expansion and experimentation as U.S. SOF units digested the lessons of Vietnam and reveled in the Reagan presidency, which meant increased funding for all of the U.S. military, and especially special […]

Hand-to-hand combat of SOF (Pt. 2): World War I

Note: This is part of a series. Read part one here. At the onset World War I, there was very little in the way of hand-to-hand training, or special operations forces for that matter. The only notable guerrilla forces during the war were led by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and the German, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, and […]