5. Buy Decent Gear Not to say that the gear makes the man but if you are training for combat the stakes are going to be very high. Using gear that is cheap and poorly made is a recipe for disaster. Cheap holsters are a danger the everyone around you and can lead to a loss of sensitive equipment. Poorly made uniforms and packs are just going to need replacement early on. If you are responsible to buy the gear you use it is highly recommended you buy top of the line made in the U.S. gear that you can trust. Besides the obvious having good well maintained gear shows other you respect the fact that you are a professional.

4. Be Humble No one knows everything there is to know. The point of training is to get better at whatever you do. Without a humble attitude you will spend so much time wrapped up in your ego that you miss all the opportunities to master your craft. Some of the best learning opportunities are stories of mistakes that have been made, sharing these to illustrate points in training will be invaluable to new guys on the team and will help develop report. The point of combat training is not competition but the development of combat skills for the battlefield so stow all the smoke and mirrors and get down to training.

3. Keep a training Journal When you have the chance to go to a combat training school or get the whole team out and do some good training is few and far between, when you learn something new write it down and keep track of what and why you learned it. I see guys go to learn the same thing year after year because in between training iterations they forget what they have learned because they don’t use those skills daily and they haven’t written it down. A journal will also act to help you teach down the road; it can act as a training plan for combat training you can go to so that your experiences can be useful to the new members of the team.

2. Get it Done Faster On my team almost everything is done on the clock. From setting out claymore mines to plotting routes, make sure you are doing it as efficiently as possible. The mantra “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” leaves out the most important aspect of the drill, which is “Speed is a product of the economy of motion.” Wasting time doing something that doesn’t get the job done should be skipped all together. Shooting is improved greatly with emphasis on speed. You may be able to sit on the 10 meter line and keyhole a target but, in the real world there is the quick and the dead. Make a game of competing with the guys on your team it will increase active participation and help develop important skills.

1. Learn to Say “I don’t know” In a combat training environment encourage discussion and tell others when you aren’t sure of the answers but, once asked it is important that you find the correct answer. Getting proficient at finding the correct answers will develop even the most experienced combat trainer. Make the gathering of the refferance material part of your expectation for yourself. By being approachable for questions you develop your leadership to your peers and subordinates. Besides nothing is more annoying than a know it all.

Abel Aragon is a special forces operator and Army Training instructor to read more about Army Training visit his blog. To watch some videos about Army Training click links.

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Filed under: Martial Arts

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