Army Combatives

This is sexy Combatives hair-- after being punched repeatedly. :)

 

I volunteered to go to Army Combatives Level 1 this week. It teaches hand to hand combat. Now, if you know anything about me, this is shocking that I volunteered for this class.

 

If there were 2 things I could take out of the Army FOR GOOD, they would be 3 to 5 second rushes and combatives. I loathe those two things.

 

So why would you volunteer to go, you ask? Promotion points. Combatives level 1 is worth 4 points. I thought it would be nice to have 4 more points, so what the heck, I'll go.

 

I'm not going to lie. I've done some things in the Army that have taken every ounce of my strength,  my energy and my will to finish. I have "found my heart" on more than one occasion to push through something so physically awful that tears were close behind. This combatives class is the most physically straining and challenging thing I have ever done in the Army to date. Laugh if you want to, all you giant buff dudes who thought Combatives level 1 was a joke. I am no athlete. I never have claimed such a thing! So this was a big deal for me.

 

My body has been so sore from rolling, getting slapped, punched, being tossed around and doing drills that are otherwise out of the ordinary for me, that I have had to actually yell out while doing basic human movements to get through the pain. Just sitting on the toilet causes my legs so much pain that I don't even want to go. Every time I'd move in my sleep, I'd wake up; my body was in so much pain!

 

The whole time I was being physically torchered in this class, I was convinced this was not worth 4 promotion points and that I was a fool to believe this would be a quick way to earn 4 points. I am not a quitter, and I wanted to quit! 4 points just wasn't worth the physical pain I was going through!

 

I am a very passive person and have never been in a physical fight. Well, this week I found out what it feels like to be slapped across the face as hard as my opponent could. I learned what it's like to be choked out until I passed out. And I learned what it was like to take an uppercut and to be pounded repeatedly in my legs, body and head by gloved fists worn by a 310lb man.

 

ONE of my bruise clusters on my thigh.

 

I am so GLAD this week is over. I graduated successfully. And I got my measly 4 points. But mostly, I'm proud of myself for working through something so physically challenging and not quitting or being so weak that I had to quit. So really, the 4 points are a bonus to the confidence boost I received this week.

 

And I still hate Combatives.