By Kevin Underwood
U.S. Army Special Forces has five basic missions - Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action, Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense and Counter Terrorism. There is, to be sure, cross over in the tactics and techniques involved in the execution of these missions. There are also specific tasks that are only associated with certain missions. Counter Terrorism missions, more so than the others, require specialized training, conditioning, and equipment. The Special Forces have adapted and developed techniques for the execution of this highly specialized mission.
Anything in nature, if it is to survive, must adapt to its environment. So is it also with the fighting arts. Combative techniques, like equipment and tactics, must be modified to support the successful accomplishment of a mission. Datu Kelly Worden, Filipino Arts practitioner and Combative Instructor for 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), has been assigned the task of developing a system of techniques that will address the missions that Special Forces soldiers may conduct. Recently, I joined Datu Worden and a detachment from 1st Special Forces Group during a Counter Terrorism (CT) training session designed to place soldiers in scenarios where the use of combative arts would assist in mission accomplishment.
Extremely professional, the Special Forces team members were all business once the training started. The Team Sergeant walked the team through an entry into a shooting house, explaining the possible danger areas where a “Bad Guy” might be able to grab a soldier’s arm or weapon. Datu Worden would suggest possible techniques to immobilize or disengage from the assailant. The team would then practice the technique several times before entering at full speed. I felt that I was witnessing something very special. Here were world-class operators, SF warriors and Datu Worden, a martial artist and warrior himself, sharing their knowledge and completely open to the input of all participants. No egos getting in the way, only professionals going about their business.
The Team Sergeant said there are basically two instances where team members might find themselves in jeopardy of being grabbed and taken down. The first is upon entry into a room and the second while flex cuffing the remaining personnel after the assault. He went on to say that while the team conducts vigorous weight training and other physical activity to ensure that they will not be manhandled by anyone during an assault, combative techniques that allow hostages to be maneuvered out of the line of fire without harming them or going to the ground are worth their weight in gold.
The team staged several different scenarios, walking through each one, pointing out the subtle differences that require a change in techniques. Scenarios included an enemy attempting to control a team member or his weapon, a hostage blocking the line of fire, and two men attempting to flex cuff an individual. The team sergeant noted, “Every situation is different, in one instance you might have a friendly, overjoyed at being liberated, trying to hug you and blocking your line of fire, at another time you may have a bad guy come at you from a blind spot and attempt to control your weapon and take you out of action.” The team members told me that when they enter a room everyone is considered a threat and must be dealt with accordingly.
When asked about Datu Worden’s contribution to the training the Team Sergeant replied, “Worden’s ability to adapt combative techniques to a variety of situations and environments is uncanny.” Unlike many combative techniques that require the use of both hands to control and maneuver an opponent, most of the combative techniques used in a CT Mission must be executed while maintaining your firing hand on the weapon at all times. One team member said, “You can’t stop to hug a hostage while there is still a threat in the room, so you have to be able to maneuver the individual without doing serious physical harm to him; that’s where these techniques and concepts we are learning will help us.” “The most important thing that I have learned today is that there are techniques that I can use to maneuver and immobilize someone without ever taking my finger off the trigger,” another team member remarked.
There was, however, a learning curve for all participants. Datu Worden has had to learn the specifics of the Special Forces’ missions and then apply combative techniques effectively and seamlessly in order to enhance mission accomplishment. Worden has had to change his mindset when teaching th e Green Berets; “I have had to put myself in their place and remove myself from the civilian mindset as it pertains to martial arts.” He smiled when asked what he thought of the Special Forces soldiers ability to learn the combative concepts he is teaching, “These guys are all in solid condition…I’ve never once saw one of them reach for a band-aid. They are smart, tough and quickly internalize everything that I present.”
Team members also had much to say when it came to the instruction that they were receiving from Datu Worden. “I’ve never learned so much, so quickly, from anyone in my life,” One team member stated. Another said, “He moves us along quickly from one tool to the next never letting us stagnate or get bored. At first, I couldn’t see the line that connected all the dots, but when I did, Bang! It all became crystal clear.” Worden echoed some of the remarks made by the soldiers, “I want to set their minds free, I teach them the concepts of tool development and then let them loose. It’s really a feeling of a ccomplishment when one of the soldiers comes back to me and shows me a variation on a technique that he believes might be more effective. It shows that he has taken the concept and run with it. He’s thinking for himself.”
At the conclusion of the training, equipment was packed away, vehicles were loaded, hands were shaken, and as I stood alone at the empty site I realized that Datu Worden and his concepts on combatives were just one more stop in the U.S. Army Special Forces’ continuing pursuit in being the best of the best.
