| Although formalized instructions in hand to hand | | | | "Let's be damned sure that no boy's ghost will |
| combat became a paramount concern to military | | | | ever say, 'If your training program had only done |
| experts around the world during the Second | | | | its job.'" |
| World War, a person interested in the | | | | Doing the job -- getting the job done effectively |
| development of hand to hand combat techniques | | | | -- included intensive hand to hand combat training. |
| and training in the 20th century actually needs to | | | | Training in the ways and means of hand to hand |
| step back in time to World War I. Indeed, it was | | | | combat became crucial. Ultimate military success |
| during World War I -- the infamous Great War -- | | | | and defeat of the enemy might well depend on |
| that trench warfare and hand to hand combat | | | | how well soldiers were trained in hand to hand |
| became viciously intense and forever changed the | | | | combat during the Second World War. |
| face of modern military combat. | | | | Interestingly, in the United States (and in other |
| During World War I there were more than 40,000 | | | | Allied nations), when it came to training |
| kilometers -- more than 24,000 miles -- of | | | | servicemen for hand to hand combat, a great |
| trenches along the Western front alone. It was | | | | deal of time was spent implementing what were |
| within and around these trenches that some of | | | | essentially martial arts techniques and practices as |
| the most brutal and horrific hand to hand combat | | | | well as submission fighting skills. These hand to |
| in all of history occurred. In the aftermath of the | | | | hand combat techniques largely were of Oriental |
| conflict, the leaders of many of the countries | | | | origin; many of these techniques were created or |
| involved in the Great War concluded that their | | | | refined in Imperial Japan, the nation that ultimately |
| own forces simply were not well prepared when | | | | pulled the pin that brought the United States fully |
| it came to hand to hand combat. As a result, | | | | onto the World War II battlefields in both Europe |
| many countries moved to implement very | | | | and the Pacific. |
| specific hand to hand combat training regimens | | | | Since hand to hand combat instruction became an |
| within their basic military training programs. | | | | institutionalized part of the basic training regimen, |
| As World War II emerged on the horizon, | | | | learning hand to hand combat principles and |
| countries including the United States and United | | | | techniques has remained an elementary part of |
| Kingdom focused a great deal of time and energy | | | | basic training regimens the world over. Indeed, |
| in military training on hand to hand combat | | | | even in the early 21st century, hand to hand |
| techniques. In point of fact, at some point during | | | | combat training programs are well ingrained and |
| this period in the United States, the motto that | | | | major components of basic training regimens |
| was emblazoned on a Marine training facility was: | | | | across the globe. |