Crash Combat Third Edition

By Phil West

Expanded Third Edition: Crash Combat has been designed to give the serviceman a sound foundation in close combat even if only a few days have been allocated for such training.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781678195854

Phil West

Phil West is one of the UK’s best-known and longest established motorcycle journalists and authors. His thirty-plus years at the top of the profession has included being editor of leading magazines Bike and What Bike as well as creating and launching American Motorcycles and Biking Times. He was also Executive Editor at Motor Cycle News. As a freelancer his work has been published around the globe, in publications varying from Stuff to FHM and the Evening Standard and he remains a regular contributor to MCN, Bike, RiDE, Autotrader and others. He is also a prolific, successful author of motorcycling books.

Book preview

First Edition 2016

Second Edition 2020

Third Edition 3.1 2022

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Thank you.

Visit the blog at survive.phillosoph.com

It is the reader’s responsibility to train safely and observe any relevant local laws.

Neither the Author nor the Publisher are liable for any injuries or consequences that you may incur as a result of acting upon any information from this book.

Dedicated to those that choose to serve. May your leaders have wisdom worthy of your courage.

Also dedicated to my loyal friend Bernie, because I do read some of the books he lends me!

Introduction

The modern battlefield is dominated by tanks, artillery, air-power, guided weapons, machine guns and RPGs. Robotic weapons systems are seeing increasing use and are likely to become commonplace. In such a context one might reasonably ask:

Of what possible use are close combat techniques to the modern serviceman?

The quick answer is:

Just as much use as they always have been!

While some organisations prefer to concentrate on preparing for Major Theatre Wars (MTW), most modern conflicts are varieties of low-intensity warfare, local vendettas, guerrilla uprisings, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbance. Warfare is conducted not just on a military level, but also political, economic and informational levels. The serviceman may also be tasked with peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, disaster relief and other Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW). The modern serviceman will often have to interact with civil authorities, NGOs and civilians. Enemies may not wear uniforms and may be just metres away before they attack.

This book began when a friend lent me a novel. In the novel was a proposed military training program that would produce soldiers in about a week. No close combat training was included in this program, yet the idea got me thinking as to what should be taught on those lines if time was limited? Suppose I had under two days to teach a unit of recruits close combat. What would be taught? What topics should I make a priority?

The following work is an attempt to answer these questions and provide a brief but comprehensive course for the modern serviceman or woman.

The third edition of Crash Combat incorporates a considerable quantity of new content and techniques. The text has also been reformatted to make it more accessible. It is possible all of the topics cannot be covered within the time of a two-day course. If desired, sections such as those on kicking and machete may be saved for a third day of training.

There are only a finite number of ways to throw a punch or take out a sentry so some of the material within these pages may be familiar to readers of other manuals. Other sections, such a ginga and the Long Har Chuan drills are unique to this work, at least with respect to English language military publications.

Space and time constraints mean that some topics can only be covered briefly. Certain well-known techniques may not be mentioned at all. For example, I have not included the backfist strike. The hammer-fist can be used for the same striking angles, is more versatile and teaches movements that can be applied to using the butt of a baton, machete or other weapons. There is very little groundwork and grappling, not because this in not useful but because there is insufficient time in this course to gain sufficient aptitude. For a more expensive and comprehensive instruction and analysis of martial arts and self-defence please buy my book "Attack, Avoid, Survive. This book is not a condensed version of Attack, Avoid, Survive". It contains additional unique content.

In the following text I have attempted to follow the convention that weapon indicates a part of the body that can be used as a weapon, while Weapon indicates an inanimate, external physical object used for inflicting damage or pain.

English lacks a universally accepted neuter third person singular pronoun. For simplicity I have used the male pronoun since the majority of service members placed in combat are male. This should not be interpreted as a political statement on women in combat. It most certainly should not be taken to imply that the contents of this book are not equally relevant to both men and women. The author is very much in favour of more women taking a greater interest in defending themselves!

Also, in the interests of simplicity I have used the terms serviceman or student throughout this work.

To Kill, or Not to Kill?

This may seem an odd topic for a book on military close combat. Some people simply assume that the task of a soldier or marine is to kill or be killed. Actual servicemen will be aware that their duties are seldom so simple.

In some conflicts the enemy may be another serviceman much like yourself. His only crime is that like you, he loyally serves his country. In such a situation you may feel that morally it is sufficient to only take such measures as are needed to neutralize the threat. You may have to kill him, but if he is rendered unconscious you may hold off from a coup de grace. It is possible that such courtesies are a thing of the past. If your opponent is a terrorist, the enemy that lives to fight another day may kill dozens of innocent victims in the future.

Historically very few battlefields have been sterile. Forces have had to move through or interact with civilian populations before, after or even during battles. The smaller scale operations that are the most likely to be the mission of modern and future servicemen may often involve interaction with civilians. As the world population and population densities increase, sterile battlefields are likely to become even less common.

The civilians a serviceman might encounter may constitute a broad spectrum. Some may be sympathetic or friendly. Some will be openly or covertly hostile. Some will be indifferent and more concerned with making a living and looking after their loved ones. Some may be disguised enemy combatants or spies. The serviceman’s world is seldom black and white. An angry mob may have been fooled and manipulated by forces against their own best interests. They may have been a peaceful demonstration pulled into a conflict by just a few agitators. The car speeding towards a roadblock may be a panicked parent trying to get their injured child to hospital. Sometimes people are aggressive simply because they are afraid or feel helpless. In some situations the angry civilians you have to deal with may be your own countrymen.

The success of an operation will depend on political, economic and informational factors in addition to the military level. Whole wars and countries have been lost by ignoring some of these factors! Always bear in mind that there will be times when maximum force is not the winning strategy.

Part One

The first day begins with moderate warm-up and stretching exercises.

Rifle Fencing

Why Start with the Bayonet?

I suspect that some readers will be tempted to ignore the bayonet section and skip forward. While this is understandable, I hope to here to dissuade you from such action.

The bayonet section is also designed to provide the student with a range of skills that are also applicable to defending oneself with a Weapon that lacks a bayonet. It will also introduce concepts that will be used in later sections.

Military institutions tend to be highly conservative. Resistance to abandoning old ideas can be considerable.

The days of massed bayonet charges are hopefully now a thing of the past. The massed bayonet charge became obsolete with the invention of the magazine-rifle.

Some readers may object that successful massed bayonet actions have occurred in more recent decades. When we look deeper, it becomes obvious that this was due to considerable luck rather than any military merit. Some officers were so eager to use the bayonet that more practical and less costly options were neglected. The thousands of enemy troops that fell charging machine guns in the Pacific Campaign and Korean War are conveniently forgotten.

Many advocates of the bayonet have failed to move with the times. They refight past conflicts without considering changes in tactics and technology.

Many critics of the bayonet have been premature in discarding it as a Weapon.

The relevance of bayonet techniques to modern warfare is in the field of personal defence:

• If you are unable to fire and the enemy is within three body-lengths, a charge and mêlée may save you.

• If the distance is greater than three body-lengths, seeking cover or some other tactic may be more prudent.

Firearms can run out of ammunition. Cartridges can misfire. Firearms can also jam or undergo other malfunctions. If the enemy is in close-proximity you may not have time to find cover and rectify the situation. Even if you have a handgun as a backup weapon, there still may not be time to bring it into action before the enemy is upon you. You will only have what is immediately to hand, a firearm that will not fire.

You are not unarmed! An empty or non-firing firearm can be a surprisingly effective close combat weapon. Your enemy’s weapon may be working perfectly. If you cannot take cover, your survival may depend on closing the distance between you to neutralize his advantage.

The fixed bayonet remains a useful device for probing undergrowth, searching buildings and many other tasks of the modern soldier. Use of the bayonet in darkness reduces the change of being located by noise or muzzle flash. When gunfire may endanger comrades or non-combatants, the bayonet can be used.

When to Use a Bayonet

Modern military units need a clear protocol on when to fix and use bayonets. For example:

• Soldiers may fix bayonets in any scenario where encountering the enemy at less than 50 metres is probable. At such ranges, fixing the bayonet will have little significant effect on shot-placement. It may be found the added weight reduces muzzle flip.

• The bayonet is used if the enemy is within three body-lengths, and a bullet cannot be used.

Bayonets have obvious utility in house-clearing and building searches. Practice and training will ensure bared bayonets in confined spaces are not a hazard to comrades.

Rifle sound suppressors are seeing increased use on general-issue firearms. How bayonets can be integrated with these needs investigation.

A Better Bayonet

Some firearms, such as the Russian SKS and Chinese Type 56, incorporate folding bayonets. While these are commonly regarded as an archaic feature, they have the merit that the rifleman always has a bayonet when he needs it.

Ersatz Bayonet

Figure 1 Minimalist construction reduces unnecessary weight.

Many modern bayonets attempt to be multi-purpose tools. Jacks of all trades, and masters of none. Often the result is an overweight object, inferior to a good field knife and denser than some larger tools.

A more practical bayonet could be created. Taking the American M7 bayonet as