Close Combat and Hand to Hand Fighting [Perfect Paperback]

U.S. Marine Corps (Author), Pentagon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

Fleet Marine Forces Manual provides the methodology & techniques of the Marine Corps system of Close Combat (MCSOCC). The MCSOCC uses a specific system to teach Marines the skills required to defeat an opponent in close combat. This manual addresses close combat fundamentals, the linear in-fighting neural-overide engagement (line) program, bayonet fighting and weapons opportunity.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Pentagon Publishing (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601700008
• ISBN-13: 978-1601700001
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Manual, July 19, 2008

By 

Grant Fritchey (MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Close Combat and Hand to Hand Fighting (Perfect Paperback)

I train in martial arts and our system spends a lot of time working on self-defense. I had heard that the Marine Corps recently revamped their training and that a good chunk of it was available in this book. I read it and was impressed. I was even more impressed when we started working on the techniques with a partner. It looks like the Corps has really got something here.

The empty handed techniques are very well explained and the simple illustrations work well to show the high-points and details. The knife fighting techniques look very efficient. I've tried them out, within the limits of training with a partner that you want to live. They seem to work reasonably well. The bayonet material is not necessarily something I'll be using any time soon, but it could have application, with modification and a bit of imagination, to a walking stick or cane.

I also like the philosophy contained with the book. It's straight-forward and no-nonense.

You're not going to learn to fight like a Marine from this book (they offer a pretty intensive course, just sign up). If you do train and practice self-defense then this book will offer you additional tools to work with.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD SOURCE OF MA, April 6, 2008

By 

Scott R. Johnson "SCOJO" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Combat and Hand to Hand Fighting (Perfect Paperback)

An excellent resource for basic self defense techniques that can be learned quickly and are effective. This was the baseline for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Pogram that all Marines learn today. A program that has evolved into a viable and effective self defense system for both the battlefield and the streets.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for it's intended purpose, November 10, 2009

By 

E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Close Combat and Hand to Hand Fighting (Perfect Paperback)

For what it is intended for, LINE is a good system, but to achieve the goals and purpose of the system there were trade-offs.

In order to train large groups of healthy, fit, young adults in lethal unarmed combat in a limited time, LINE is as good as it gets. Simple, internally consistent to simplify instruction, makes use of a relatively small set of movements and techniques, and student comprehension and proficency is easily evaluated.

Sacrifices were made to achieve these objectives.

Healthy, fit, young adults (Marine recruits); not everyone makes the grade... The techniques depend to a great degree on a combination of body mass, strength, and speed, and if any one of these elements is not present, the technique will be less effective or ineffective (especially the arm break that shows up in about a third of the techniques). Average to petit women and small men are at a serious disadvantage with this system.

Lethal unarmed combat; The emphasis is on killing, and for military personnel, this is entirely appropriate, but isn't the place to start kids, and would put off many people. Most of the techniques are unarmed, which makes sense given the restrictions in the modern civilian world, but if there was more time in the framework LINE was meant for, short sticks/batons and a one meter rope or even a heavy bandana are useful tools to learn about.

Limited time; An unarmed or close combat education can take a lifetime. Physiology, physics, psychology, neurolinguistics, cultural studies, languages, history, and art all have their place in a complete study of human combative behavior, but this is background material for thousands of repetitions of the hundreds of techniques of most martial arts. Judo is relatively simple with 97 "official" techniques, and it takes a up to decade to become a proficient practitioner, much more to truly master the art. LINE can be taught in less than a week. LINE makes efficient use of 40 training hours, but lacks the depth that interests many students of combatives.

For what it is, it is very good. It represents a good balance of trade-offs in planning combatives training for military personnel. But those trade-offs limit the audience for whom the system is practical and relevant.

E. M. Van Court