Customer Reviews

U.S. Marines Close-quarter Combat Manual

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

When I joined the Marines, I was taught the LINE system. the hard way, I had more than a few bruises from being kicked, punched etc. This manual offers instruction in LINE (Linear Infighting Neural Override) training and is NOT a martial art system, which is valuable in a studio, fighting other martial artists. It is NOT a "self-defense" book. ie; "repel an attack, so I can get away to get help"... This book teaches you how to KILL. It tells you how to counter punches, kicks, chokes, headlocks, knife attacks, bayonet attacks.. It also covers how to fight with a knife, bayonet, how to remove a sentry (in various situations), how to fight multiple opponents, how to fight on the ground, and tactical weapons of opportunity....in each scenario, the opponent is KILLED FAST. It is very simple to learn, and can be learned safely with a partner (although I recommend finding someone who knows what they're doing to help you) FOR USE IN LIFE-OR-DEATH situations only. OORAH Semper fi (Note: LINE training has been discontinued by the USMC because it is "Too violent and brutal"... If it's too harsh for the Marines, You KNOW it's rough) The Close-combat system currently in use by the Marines is "Kill or get killed" by Col. Rex Applegate. also known as "BLOCK" training.

I use to give instruction in this System when I was in the Service. As you have read the LINE System was discontinued for use by basic Marine positions and taught to the SpecOps communities to add to their encyclopedia of combat due to its "swift and violent" action. It should be kept in mind that this System was created and kept "basic" as some might say, to keep it simple but effective. It was designed for soldiers who normally do not have the luxury of time on their side, and therefore must react with a rapid and deadly response. To make it anymore advanced and detailed than it is would create too much wasted time in a soldier's reaction time toward an aggressor. Also keep in mind that this System was created for soldier's who are in full battle rattle (all gear worn) where fancy moves and flying kicks are not practical. I will not say this System is great or cool or any other jazz like that, but I will say it is effective in the right hands.

Reading over the other reviews, I thought I would try and clear the air about what this book and the system it explains is all about. For credentials, I have dabbled in several different fighting arts, and I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps infantry when they were still teaching this system.

First, please understand that this is NOT a self-defense system. The Marine Corps does not teach you how to survive a mugging. They do not teach you how to beat up the local bully. They teach you how to kill your opponent.

The Marine Corps does not have the time or the instructors to teach a complex fighting system to every Marine. So this system is very simple. It is based on a few maneuvers, which are adapted around different situations that soldiers are likely to encounter. It is assumed that your opponent will most likely be wearing a flak jacket, so blows to the abdomen are not dwelled upon. Strikes to the throat and groin, eye gouging and the breaking of limbs are the standard techniques. There are no wasted movements, and all moves finish with some form of killing blow, usually a kick to the head of a prone opponent.

The whole premise of LINE training is to condition your muscles to react in a certain way in given situations. That is why the moves are all so similar. This simplifies the muscle memorization to make it easier to teach this system to many people in as short a time as possible. It is a very basic, yet effective system.

LINE training's simplicity is its strongest asset. This system was never intended to create world class fighters. It was intended to be effective in difficult surroundings when the user is tired, cold, and hungry. It was designed to provide Marines with the means to destroy the enemies they might encounter on the battlefield, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

If you have already trained in the martial arts or some other fighting system, then this is may not the book for you. It's simplicity and lack of practical alternatives to killing may not be what you are looking for. However, there are some useful sections about sentry elimination, knife fighting, and weapons of opportunity that you might not get in a standard martial arts class.

And lastly, it is my understanding that the Marine Corps abandoned this system because it was too effective. Unfortunately, you cannot force Marines to only use what they have been taught when they are on the battlefield. Too many bar fights and other scuffles amongst Marines themselves or against civilians resulted in severe injuries to the combatants. And because there is a relatively small chance that our soldiers will run out of bullets, it was felt that a less brutal system could be found.

I highly recommend this system and this book. It does what it is designed to do very well.

I personally recoment this book to any of you who are worried about what you will do when you are in a life or death situation. However, this book is strongly suggested to be avoided for those of you who have a weak stomache, or may use this information without thought of conciquence. Quote from the intro: "Close combat techniques cause permanent bodily damage to the opponent with every attack and should end in the opponent's death." Not reccomended for civilian use. Buy at your own risk.

I am a former Marine and a black belt in Shotokan karate. I was taught and taught others the LINE system while in service and even then, i knew it was ineffective. The moves, punches, countermoves and holds are impractical and difficult to execute in combat. I, along with several others, while going along with the manual, finally boiled the system down to a dozen techniques and drilled with them. The Marines discontinued this system because of the same reasons that I mentioned.
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.

And the reason was not "it was too brutal." Why would the Marines stop a system because it was too brutal? These are the Marines, not the Boy Scouts; there is no way the Marine Corps. would give up a truly effective system because of humanitarian concerns. Why they really got rid of it, and I got my info from 2 ex-Marine combat instructors, is because it is completely unworkable in a real conflict. The LINE system relies too much on complicated twists and slides that are just not conducive with a real fight. Please, if a soldier tried putting the enemy in a wristlock while the enemy was trying to gouge out his eyes with his fingers, he would be finished. The system implies that an enemy soldier will just stand there while the Marine tries to pull off some complicated takedown move, which is ridiculous. The new system, which is used in the book "CLOSE COMBAT" is much more simple and pragmatic and utilizes techniques taken from originators of modern hand-to-hand combat W.E. Fairbairn and Rex Applegate whose techniques were proven to be effective during World War II. If you don't believe me, and I don't expect anyone to believe an anonymous reviewer, just see for yourself and try out LINE and then take a look at something by Fairbairn or Applegate. I don't mean to sound arrogant, because I'm not a Marine and I see a lot of poeple who try to pass themselves off as experts; I'm not going to say I'm an expert, its just that I've read extensively on the subject and recieved some informal training and I've found the simpler, more brutal techniques that utilize gross-motor skills and natural body movements are more effective, in my opinion, than complicated fighting systems. This is all just my opinion; I encourage people to learn and choose for themselves.

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.

This is a miltary ops manual not a book on sport or civilian application of martial arts. As a military ops manual it gives a detailed presentation of a simplified system to kill your opponent. Useful information from an overall training format. The repetiveness of technique referred to by some is KISS in application. You should give this ops manual a read to broaden your prospective, while at the same time understanding that for force applications outside of military operations the goal is to stop the threat not to kill.

This is a good manual for those who are actually in the Corps and must learn how to quickly KILL someone. It also gives good instructions on how to use a combat knife and a bayonet. I don't recommend this book for those looking for self defense.

This is the Marine's Handbook for Close Combat in field situations. One should stress the word "Combat", 'cause that's what this book is about: Injuring, maiming or killing your opponent, wether with your bare hands or with "tools". The main difference between other top-rated books related to this kind off topic (like MacYoung's books or Michal Janich's "Knife Fighting") is that the mental or emotional aspect of using skills like this is totally neglected. Only simple, easy to watch, easy to learn stuff. This book was designed to train soldiers. Soldiers are to win a fight, if that means they have to kill their assailant, well, no one said that it is a fun job.

Very good aspect of the book, something that nearly any other book lacks about: Not only that the author *who ever it is* shows counters and blocks for every attack shown, he/she also shows how to counterattack immediately.

Again, I have to stress, this book is not about self-defense. It is a manual how to maim and kill somebody. Still I think that even if you only want to learn some SD, there might be something valuable in this work.