The late SGM Harry Baldock.
WWII Army MUC/MSD Chief Instructor
We receive many enquiries as to if we know of specific instructors of military self-defence and military unarmed combat and if they are in fact qualified in MSD/MUC.
Our advice is always the same ask the instructor to see their military instructor qualification certification/course reports.
We explain not to confuse civilian martial arts certificates or civilian courses certificates that include military combat
wording or terminology with official military earned and awarded combative qualifications.
It’s not unusual for an instructor of a civilian martial art/fighting art to provide some form of civilian styled training to some military outfit in their style of martial art based techniques. The unfortunate reality is some such civilian martial arts/fighting arts instructors adopt military combative terms and titles without ever passing the required military close combat courses to achieve military instructor status.
The fact of the matter is regardless of who they are training, if they have not been trained tested and qualified on military close combat courses and are not instructing military approved CQC/MSD official courses of instruction they are not qualified military instructors, instructing current military developed and approved CQB/CQC/MSD courses of instruction.
They are instructing their specific martial art or hybridised martial art as a civilian martial arts or fighting arts instructor not a military CQC/MSD qualified instructor and it is difficult to understand why they would use a military slant other than to gain false credibility by claiming something they have not achieved and earned.
If they are promoting themselves in the civilian sector as military self-defence or military close quarters combat/military unarmed combat instructors and claiming that there training is military developed and authorised, then they should be able to show you their military course reports and or military certification on request.
If they cannot show you this on request, then you need to wonder why they will not or cannot provide proof of qualification in something they claim to instruct and be an instructor of.
Military official courses of instruction are documented recorded and instructors will have proof of prior training and proof of instructor qualification.
In a tight small specialist tradecraft, it is more likely than not they will be known by military qualified instructors.
Their proof of instructor rank and status will be military official documents not any form of document provided by a civilian fighting style club or instructor.
Achieving military instructor qualifications requires uncompromising commitment intestinal fortitude and personal sacrifice.
I can inform you as a civilian that was accepted to train test and instructor qualify as a military proponent instructor and achieve Master-Instructor tradecraft qualification it took decades of commitment and personal sacrifice.
This is a unique status for a civilian and came through being trained by former leading allied WWII military Master – Chief instructors that referred me for military close combat familiarisation training and testing leading to my Master-Instructor qualification.
These are the specific official training records and qualification certification you would expect a civilian instructor using military terms and titles to possess.
Anyone that claims such titles without earning them tells you a lot about themselves.
Many styles include combat or combative terms with their style title but this does not make them official developed approved current military close combat trade craft packages being military delivered to approved personnel.
Using military titles putting on tactical uniforms or providing some sort of fighting arts/martial arts training to military outfits does not come with rank and status in military close combat.
Providing training to the military as a civilian unless qualified in military CQC/MSD does not mean the style is a military developed and approved style and does not mean an instructor is a military qualified CQC/MUC/MSD instructor.
Likewise, around the world conscripts and enlisted military pers may well undergo a basic course of military self-defence and military unarmed combat but this does not make them qualified instructors unless they have come up through the ranks and achieved the required ratings on assistant instructor and instructor under assessment courses and have passed the required qualification courses and been promoted to instructor.
There are many individuals that endeavour to gain credibility by association having never volunteered for military combative training testing and passing the required courses to be a qualified military combative instructor.
The reality is they are not military qualified instructors and are not instructing military developed adopted/approved full courses of instruction of military armed and unarmed combat and military self-defence.
Makes you wonder why they never volunteered passed the required courses of instruction to achieve instructor rank and status and racked up a long and distinguished military instructing record of service. The reasons why such individuals do not promote themselves as to what they really are in regards to their civilian style and rank is something that should be asked of them.
The reality is you cannot become a military CQC/MUC/MSD tradecraft instructor without doing it the official hands on course completion and course pass way earning promotion to instructor rank.
If in doubt, ask the instructor direct questions as to what military service they completed their exponent and instructor qualification courses in and who was the chief instructor on their course as well as when and at what base/camp they completed their course and ask them to show you their proof of military instructor qualification.
Those that are in the know have the smarts and want to be trained by military qualified instructors in the most current approved military self-defence and military unarmed combat programs and will seek out such training and instructors.
Unfortunately, some less knowledgeable will find out after they attend training that it is not what they believed it to be but will inevitably join courses conducted by instructors that have the qualification rank and military instructing service of true military official CQC/MSD/MUC if this is what they are looking for.
