The importance of military close combat and military self- defence skills being not only purpose, role and operator developed but also being living progressive practices is a must to ensure combatants capabilities are current and provide high level combined safety and objective achievement.
Analogies I often use when public speaking are the difference between the Tiger Moth and the stealth bomber or the musket and the most modern assault rifle. The difference with CQC skills are some primary practices will always be as effective as they were when developed by our predecessors, simply because they prey on destroying human life support systems by a best of battle proven modus operandi. If such over kill skills are employed without detection or interference and until the threat is no more such means and methods will incapacitate or eliminate even the most formidable foe.
Other close combat skills, especially over kill skills where you are compromised will require not only the best of battle proven primary threat neutralising capabilities but also maximum hard cover guard and contingency options primary proven practices as part of closing on the enemy and employing threat neutralisation.
There is always the most important factor that being the individual combatants intestinal fortitude inner resolve and mental toughness that are most important in formidable foe threat neutralisation.
Often the reasoning why in civilian training that individuals will take lesser than the most current and proven training is because they are not up for the challenge of the physicality and do not have the mental toughness requirements. This should never be a consideration in military armed and unarmed combat and military self-defence where it could come down to kill or die and highly qualified Master-Chief Instructors understand the responsibilities of providing only the only the best of battle proven best means of threat neutralisation capabilities.
History did not always get things correct in relation to the best and safest means of threat neutralisation objective achievement.
In many instances it came down to different times, different threats and a different perception and way of looking at doing things.
Our European military close combat tactics and skills must and have been continuously evaluated to ensure they are fit for purpose and provide high level objective achievement chances of formidable threat neutralisation.
This being the case it is important that all training packages are made up of tactics and skills that are living, progressive, most current and proven tradecraft practices.
They must be role, duty and operator specific and have commonality to maximise combined cohesive employments.
The reality is times have changed and continue to change and so must the best of battle proven tactics and skills to best arm combatants with best means of threat neutralisation.
Here at the Todd Group we regularly conduct tactics and skills evaluations and where necessary develop the most current specific means of threat neutralisation. This can see some tactics and skills made obsolete or their status changed to secondary or additional rated options for specific purpose threat neutralisation.
It is not only a matter of evaluating tradecraft packages and individual tactics and skills but also undertaking threat assessments of techniques used by the military of other countries.
The undertaking of our HQ doctrine training packages and individual tactics and skills as well as the evaluation of enemy and other military fighting styles techniques is a responsibility of the group Master-Chief Instructor and training team assistant Master-Instructors and Senior Instructors.
The final determinations and decisions are that of the Master-Chief Instructor.
Todd Group HQ being the source of the tradecraft tactics and skills development has a constant responsibility to ensure primary tradecraft practices are at the forefront of threat neutralisation.
In recent months we have being re-evaluating specific unarmed offensive assault primary unarmed threat neutralisation capabilities with a focus on ensuring they provided highest level means of enemy capabilities of threat neutralisation. Testing skills to destruction and never wishing them to work but always ensuring they are the very best and safest means of threat neutralisation is the modus operandi.
While many European military close combat and self- defence skills have stood the test of time and still provide safe effective rapid threat neutralisation, there will always be a minor fraction of skills that have become obsolete or need to be adapted to provide the required highest level of capability.
Some skills are made dormant because of the brutality of their use in regards to international conventions.
Exponents, proponents and instructors that are committed, dedicated and maintain a current level status will always be armed with the most current tradecraft primary practices.
In recent months Todd Group HQ exponents and proponents have been privy to and part of the testing and evaluation of the most currently developed unarmed offensive assault threat neutralisation tactics and skills.
The Todd Group Dunedin HQ being a learning/training and research and development facility provides exponents, proponents and instructors exposure to our most current primary practices and they are important to testing evaluations and proving of skills that provide highest chances of threat neutralisation to all mentally tough combatants trained in these skills.
No one can afford to rest on their laurels and as such all ranks need to maintain a dedicated high level of commitment in relation to maintaining a current status to ensure they are armed with the safest and best means of formidable threat neutralisation.
In our European military armed and unarmed combat and military self-defence setting and maintaining of the highest close combat standards is our ethos and the most current primary tradecraft tactics and skills will always be superior to previous tactics and skills that have been made obsolete or rendered dormant.
Instructors, exponents and proponents living in New Zealand and especially those training at Todd Group HQ have the advantage of continuous training and up skilling in the most current proven tradecraft primary practices.
Testing of tactics and skills to destruction must be just that and the important factors of sudden aggressive shock action factor of confusion and element of surprise must be ever present during the developing testing and proving phases of tactics and skills and in the design, development and manufacture of training equipment and weapons.
Ensuring the skills are the simplest means of the objective of threat neutralisation that will provide high level safety and overkill threat neutralisation is a must for military operational close combat and urban operator self-defence tactics and skills development.
The skills must be simple, correct, deliberate overkill methods of threat neutralisation that have built in operator hard targeting protective safety measures.
They must not include minor or major components that expose the combatant to increased threat risks.
The skills must be applicable to battle dress, battle fatigue and the realities of military close combat skills employments including when taken prisoner.
The skills must provide capability when injured, wounded or under the realities of being the underdog up against formidable foes.
The skills must be based on military trade-craft/military science of the close combat trade craft and be role, duty and threat specific and not based on competitive or traditional practices that expose the combatant to increased threat.
Often such irrelevant practices will not fit with battle dress, body armour packs, boots or are unsafe on uneasy difficult terrain.
If training is conducted only in clean fatigues and never in battle dress, body armour and with packs in gyms or on sports fields the risks and inadequacies may never be identified.
The very facts that no military trade-craft training primary skills are being practiced should certainly be alarming to anyone with prior training in best of battle proven methods.
The means and methods of tactics and skills evaluation come down to proving or disproving safety effectiveness and chances of formidable threat neutralisation.
While nothing is guaranteed in irregular unorthodox actions on, chances of formidable enemy threat neutralisation are increased by having the best of most proven skills and tools in training to get the job done in real life actions on.
Ancient historic techniques meant for less than kill or die actions on certainly could not be considered best of battle proven most current means of modern day threat neutralisation and as such have no place in the most current military close combat training packages here at the Todd Group.
Like anything being trained and qualified in tactics and skills development and the testing and proving of tactics and skills requires being trained and qualified in this most important tradecraft primary role.
It is not something anyone can just decide to be or do. Developing or designing skills without having the rank, expertise and experience required are traits seen in rogues that have never been privy to high level training, testing and being officially qualified and their lack of expertise could be potentially putting people at increased risk.
There is nothing PC or nice about military close combat and military self-defence threat neutralisation and as such requires not only high level training and qualification but also a mentality, demeanour and attitude of winning not just surviving by the best of battle proven overkill foul means and methods.
Thinking or coming from a competitive, rules regulations and officials mentality or a traditional respect and belief that high grades are undefeatable is not the modus operandi of our European military close combat and military self-defence.
Programs, packages, individual skills and tactics must be the most current and proven means of enemy threat neutralisation and as such must comprise of living progressive current tested and proven tradecraft tactics and skills to provide highest chance formidable enemy threat neutralisation.
