Photo By Sgt. Joshua Holt | Soldiers participate in a morning workout circuit as part of the Fort Bliss Combatives...... read more read more
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EL PASO, Texas - The popularity of mixed martial arts and cage fighting displayed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has exploded on to the sports scene in the past few years, giving fighters the opportunity to showcase their skills in a competitive environment. The Fort Bliss Combatives program provides soldiers, who enjoy mixing it up on the mat, the opportunity to do so against soldiers from other Army installations.
The Fort Bliss Combatives Facility is holding tryouts for the team that will compete for the Modern Army Combatives Championships at Fort Hood, Texas, in late July. Tryouts are scheduled for Monday through Friday mornings at 6 a.m. at the combatives facility on East Bliss, Building number A493.
The ultimate goals for the Fort Bliss Combatitves Team is to train and improve soldier’s combatives skills, said Howard. The reason for the competition is to motivate soldiers to train.
“It’s not just to make MMA cage fighters,” said Eric Howard, Fort Bliss combatives director. “It’s to get these soldiers combatives skills that support their battlefield mission."
In order to try out, soldiers must first have their unit leadership sign off on the training and have no disciplinary issues in order to be able to go on temporary duty to compete at the championships.
“As long as they are good soldiers and are motivated to train, everyone is welcome,” said Howard. “The level of combatives skill isn’t that important right now.”
The Fort Bliss Combatives Program has had success in the past. Two years ago the team broke into the top 10 with a seventh place finish. Last year they managed a 14th place finish without a full team.
“This year we want to break the top five,” said Howard.
The combatives team will field between 12 and 14 soldiers, both male and female, depending on weight categories. We are willing to train as many soldiers as possible until selection in June, if there are enough people interested Fort Bliss could take more than one team to the championships. Howard said.
Most soldiers are not aware of the facility’s relocation to East Bliss, resulting in the facility having trouble getting interest from soldiers in the classes and the other opportunities offered.
“We got to get more people in here,” said Howard.
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2012 16:41 |
| Story ID: | 84193 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 655 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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