Photo By Cpl. Harley Thomas | A Marine with the Martial Arts Instructor Course must fireman carry another Marine...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Marines attending the Martial Arts Instructor Course graduated from the three-week training program April 3, 2015, in building 223 aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The MAI Course provided students with extensive training in combat conditioning, hand-to-hand combat, nutrition, classroom instruction and leadership. New instructors leave the course with the ability to train and certify Marines to appropriate belt levels, conduct a combat conditioning program, supervise skill sustainment and integrate the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program into unit training.
“I thought the course was very challenging, not only physically, but mentally as well,” said Sgt. Robert Bowen, a Marine with the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group Region 1, based in Tokyo. “It reveals everyone’s true character, each event pushing you to your breaking point. Whether it’s a squad or partner exercise, you always work with someone and you must co-exist to ensure everyone is pushed past their own limits.”
Bowen, the course honor graduate, said he came into the course thinking it was only going to be physically demanding and he wasn’t aware of how much it would truly challenge him.
“I thought it was going to be a complete slayfest — don’t get me wrong, it definitely was, but it was so much more than that,” Bowen said. “It went beyond my expectations. The idea of being mentally tough and to challenge each other was drilled into us, and this certainly wasn’t an individual-based course. You wouldn’t have gotten through if you didn’t have the support of your squad.”
Sgt. Jameke McDonald, a Marine with the Marine Security Guard out of Mongolia, said he heard about the course from another Marine, who said it was one of the best courses he had attended.
“He told me it was meant to break you,” said McDonald, the course “gung ho” recipient. “He said, ‘You’re going to be sore and it’s going to be tough, but I promise you, you will have a good time.’ He was right. The course was dynamic, exciting and tough — once you thought you couldn’t go any further, the instructors continued to push you. Honestly, it surprises you. You think, ‘Whoa, turns out, I can do this,’ and realize that you’ve been psyching yourself out when you say you can’t do something or it’s too much.”
Bowen said seeing everybody exceed their limits and work together to succeed was the best part of the course. He said each Marine attending the course graduated because of each other.
“I want the people in the course to know I wouldn’t have made it through without them,” Bowen said. “They always motivated me to be a better leader and professional around them because we were always relying on each other. (I’ve learned leadership) is a two-way street; you have to know what your breaking point is and push past that in order to help push your Marines past theirs.”
Sgt. Francisco Pliego, the chief instructor for the MAI Course, said the Marines couldn’t graduate on their individual effort alone, but by motivating the Marines to the left and right of them.
“We put them in stressful situations where their character comes into play and they must lead the Marines,” Pliego said. “They must work as a team to overcome whatever the obstacle may be, encouraging leaders to step up. When it comes to (some of the events), physically, they might know they are able to make it, but mentally, these are meant to push them further than they thought they could go. It’s all about how bad they want it.”
Pliego said whenever Marines graduate the course, he hopes they go back to their units humbled and pass their newly acquired knowledge onto their Marines.
“From the beginning to the end, I told them their transformation began on day one,” Pliego said. “Once they leave here, they should hold themselves to the highest standard expected of them. I gave them a lot of tools to make them better, deadlier warriors, but I also want them to practice being good gentlemen. The Marines need to hold themselves to that standard and remember three things: Never give an excuse, never be lazy and always take pride in what you do.”
McDonald said he intends to use what he has learned in the MAI Course in order to better not only himself, but his Marines as well.
“I would certainly say I’ve learned to be a better leader,” McDonald said. “I hope to continue to progress, not only as a Marine, but as a person. I may be a black belt, but you’ve got to keep the mindset of the ‘eternal student,’ continuing to learn as much as you can in life. I’m going to do what I came here (to do); to learn, apply it to instructing my Marines and pass the knowledge on.”
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2015 16:41 |
| Story ID: | 159668 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 292 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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