Photo By Sgt. Scott Whittington | Petty Officer 1st Class Manuel G. Ortiz, religious programmer for Regimental Combat...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan — Randall "Tex" Cobb, American prize fighter turned actor once said, if you screw things up in tennis, it's 15-love. If you screw up in boxing, it's over. In that context, warfighting can replace the word boxing.
Petty Officer 1st Class Manuel G. Ortiz, religious program specialist with Regimental Combat Team 3, is a 20-year veteran of boxing with an amateur career record of 72-10. Since his arrival in Afghanistan, he's been conducting his own physical training for Marines and sailors.
"It's part of the Marine Corps' ethos," said Ortiz, who fought for and won the 1992 Armed Forces Boxing Championship title in Fort Huachuca, Ariz. "I figured they'd want to learn. Marines are fighters."
Ortiz enlisted in the Army in 1990 as an air defense artilleryman. He left the Army in 1996 and earned an associates degree in veterinary technology from the University of San Antonio. From there, he attended the Southwest Biomedical Research Center where he worked with Rhesus monkeys, baboons and orangutans for four years.
"I got burned out," said the former Army sergeant who calls San Antonio his home. "I knew the military was still a good option, but I wanted to do something different."
He enlisted in the Navy in February 2002 at the rank of seaman, but he never lost his love for boxing. He continued to train in the gym and has taught many service members since.
Before his arrival here, Ortiz had a large following at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. He instructed more than 40 students to include service members from Poland, the United Kingdom, and all four branches of the U.S. military.
"It's my favorite form of PT (physical training)," said Cpl. Alex B. Gibson, 20, a communications Marine with RCT-3 who hails from Loganville, Ga. "It's the ultimate test, other than being outside the wire."
Ortiz, who started amateur boxing during his Army days in South Korea, was sparring alone here before he was approached by a couple of Marines asking to join him. Currently there are seven regular attending Marines and sailors who meet daily at the tent-turned-gym here. Ortiz hopes that number grows as his students spread the word.
"This is truly a great way to stay in shape," he said. "And it's a great way to improve self defense."
Ortiz provides instruction to anyone at any level of experience and welcomes any other instructors who want to participate.
"Ever since high school, I was boxing with my friends, fooling around in the backyard," said newcomer Cpl. Carlos G. Torres, 21, radio operator with RCT-3. "I wanted to get better at fighting, and I saw this as an opportunity," said the Ramona, Calif., native.
With Ortiz focused on boxing, two attending Marines also instruct on Muay Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu forms.
Staff Sgt. Willibald Marrero, a golden-glove boxer, instructs Muay Thai and Lance Cpl. William Byrne, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, teach students his specialty.
The trio holds class every weekday at 2 p.m., and the class lasts a little more than an hour. Ortiz and Marrero bring their own safety gear and pads. Marines wanting to participate simply bring themselves and a motivated attitude.
"Our enemy is close," said Byrne, 29. "These are very effective close combat, fighting techniques," added the Marine from Shelby, Mont. "It builds confidence. If your rifle malfunctions, you wouldn't need it anyway."
With the divider between coalition forces and the outside world only a few hundred meters away here, warrior training like this may come in handy if the Marines or sailors ever find themselves in a "ring without ropes."
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2009 01:49 |
| Story ID: | 36955 |
| Location: | CAMP DWYER, AF |
| Web Views: | 406 |
| Downloads: | 223 |
This work, Boxing sailor mixes it up with Marines, colleagues during training, by Sgt Scott Whittington, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
