Ready, Execute!: Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor Course

Photo By Pfc. Jonathan Beauchamp | A U.S. Marine with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, receives his Martial Arts Instructor certificate on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, March 18, 2022. Marines endured the three-week long Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor course that entailed hand-to-hand combat, warrior ethos instruction, grappling, and weapons sparring training with the goal of graduating as a Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor. The MAI course certifies Marines to train and test other Marines in various belt levels of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonathan Beauchamp)  

CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, JAPAN

03.17.2022

Story by Cpl. Alex Fairchild 

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, Japan -- Sweat and sand trickled into the eyes of Marines as they trudged forward in formation on a long-distance run with their packs; filled to the brim with gear and extra weight. The sun peaked around the clouds at the bottom of the horizon, but these Marines had been training long before sunrise. They veered off to the side of the road and dropped their packs, but this was no break. They dropped their packs, kneeled in a circle, and waited to begin grappling their opponents.


During the final day of the Martial Arts Instructor course, Marines were faced with one final task: the culminating event.


“Whenever I felt like quitting, the Marines to the left and right of me would not let me,” said Cpl. Marlene RomeroMejia, a food service specialist with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. “I gave it my all, took everything day by day, and never gave up.”


Every part of the day required teamwork and support from the Marines. During the culminating event, combat conditioning exercises such as buddy crawls and obstacle courses required Marines to work together as a unit to accomplish each mission. The final event led them through a forest area where they sparred with their final opponents, and finally earned their belts with the MAI tab.



“I felt a massive sense of pride swell in me when I grabbed my belt and officially earned the title of MAI,” said RomeroMejia, a native of North Hills, California. “I graduated this course to better myself and other Marines, and I did something not every Marine can say they have done.”


For three weeks, Marines underwent the Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor course that entailed hand-to-hand combat, warrior ethos instruction, grappling, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program syllabus memorization, and weapons sparring training that ensured participating Marines were held to the highest physical and mental standards. The Marine Corps MAI course certified Marines to train and test other Marines in various belt levels of MCMAP and to increase the physical capabilities and readiness of those Marines they will train.


“Not every Marine makes it through,” said Staff Sgt. Tyler Thomas, a weapons platoon sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. “Every day we make the training to become a MAI as realistic as possible. The mental and physical strength it requires to become an MAI is something not everyone has.”


The new MAIs will go back to their units better equipped to train and test their Marines in martial arts and increase mission readiness throughout the ranks.

• Date Taken: 03.17.2022
• Date Posted: 03.28.2022 01:09
• Story ID: 416980
• Location: CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, JP