FORT BONIFACIO, Philippines – Service members from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) taught U.S. Marines riot control techniques and Filipino Martial Arts, August 6, as part of Non-lethal Weapons Executive Seminar (NOLES) 2014. The PNP instructed U.S. Marines on Civil Disturbance Management (CDM), while the AFP taught "Pekiti Tirsia Kali," a form of martial arts, for the other half of the day.
In the morning, the PNP demonstrated crowd control tactics used in the Philippines. The exercise was done using batons and shields given to all those participating.
“The main purpose of CDM is crowd control,” said Police Officer Rafael B. Muchuelas, lead instructor for National Capital Region Police Office in the PNP. “Rallies, demonstrations, or anywhere here in the Philippines where crowd control might be needed, this is perfect to use in those instances.”
As part of the training, the PNP put members of all services together to work in cohesion.
“We had the entire group join, Philippine Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army with PNP, and U.S. Marines,” Muchuelas said. “That way we could all learn together and become better.”
The non-lethal tactics weapons (NLW) training then continued with the AFP in the afternoon. Pekiti Tirsia Kali is specific to the Philippines as it is the martial arts adopted by Philippine armed forces, and police. It is a strictly combat-oriented system that has been around since 1897.
“I spoke to the instructors and they say it's similar to the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), but theirs is more based on the Taekwondo, instead of mixed martial arts like ours,” said Sgt. Timothy Brown, platoon sergeant, 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force.
During the martial-arts session, Marines trained with mock daggers and "kalis," a Filipino double-edged sword, that plays a large role in the martial art.
“I loved learning tactics from the Filipinos, it was nice learning something different,” said Brown. “I really hope 3rd LEB is able to come back here and train some more.”