# I was awarded the Black Belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program



## matt.m (Mar 27, 2008)

I am not sure where to have put this post. However, the Gunnery Sgt. in charge of the recruiting station in Florissant, MO and I were on the U.S.S. Kearsarge together. I was a Sgt. he was a Cpl. I trained him in the final stages of L.I.N.E. Training, which is extremely hapkido/Japanese JiuJitsu based.

Well the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) was designed in 2000 to update L.I.N.E.

Long story short he,I, and his Sgt. worked together in my basement for the last yr. I never in a million yrs. expected a dan ranking certificate. However, it was a beautiful gesture from my friend.

One of the greatest things about the True Martial Artists and U.S. Marines is this.......We are loyal to each other to a fault. Budo teaches us that.


----------



## Brian King (Mar 28, 2008)

Congratulations Matt. 

Regards
Brian King


----------



## gkygrl (Mar 28, 2008)

Congrats Matt.  Are you still an active Marine???


----------



## jim777 (Mar 28, 2008)

Congratulations and Semper Fi Matt!


----------



## MBuzzy (Mar 28, 2008)

Congratulations!  So this was your only training specifically in MCMAP?


----------



## Jack Meower (Mar 29, 2008)

Congrats!  Can you explain how MCMAP differs from LINE?  I really don't know much about either.  Are they based predominantly on any other martial art?


----------



## Jack Meower (Mar 29, 2008)

Jack Meower said:


> Congrats!  Can you explain how MCMAP differs from LINE?  I really don't know much about either.  Are they based predominantly on any other martial art?



Actually, you already answered that for LINE.  My mistake.


----------



## Xue Sheng (Mar 29, 2008)

Congratulations


----------



## hapkenkido (Mar 29, 2008)

congrats matt


----------



## Skip Cooper (Mar 30, 2008)

:asian: Congratulations!


----------



## Kacey (Mar 30, 2008)

Congratulations!


----------



## kidswarrior (Mar 31, 2008)

Congratulations, Marine! :asian: Truly outstanding, Matt! 

Best,
-Devil Doc


----------



## masherdong (Apr 1, 2008)

Congrats!  Well deserved honor!

Also, just want to thank you and other men and women that are in the Armed Forces defending our country.


----------



## terryl965 (Apr 1, 2008)

Congrats and keep up the great work :asian:


----------



## matt.m (Apr 1, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> Congratulations! So this was your only training specifically in MCMAP?


 
Yes indeed my friend.  By USMC standards you must be at least a Gunnery Sgt. to hold a black belt in MCMAP or 6 years whichever comes first.

However, since I am a 2nd dan in Yudo.....along with being an upper ranking belt in both Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do.  Along with being a prior L.I.N.E. instructor he felt I deserved it.

I told the Gunny, look man. Don't feel like you owe me anything and tried to give it back to him.  His rhetoric was "You saved my bacon in Albania, this is the least I could do for you."

Again, this type of humility is what the MA's are truly all about.

BTW:  Thank you everyone for your congratulations.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 1, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> Congratulations! So this was your only training specifically in MCMAP?


 
Yes indeed my friend. By USMC standards you must be at least a Gunnery Sgt. to hold a black belt in MCMAP or 6 years whichever comes first.

However, since I am a 2nd dan in Yudo.....along with being an upper ranking belt in both Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do. Along with being a prior L.I.N.E. instructor he felt I deserved it.

I told the Gunny, look man. Don't feel like you owe me anything and tried to give it back to him. His rhetoric was "You saved my bacon in Albania, this is the least I could do for you."

Again, this type of humility is what the MA's are truly all about.

BTW: Thank you everyone for your congratulations.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 19, 2008)

Jack Meower said:


> Congrats! Can you explain how MCMAP differs from LINE? I really don't know much about either. Are they based predominantly on any other martial art?


 
In the 40's and 50's as my grandfather described and showed me, I was Japanese JiuJitsu and Judo based.  This is readily apparent if you ever watch the old WWII and Korean Marine movies that were made during the time period.

It was all throwing and locking.  Then in the Vietnam War era with the Korean influence of hapkido a lot of low knee kicking like sythe and twist were added.  Along with the beautiful front up raising.

When the jeep was replaced by the humvee came L.I.N.E. training.  Just a more specialized update.

Now with MCMAP, it is the most specialized aspect that the USMC has ever used.  It is all about combination breaking and throwing.  To explain: There is one technique that is 3 parts......knee opponent to the the head, stomp kick them in the quad above the knee rotate head left/right and kneel down and break persons neck.


----------



## theletch1 (Apr 19, 2008)

The one really big difference that I've picked up between the old LINE system and the new MCMAP system is that the LINE system (which I studied) was all about the ability to eliminate an opponent and get back into the battle (that means kill the guy, folks) as every technique in the LINE system ended with a killing blow (usually a neck snap or throat stomp and the MCMAP system is much more about a range of choices from killing your opponent out right to being able to take your opponent down and locking him up to effect a capture.  Since I haven't studied the MCMAP system I'll have to rely on Matt to tell me whether I'm right or not.


----------



## arnisador (Apr 19, 2008)

matt.m said:


> In the 40's and 50's as my grandfather described and showed me, I was Japanese JiuJitsu and Judo based.  This is readily apparent if you ever watch the old WWII and Korean Marine movies that were made during the time period.



I posted about that here when I taped "Tortilla Flats" on TMC and they used "Marines in the Making" (a short documentary from 1942) as filler after the film ended. They used a lot of derogatory terms for the Japanese--every one in the book--but used a great many jujutsu techniques in their training. It was actually quite interesting. Most techniques seemed to end in a trip or throw followed by a swift series of three "karate chops": to the groin, solar plexus, and throat, not always in that order. Japanese stick-fighting was also adapted.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 19, 2008)

arnisador said:


> I posted about that here when I taped "Tortilla Flats" on TMC and they used "Marines in the Making" (a short documentary from 1942) as filler after the film ended. They used a lot of derogatory terms for the Japanese--every one in the book--but used a great many jujutsu techniques in their training. It was actually quite interesting. Most techniques seemed to end in a trip or throw followed by a swift series of three "karate chops": to the groin, solar plexus, and throat, not always in that order. Japanese stick-fighting was also adapted.


 

Both of you guys are right.  Not only that but the K-bar and Shanai were essential tools in the advance L.I.N.E.

The Shainai was used like the hapkido cane techniques.  Oh geez, our instructors always said that "If you don't mean to throw the technique then don't even bother.  You'll waste energy and piss the aggressor off."

I wish more M.A. instructors kept that in mind when they were instructing the cirriculum of their perspective art."

We had a saying we followed to a T, "Pull gun, kill person, put gun away and keep going."

Same for hand to hand, I guess my experiences are different like Letch and Field Discipline.  Gee in a bar a few weeks ago I had someone grap my chest telling me all about being a jiujitsu champ.  I said Congrats, please let go of my shirt.

He didn't so I used a bar towel to wrap his hands and off balanced him followed by a side reap.

I love tough guys, there's always enough to go around.  I look at them like crooks, "If you worked as hard at honestly doing what you needed to be successful then you wouldn't have to work as hard at being a dumbass."

I mean gee, it is all how people think of and will remember you.  I also believe that your true friends don't need to be asked if they are a pal or not.  Maybe I am a niave sap but it has gotten me by so far.


----------



## Andy Moynihan (Apr 19, 2008)

matt.m said:


> Same for hand to hand, I guess my experiences are different like Letch and Field Discipline. Gee in a bar a few weeks ago I had someone grap my chest telling me all about being a jiujitsu champ. I said Congrats, please let go of my shirt.
> 
> He didn't so I used a bar towel to wrap his hands and off balanced him followed by a side reap.
> 
> ...


 

First post that's made me smile all day.

I really do need to move to Missouri or something.


----------



## FieldDiscipline (Apr 19, 2008)

I agree.  To quote Theodore Roosevelt "Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!"  To that I would like to add, EVER!  If you hit them, make sure they're going down and staying there, because oherwise they might get pretty upset!



> I love tough guys, there's always enough to go around. I look at them like crooks, "If you worked as hard at honestly doing what you needed to be successful then you wouldn't have to work as hard at being a dumbass."



:rofl: 



> I also believe that your true friends don't need to be asked if they are a pal or not. Maybe I am a niave sap but it has gotten me by so far



Thats not niave, thats a man of principles talking.


----------



## kidswarrior (Apr 19, 2008)

matt.m said:


> Gee in a bar a few weeks ago I had someone grap my chest telling me all about being a jiujitsu champ.  I said Congrats, please let go of my shirt.
> 
> He didn't so I used a bar towel to wrap his hands and off balanced him followed by a side reap.


Jeez, Matt, I sure hope hitting the deck didn't mess up his championship belt! :rofl:



> I love tough guys, there's always enough to go around.  I look at them like crooks, "If you worked as hard at honestly doing what you needed to be successful then you wouldn't have to work as hard at being a dumbass."


 



> I mean gee, it is all how people think of and will remember you.  I also believe that your true friends don't need to be asked if they are a pal or not.  Maybe I am a niave sap but it has gotten me by so far.


Nah, just a guy who sees the best in things around him, I think. And we could use a few more of those.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 19, 2008)

FieldDiscipline said:


> I agree. To quote Theodore Roosevelt "Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!" To that I would like to add, EVER! If you hit them, make sure they're going down and staying there, because oherwise they might get pretty upset!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

Just to shoot one back at ya my Brit pal, I have read 2 books on Churchhill.  "Troublesome Young Men" and the title of the other escapes me now.  But that guy was an absolute genius.  I loved reading both.


----------



## FieldDiscipline (Apr 20, 2008)

He certainly was quite a man.



> "One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half."


 
- Sir Winston Churchill


----------



## Andy Moynihan (Apr 20, 2008)

I like Winston.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 20, 2008)

Men like Winston, F.D.R., The Highlanders and Barbarians of old were all just phenominal.  William Wallace, Rob Roy.  The only difference between a hero and a legend is: A Hero does what no one else wants to do selflessly at the time.  They write books about Legends so they are never to be forgotten.

I mean for the love of god, the only difference in the insignia between the Brit Marines and their U.S. Counterparts is just one aspect: The Brit version is the Eastern Hemisphere........the U.S. version has the Western Hemisphere.

Although, during late teens and early 20's I did like to scrap.  So my Mick and Mack pals would go to the Brit N.C.O. clubs, begin getting pissed and well what became a few too many Scott Ale's just turned into Brutal friendly scraps.

When it was done, we just ran up a bigger tab and got peroxide.

See, that is one thing that the "General Population." don't understand about the military forces.  We may fight but we are brother's to the end.


----------



## Sukerkin (Apr 20, 2008)

Many truths in that one post, Matt :tup:.  

As one of the General Population I have been fortunate to have a number of military friends over my life.  I've also known a couple of less savoury types for whom fighting was a job rather than a profession (as a civilian, finding an uzi on top of the towel basket is a bit of a surprise I can tell you).   Additionally, I've moved on the fringes of circles not normally favoured by 'normal' folk - I was a biker and all of us who've been two-wheeled at some point in our lives know what that inevitably brings you into contact with.

Despite all that tho', I know that I will never have the same bond with my Army/Navy/RAF Mates that they have with their fellows.  Also, I will never quite understand the use of brawling as 'entertainment', despite my love of the martial arts.  Intellectually I can understand it and I suppose at its root it's nothing less than a physical extension of the verbal sparring all groups of friends and associates indulge in ... but ... I guess I've had enough pain in my life without borrowing some more .


----------



## Andy Moynihan (Apr 20, 2008)

Sukerkin said:


> Many truths in that one post, Matt :tup:.
> 
> As one of the General Population I have been fortunate to have a number of military friends over my life. I've also known a couple of less savoury types for whom fighting was a job rather than a profession (as a civilian, finding an uzi on top of the towel basket is a bit of a surprise I can tell you). Additionally, I've moved on the fringes of circles not normally favoured by 'normal' folk - I was a biker and all of us who've been two-wheeled at some point in our lives know what that inevitably brings you into contact with.
> 
> Despite all that tho', I know that I will never have the same bond with my Army/Navy/RAF Mates that they have with their fellows. Also, I will never quite understand the use of brawling as 'entertainment', despite my love of the martial arts. Intellectually I can understand it and I suppose at its root it's nothing less than a physical extension of the verbal sparring all groups of friends and associates indulge in ... but ... I guess I've had enough pain in my life without borrowing some more .


 
Well, part of it, I'm sure, at least where special forces/infantry/anyone else who might have to risk it all with other team members in combat, is that simple additional bonding soldiers have always gone through: If I know you can face me, or if I know you will help me face this bar, I know you will help me face the enemy. That you will "go through the door" with me when it matters. 

My own State Guard unit is far less rowdy than that, we kid, but don't actually *fight*( part of that is I'm sure due to the fact that most of us in the unit are considerably older than raw "enlistment" age( me being 30 I'm, I believe the 4th youngest in the unit with one a slightly younger and 2 of high school age). But I'll tell you, Our Sergeant Major may be in his late fifties and gray, but I still wouldn't mess with him on my *best* day (you don't just forget what you take away from 30 years in the Marines) 

But even despite that, now having experienced civvie friends and military friends, I understand now what the ex-mil folks I met as a civvie were talking about with the difference between them, and how you trust, and remember military friends a lot easier than you trust most of your civvie friends.


----------



## matt.m (Apr 20, 2008)

I think the whole point is this: Even though I am from the Parish Morton of Nithsdale and Dumfresshire, the Highlands.   My family were the builders of "The Presbyterian Unuversity" in the Highlands.  

But I know one thing for absolute certainty that Field Discipline, Shurekin, Andy, Letch, Kudswarrior and I were to be going to the pub, perse.......then total strangers would bond as brothers and be the best of Mates, and hosts to each other.


----------



## Andy Moynihan (Apr 20, 2008)

matt.m said:


> I think the whole point is this: Even though I am from the Parish Morton of Nithsdale and Dumfresshire, the Highlands. My family were the builders of "The Presbyterian Unuversity" in the Highlands.
> 
> But I know one thing for absolute certainty that Field Discipline, Shurekin, Andy, Letch, Kudswarrior and I were to be going to the pub, perse.......then total strangers would bond as brothers and be the best of Mates, and hosts to each other.


 

Hooah.:drinky:


----------

