Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Air Crew Self-Defense Techniques
Air Crew Self-Defense Techniques
February 1963
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Introduction
During World War II, US bomber groups in Europe suffered more combat casualties than
did the US Marine Corps in the Pacific. Many of the lost airmen ended up in German
POW camps, and as a result a generation of US Air Force officers were firm believers in
tough, realistic escape and evasion training. So, when Lt. General Curtis LeMay took
over the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1949, he decided to implement a physical
training program for bomber crews that included a Japanese-designed mix of Kodokan
judo, Shotokan karate, and Tomiki aikido.
In 1952, Air Training Command (ATC) took over the Strategic Air Command program,
and until 1966, Stead Air Force Base in Reno, Nevada, was the Air Force's Combative
Measures (Judo) course. The US Air Force Survival School history acknowledges that
the "Combative Measures course was extremely successful but, in an effort to reduce
aircrew training time [during the Vietnam buildup] and to reduce spending, it was
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dropped from the [Survival School] course."
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Thirty-five years later, while there are many Americans who learned judo from former
Air Force judoka, there is virtually no institutional memory of the program within the
active Air Force or its historical branch. EJMAS is therefore proud to remedy this
omission by reprinting a number of manuals obtained from W. Stewart Bush, who was a
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US Air Force judo instructor at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, during the 1950s
and 1960s.
A theme repeated several times in this document is that "In every situation, it is most
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advisable to get your opponent off balance before going on the offensive." This is
contradictory to what is often taught in military-style martial art classes today. Also, a
caveat: as an instructor's manual, it is assumed that the instructor knows how to teach the
hands-on portions of the training. As a result, why is stressed more than how. How is
discussed in greater detail, however, in manuals to be added to this series in coming
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months.
deserves every right to continue to enjoy this heritage. To preserve this intangible
property our flyers must be able to go on to an enemy target and return. To accomplish
this, our country not only provides the finest equipment available for accomplishment of
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the primary mission, it also provides the aircrewman with extensive knowledge of proven
methods of survival and the equipment to enable him to effect a safe return in the event
an emergency puts him into a survival or evasion situation.
What with training in survival on both land and water, escape and evasion, survival
weapons, resistance, and unarmed combative measures, together with the maintenance of
a capable rescue service, a flyer can rest assured that every means has been taken to
provide for his return.
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The training which you will receive at this school will give you the ability to apply the
principles of attack and defense, to apply effective chokes, to defend yourself against
chokes and both rear and frontal body attacks. You will learn the way to use a knife as a
weapon and how to defend yourself against somebody else's knife. You will learn how to
deal with an enemy armed with a pistol or rifle. You will learn to maneuver for control
and how to throw an attacking enemy and apply counters and combinations in hand-to-
hand combat. Above all else you should learn when to attempt and when not to attempt to
use knowledge and skill you will gain.
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Objectives
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The student will:
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2. Understand how to deliver and avoid blows to vulnerable areas.
3. Be able to apply the techniques of mixed fighting using karate and judo
movement in standing and ground positions.
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Introduction
Unarmed combative measures might be defined as "the amount of fighting which, if you
are weaponless, is necessary to overcome your attacker." Since we talk in terms of
"maximum efficiency with a minimum of effort," we seek to use the measures
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appropriate to any given situation. In this lesson we discover the simpler methods of
moving and striking which will take care of many situations. Good body management
will move you from the more dangerous positions in front of your attacker and enable
you to counterattack by providing the opportunity to deliver effective blows to his most
vulnerable areas. In this lesson, you will not only discover which of your attacker's
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vulnerable areas will be exposed to you under various types of attack, but you will also
learn which blow will be effective.
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Study Assignment
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Supplementary Information
Americans brought up in the environment of fair play and consideration for others are not
normally proficient in disposing of an adversary in a "rough-and-tumble" fight. When it
comes to "kill or be killed," you must know how to bring into play measures which you
may never have considered before -- in order to preserve your own life. You must be
ready to gouge, kick, knee an attacker's groin, and use many other "unethical" forms of
attack. You must be ready to crush an enemy's skull or separate his vertebrae with a
stamp of your foot. You must be able to use knuckles, fists, and elbows as they have
never been used before. When you have the enemy down, don't let him up. Kicking and
stamping techniques may be used most effectively in this situation. If you have been
knocked down, you should know enough about falling to fall without injury to yourself,
and immediately to protect yourself from his boots or other means of attack. The trained
person can be very dangerous even when on the ground. (See Figures 2, 3, 4, 5.)
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Feet are fine defensive weapons and will keep your attacker at a respectful distance. If he
does attempt to get inside your guard, you can inflict damage in varying degrees,
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depending on where you direct your blows. Vulnerable areas are the kneecap, groin,
abdomen, ribs, throat, and face. One important thing to remember is to fight defensively
until you have your opponent off balance. Give way as your adversary presses to the
attack. This should effect his off-balance. He expects to have his attack resisted,
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therefore, he exerts enough force to accomplish his attack. If you "give way" and do not
provide the resistance he expects, you will maintain good balance while he puts himself
in an off-balance position which makes it hard for him to defend himself.
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Question
What is meant by "giving way" under attack, and how will it affect your attacker?
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Have you ever seen a person try to force himself into a room when the door is locked? He
puts his shoulder to it and pushes. If it doesn't give on the first try, he will again try, using
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additional force. Now, what would happen if someone unlocked the door and turned the
knob just as he was giving it the third try? He would probably charge through and fall on
his face! The same principles would apply if you "gave way" under a similar type of
attack. Add knowledge of the karate striking techniques of the vulnerable areas, and his
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The measures you should take when your attacker is off-balance, or when you are in a
close quarter fighting situation are predominantly striking techniques. One well-directed
blow can save you much struggling. After you have learned the art of body movement
and balance, the next step is to learn to inflict damage on your attacker. You will learn
how to deliver blows most effectively, and what areas of the body to strike. This training
is called "karate." It is derived from an ancient form of fighting originating in the Far
East. Here you use your natural weapons. Your hands, feet, elbows, and knees make fine
offensive weapons, and they can be an effective deterrent in defense against many types
of attack. Evan an attacker wielding a knife, a gun, or a stick can be overcome if you
properly apply the principles and techniques which you will learn during this training.
(See Figures 5A, 5B.) [EN2]
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CHOKES AND DEFENSE AGAINST REAR AND FRONTAL BODY ATTACKS
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Objectives
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Introduction
In hand-to-hand fighting with an enemy, you must expect the dirtiest, most unethical type
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of fighting you have ever been exposed to, and you must be prepared to resort to such
tactics yourself. This lesson deals with the simplest and quickest ways of gaining the
advantage over an enemy regardless of the type of attack he may use. One of the simplest
means of gaining this advantage is to use your foot, knee, or elbow as a weapon. No
matter what type of unarmed attack he makes, he must bring himself within range of your
natural weapons. If he should grab you from behind, for example, a well placed elbow
blow, or a stamp to his shin or arch should force him to release you. Against close in
frontal attacks, a knee blow delivered to the groin should do the trick. If he should
attempt to choke you, these same blows can be the means of preventing this action. You
will also learn how to apply many chokes, without exposing yourself to the same dangers
your attacker does when he attempts to choke you.
Study Assignment
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Supplementary Information
Choking is one of the most useful methods of disposing of an enemy when it is necessary
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in an escape or evasion situation. (See Figures 6, 7, 7A.)
A guard or sentry, who is posted well away from camp, can be quietly and efficiently
taken care of in this manner, without arousing anyone with excessive noise.
ozQuestion
effect quite rapidly. In the sport of judo, after a man has been choked, a little resuscitation
is all that is necessary for complete recuperation. In combat, however, these same chokes
can be used to kill depending on how long the choke is held. When the collar choke or
garrote is used, pressure is applied to the carotid arteries of the neck, thereby interrupting
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It requires only a few seconds to "black out" a person with this type of choke.
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In judo, joint-locking, like the chokes, is another method of getting your opponent to
submit. Application of pressure to the elbow or shoulder joint will cause immediate
submission before the joint can be damaged. Unlike the chokes, joint-locking causes
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excruciating pain, and your opponent will not hesitate to surrender. In the case of hand-
to-hand combat with an enemy, you will not be concerned with making him "give up."
Question
If you succeed in getting a joint-lock on the enemy, what is your next step?
Once in position to apply the lock, apply the force necessary to break the arm or shoulder.
This will severely incapacitate your enemy, and it is quite possible that the pain will
render him unconscious for a time. You will then be in a better position to take any
further measures you deem necessary to continue your escape.
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Objectives
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1. Warm up and review the previous lesson.
2. Understand how to use a knife effectively.
3. Understand how to defend against a knife attack.
4.
5.
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Be able to use and defend against a club.
Be able to engage successfully in mixed randori-style, karate, knife, and club
fighting.
Introduction
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Most aircrew members carry a knife as part of their equipment on combat missions, but
few ever expect to use it as a means of defense and offense in personal combat. With very
little training, a knife can be a formidable piece of emergency armament. If you find
yourself without the regular sidearm, you may have to rely on your knife. A sentry may
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have to be taken out, in order for you to pass a remote post. An unsympathetic enemy
civilian may resent your intrusion and attack with some crude weapon. A knife can be a
real asset in these and similar circumstances.
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Study Assignment
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Supplementary Information
Although it would be a rare occasion when you must defend yourself against an enemy
armed with only a knife, the possibility is ever present. To prepare for this eventuality, a
portion of this course is devoted to knife fighting. Naturally a person who is well trained
in handling a knife will be a difficult opponent to cope with. He can, however, be
defeated with no other weapons than your hands and feet. The knife attacker can be held
at a distance and made to respect a safety range by the proper use of kicking techniques.
The length of an outstretched leg is normally quite a bit greater than that of the extended
arm with a knife held in the hand. If the attacker attempts to press the attack, a few feints
in the direction of his extended knee or groin will slow him down considerably. Scooping
up a handful of dirt and throwing it in the attacker's face will also be a distraction, and
possibly afford the opportunity to counter. Of course, if you can find a stick of almost any
length to aid in your defense, you are in a much better position to overcome the enemy.
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The stick can be used both as an offensive and a defensive weapon. No attacker with a
knife can take liberties with an individual holding even a short stick (fourteen to sixteen
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inches). A longer stick would naturally be much more effective. If your only weapon is a
knife, your enemy will have to respect your weapon as much as you respect his. You
should be fighting a defensive battle in any instance. The object is to make him come off
balance by causing him to commit himself to a definite threat. Your counter will require
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short slashing movements at any exposed part of his body, after he has missed his thrust
and thus created the off-balance needed for your advantage.
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Since your use of the knife would be primarily defensive, when would be the most
opportune time to go on the offense?
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If he can be incapacitated, by several slashes to the wrist or leg, your eventual success is
practically assured. Thus, with your defensive knife fighting, you are looking for one of
two situations to present itself: One, the opportunity to incapacitate him with your
defensive counter slashes; two, finding him completely off balance by his lunge so that
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Objectives
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Introduction
An enemy soldier or guard holding you at gunpoint will make several mistakes, unless he
is well trained in handling prisoners. One mistake on the enemy's part is all that is needed
to enable a trained individual to successfully disarm the soldier or guard. The impatient
guard can give you the opportunity for action when, to get you to move faster, he prods
you in the back with his weapon. Or the gloating, over-confident captor may give you the
opportunity when he sticks his weapon in your stomach to accentuate his orders.
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However, these instances may be rare. You must try to induce the wary guard into
committing the one blunder which you can use to best advantage. The trained person is
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much harder to cope with because he will usually maintain a discreet distance. Disarming
a person who holds a gun on you is always dangerous; nevertheless, it can be done with a
better than even chance for success, if you choose the proper psychological moment. (See
Figure 8.)
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Study Assignment
Pages 55-63, SACM 50-10B.
Supplementary Information
Usually the enemy soldier who confronts you will be armed with a pistol or rifle. An
untrained person, because he lacks confidence, normally considers this a hopeless
situation and resigns himself to his fate. A trained individual, however, is already in the
process of evaluating the situation and figuring his chances of escape. At the first
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command, he knows enough to give way by obeying all orders quickly; he is also aware
of the safety range, line of fire, and anything else about his captor that may give him an
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idea of how he can effect an escape. He is alert (See Figures 9-10) and waiting for the
psychological time to act, and has concentrated his gaze on the eyes of his captor. Your
captor's eyes will normally be a clue to his next move.
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As long as his gaze is fixed on your upraised arms or in that general vicinity, he is alert
for any move you may make. This is not the time to attempt to disarm him. The
psychological time to act is at that moment when he takes his eyes away from their
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original focal point. At this time, you captor's mind is not on you or your possible
intentions, but on the object of his gaze -- your weapon or your pockets. He is not
concentrating on the pulling of the trigger. If it is your gun he wants, or something in
your pockets, his mind is occupied with these thoughts. It is well known that the mind
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cannot maintain two separate thoughts with equal concentration, therefore, when he is
looking at the weapon in your holster or your pockets, his mind is not on the gun in his
hand, much less on squeezing the trigger if you move. So when his eyes turn away from
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their original focal point, it is time for you to make your move, providing of course, the
safety range is adequate. You know exactly what you are going to do, he does not. By the
time he is aware of your movement, he must do several things. He must recover from the
sensation, then interpret what has taken place, and finally pull the trigger. All this takes
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time, probably more time than it will take you to move your body out of the line of fire as
you deflect the weapon, and use whatever follow-up is necessary.
Question
What is meant by "psychological timing"?
In an attempt to disarm a person who has a pistol or rifle pointed at you, it is particularly
important to evaluate the line of fire. The direction in which you move is dictated by the
direction in which the weapon points in relation to your body. If the weapon is centered
on your body, the direction (left or right) you choose is optional. However, if the weapon
is pointed to your right side, your chances will be much better if you move your body to
the left. This cuts down the amount of time your body is exposed to the weapon as you
move out of the line of fire. For example, assume that the body is twelve inches across. If
the weapon were pointed at the middle of the right side of your body and you moved to
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your right, nine inches of your body would pass the muzzle, whereas if you moved to the
left, only three inches would be exposed to the muzzle. In other words, if you moved in
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the wrong direction, your body would be exposed to the line of fire three times as long as
it would have been if you had moved properly.
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Question
enough that you can reach it with a minimum of forward motion. If the weapon is behind
you, you must feel it poking into your back before it is advisable for you to attempt
disarming. If you can feel the weapon in your back, you know where it is. If you can't
feel it, you do not know whether it is one inch or several feet from you. If a knife is the
weapon your attacker is wielding, the safety range is different. Here, you should keep
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several feet between you and your attacker. If you are close, he can cut you without too
much effort on his part. If you are six feet or more away from him, he will have to lunge
to reach you. This gives you time to move out of the line of his thrust and be ready to
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Objectives
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1. Warm up and review the fundamentals of attack and defense, defense against
body attacks, use of knife, and defense against knife, club, pistol, and rifle.
2. Be able to throw an enemy.
3. Be able to perform combinations and maneuver for control.
4. Be able to successfully engage in general randori, using all techniques covered
previously and to include counters to ground holddowns and chokes.
Introduction
Throwing is a simple way of using your attacker's momentum and strength to your
advantage. There is no mystery involved in the fact that a 100 pounder can throw a 200
pounder with no apparent effort. The law of physics regarding inertia is the "big secret."
Since a body in motion tends to remain in motion, it only requires a little redirection of
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this motion to cause the person "in motion" to lose balance and fall. When you throw an
opponent, you not only inflict serious injury as a result of his contact with the ground, but
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you are also in a position to control him as he lies on the ground and to use any other
measures you may deem necessary at the time.
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Study Assignment
In a judo contest, it is fairly difficult for a man to throw his opponent if the skills of the
two are relatively equal. The greater the skill differential, the easier it becomes for the
one to throw the other. In hand-to-hand fighting, however, it requires very little skill to be
able to throw an opponent. This is due to the element of surprise. In the first place, your
enemy is not aware of your capability nor of your intention to throw him. Secondly, he is
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too intent on what he is trying to accomplish to use good judgment. Again, you should be
fighting defensively to set up the right off-balance situation. As he pushes you, he is off
balance to the front and can be thrown in this direction if you use his momentum to your
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advantage. By the same token, if he is tugging or pulling at you, he is off balance to the
rear. Your throwing effort should be in the rearward direction. Knowing the fundamentals
of a few throws, and an understanding of the principles involved, makes throwing an
unsuspecting attacker fairly easy.
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Question
In what direction would you throw a person who was starting to swing at you?
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In the second example, Figures 12, 13, 14, the off balance is to the rear. The crew
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member has been attacked from behind. By quickly "giving way" (in this case backing up
quickly as the attacker pulls) the attacker has been off-balanced. He did not expect this
reaction (non-resistance) to his pull. Now, as the attacker loses his balance the
aircrewman quickly makes a half pivot and places a leg behind the enemy. This action
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alone would probably cause the attacker to fall backward. However, to insure the fall and
maintain complete control of the action, both legs of the attacker are grabbed at the knees
and raised in a scooping motion. If the enemy continues to maintain his grasp, the airman
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need only drive the enemy into the ground by falling on him. The landing should be
pretty rough on the attacker, and the aircrewman is in good position to deliver destructive
hand, elbow, knee, or foot blows depending on his own position when the attacker hits
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the ground. (See Figure 14.) One of the main points to remember in considering the use
of throwing techniques is that the attacker expects you to resist his efforts in the accepted
way, with resistance. If you "give way" and do not supply the resistance he is expecting,
he is momentarily off balance, both mentally and physically. This is your opportunity to
throw, and remember, always throw in the direction of his off-balance.
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In every situation, it is most advisable to get your opponent off balance before going on
the offensive. His off-balance renders him ineffective in his own defense. Your balance
permits you to counterattack without any delay or lost motion. Guards or sentinels can be
taken out effectively through the use of choking techniques. However, it may not be
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would be missed from their posts too soon to afford you sufficient time to get far enough
away from the camp. With the whole countryside alerted, your chances would be pretty
slim.
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Objectives
Introduction
In the review of all critical items, you will have an additional opportunity to practice
techniques and refresh your memory. Speed will not be essential for the test since the
emphasis is placed on the mechanics of the techniques being evaluated.
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Study Assignment
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Supplementary Information
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There is no intention to make gun disarming or any other phase of this training sound
easy to perform. Many things must be considered. The element of surprise, for example,
is of the utmost importance. Without it very little can be accomplished. No one will
willingly permit himself to be kicked, choked, or disarmed. This must be accomplished
through surprise.
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EDITOR'S NOTES
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EN1. Although other Air Force manuals will be added to Journal of Non-Lethal
Combatives over time, SAC Manual 50-10B is not presently available. Anyone who has a
copy is therefore requested to contact the editor at jrsvinth@juno.com.
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EN2. For more detailed information about anatomical targets, see Joseph R. Svinth,
"Targets," http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_svinth6_1199.htm.
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