With Bare Hands, Soundlessly

When one of the guys hits the ground, he thumps like a dropped sack of flour – as the saying goes. But looking at his face, he does not seem to be sensing the pain. He stands up almost immediately, quickly wipes off the dust, and continues the fight.

– These are tough kids! – comments Major Sándor Nyíri, the acting commader of 5/24th ’Gergely Bornemissza’ Reconnaissance Battalion of the infantry brigade. This is the unit the soldiers of which could apply for admission to the military hand-to-hand combat camp ’code-named’ IRON WILL 2009 – voluntarily, of course. The fact that three weeks ago there were thirty troops to start the training, and only ten remained before the exam clearly proves how tough this camp is… I’m told that there were some who gave up the fight in soul, but unfortunately, there were a few who could not carry on with the training due to minor or more serious injuries.

The Debrecen-based reconnaissance battalion organized a camp under a similar title last year, which lasted for two weeks only but still it was a big success. Fired by that, it has been incorporated again in the training schedule of the unit for 2009. Nevertheless, the camp does not aim at using a new style but to teach the personnel the well-tried, simple and efficient techniques, and to utilize them in combat – I learn from Major Nyíri.

In camp IRON WILL 2009 the participants learn the elements of fighting with bare hands, just like last year. The battalion also plans to organize a similar military close combat training next year where the best troops of the three courses would continue the training together. But by that time, the personnel would be trained with so-called cold weapons, such as knives and other striking, thrusting, and cutting weapons.

– The most important thing about the whole camp is that we, the trainers, also take it very seriously. Therefore the high dropout rate is not a problem. For as early as the planning stage, we aim at putting together a program which cannot be completed by everyone. This will give the camp real prestige and those who pass the difficult exam with success, will be truly recognized – says Major Sándor Nyíri, who also tells me that the troops of the brigade have four trainings a day. Sometimes the instructors wake them up in the middle of the night and they engage in fight around the campfire.

The breaking technique, which serves to measure how hard the body is – the organizers say –, was incorporated as a new item in this year’s program. For breaking tiles and laths used for roofs put one’s will and determination to test. But the greatest novelty of IRON WILL 2009 is still combat-centeredness, for soldiers can only be prepared for ’live’ combat if they practice shadow-boxing and also gain experiences of success, failure, joy and pain in hard fights – says Major Nyíri.

The trainers ‘favoured’ the campers with a surprise as well, since on the last day before the exam, famous experts visited them to transfer their theoretical and practical knowledge. This training day started with a kempo training led by four-dan master and world champion Valér Papp, the president of the Hungarian Zen Bu Kan Kempo Association. The guys practice the hits and kicks used in ground fighting. In the next class, retired Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Zoltán Zöllei, the expert of close combat hand-to-hand fighting, and Major Károly Molnár, the head of HDF Central Training Base Military Physical Education and Close Combat Methodology Section trains the guys. The training focuses on defending hits and kicks and the practice of throws.

Norbert Növényi is the third one to stand before the ’campers’. Everyone knows that the former Olympic champion wrestler, European and world champion kick-boxer, and MMA world champion is a huge man, but dressed in military training gear, he seems to be an ’invincible muscle tower’. During the sixty minutes or so scheduled for him, he tries to make the soldiers of the Debrecen corps familiar with the basics of MMA or mixed martial arts. And of course, he also flashes his genuine ’Növényi-humour’ several times – between the thumping sounds of painful ’landings’, they often burst into a laugh. These sixty minutes fly by so fast…

As I learn from Maj. Sándor Nyíri, MMA is one of today’s most lifelike combat sports system, which makes it possible for those engaged in a fight to prove their skills, determination and preparedness with only a minimum set of rules. The MMA system has its own techniques which were collected from the repertoire of the most efficient combat sports and martial arts: the moves of jiu-jitsu, kempo, judo, Thai box, karate, boxing, and wrestling were amalgamated and combined. As a result of this, a well-prepared fighter is experienced in standing combat and ground fighting as well.

After Norbert Növényi, it is his personal trainer Sándor ‘Nyiba’ Németh who makes the guys sweat. The former Olympic champion wrestler and former captain and trainer of the Hungarian Freestyle Wrestling Team introduces the Debrecen troops into the special features of ground fighting. For the most part, they practice the moves which can also be used in military hand-to-hand combat.

In the last stage of the extraordinary training day the close combat instructor of the reconnaissance battalion, Sergeant First Class Zsolt Varga demonstrates specific military techniques, the methods of silencing and neutralizing guards. Naturally, they work with bare hands and without making any sound again.

When the morning program ends, I learn from the acting commander of the battalion: the exam which is due tomorrow will be ’terribly hard’. They will start with condition tests and continue with assessing the so-called basic technical knowledge, demonstrating kicks, hits and the methods of bringing someone down to the ground. Following that, the trainees have 3×1 minutes to convince the examiners about their proficiency: they will have to fight each other according to the rules of ground fighting, kempo and MMA. The exam finishes with testing breaking technique, which again requires a very high level of preparedness from the troops.

Those who fulfil the requirements with success will be given a certificate – says Maj. Nyíri, adding: this document entitles the owner to teach basic techniques in his unit.

We managed to get hold of two members of the camp before the afternoon training. 1st Lieutenant Sándor Nagy told us: in the past three weeks he has mastered a diverse and complex knowledge, but this required tremendous physical and psychical strength because the instructors did not treat them leniently. Of course, he did not expect this either, for he really wanted to learn the techniques of military hand-to-hand combat when he filed his application for the training. Since he is preparing for service abroad, in his opinion this knowledge is not unnecessary – a situation when he has to use one of the moves he has learned in the camp may emerge any time on a mission.

In the opinion of Sergeant András Fekete the close combat camp faced the troops with high requirements and everybody made efforts to fulfil these, even because of their own self-esteem. As he says, he had been dealing with combat sports before and wanted to test himself here, to find out what his knowledge is enough for, since he, too, would like to go on mission soon, where it may happen that he can benefit from what he has learned now.

The break is soon over, and the instructors call the soldiers of the camp to the afternoon trainings in the makeshift arena in front of the shooting range tower of Hajdúhadház. Soon we hear nothing else but the hollow thumps again…