Cold Steel: Technique Of Close Combat

COLD STEEL Page 1 of 136     COLD STEEL  by JOHN STYERS Text prepared by Karl Schuon Photographs by Louis Lowery Foreword A sudden realization of the thorough preparation for combat which will become an integral part of a Marine recruit's life strikes grimly home when he arrives at Parris Island and reads its motto - "Let's be damned sure that no boy's ghost will ever say, 'If your training program had only done its job.'" But that training program doesn't end with boot camp nor does it end as long as the man is a Marine. Training develops specialists, and every Marine is a fighting specialist, equipped with the knowledge necessary to qualify him for his important role on one of the world's deadliest teams. Wherever he may be, he is kept abreast of the warfare times, taught the battle techniques of tomorrow, and given confidence in his own proficiency - the proficiency of his Corps. He is part of a team, trained to do his job in a coldly calculated war of scientific weapons and mass destruction. But the touted push button warfare has limitations, and they demand the individual's ability to meet his enemy face to face, steel to steel, hand-to-hand. Whether he is a radar operator, a communications man or a truck driver, he must be prepared to defend his own life in any eventuality. Close combat has been skillfully developed into a science of self-preservation - and the advance of death-dealing devices does not preclude the necessity for a basic knowledge of hand to hand principles and confidence in their application. A Warning Word... The publishers of Co/d Steel wish to express their concern regarding the possible dangers involved in releasing a book of this type. It must be clearly understood that the principles prescribed on the following pages are intended to teach the fighting man to kill. Every precaution must be exercised in the practice of these principles; a slip in a careless attempt to perform movements described in this book may result in serious damage or the death of an innocent training partner. Care should be taken to prevent the book from falling into the hands of children who may thoughtlessly try some of these principles on their playmates. Cold Steel is a recipe for death; use it wisely! PUBLISHER Preface But as brutality begets cruelty, so apology begets explanation. And, since America is not a brutal nation, the words between these covers are vulnerable to condemnation. But an honest purpose cannot be damned. As long as other nations war against each other in lust, greed and ambition, brutality will persist and the brutal words on these pages will have a purpose. When an atom bomb is loosed on a city, killing several hundred thousand people, the magnitude of suffering and death is incomprehensible to the average person and conjures up a picture of horror rather than brutality. If, however, the plane which dropped the bomb is forced down on enemy territory on the return flight, and the crew is faced with a hand-tohand grapple with an enemy patrol where a hand throttling a throat, a knee smashing into a groin or a finger gouging an eye may mean life or death, then brutality becomes a reality. Createdhttp://www.vrazvedka.ru/main/learning/ruk-b/styers.html with novaPDF Printer (www.novaPDF.com). Please register to remove this message. 3/6/2008 COLD STEEL Page 2 of 136 The realness of brutality must be faced with the same direct approach in which we build an air raid shelter. World War II taught Americans the vast scope of atrocity; it would be criminal negligence to close our eyes to the bloody mayhem American military men will meet in the field. They must be taught