Marines Compete for Mixed Martial Arts Tan Belt

[thedrifter]

Marines Compete for Mixed Martial Arts Tan Belt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 19, 2003

By USN Journalist 2nd Class Leah Smith



CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar ? The wind is blowing hot and hard. The desert sand pollutes the air. It?s a starry night, but no one seems to notice.

Their eyes are hard and focused. Their camouflage pants are covered in sand, and their foreheads with small beads of sweat. Their concentration is hard to break. It is that of a warrior ? that of a United States Marine working diligently to earn a ?tan belt? in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

According to Gunnery Sgt. Dan Schaller of Dodge City, Kan., martial arts training is now required for all Marines, and every United States Marine is required to complete level one training by Oct. 1, 2003.

?Level one training is what we call ?tan belt,?? said Schaller. ?There are five different colors of belts in the program: tan, gray, green, brown and black. There are also six degrees of black belts.?

Schaller, along with Gunnery Sgt. Billy Montgomery of Dumas, Ark., are the class leaders for U.S. Central Command Marines here.

The course usually requires 27 1/2 hours of training. Montgomery and Schaller explained their breakdown as a 10-day course with each course being approximately 2 hours long.

Schaller and Montgomery were both trained by black belt instructors at the Martial Arts Center for Excellence in Quantico, Va.

Schaller explained how you can tell the difference between a Marine martial arts-trainee, an instructor and instructor-trainers just by looking at their uniform belts.

?A trainer, as myself, has a tan tab on their belt,? he said. ?Instructor trainers wear a red tab.?

The current class Montgomery and Schaller are instructing had 34 students at its peak. Students ranged from the ranks of sergeant to colonel.

?It?s really nice to have a place to kill time? in a beneficial way, said Spc. Eric Sellers, Company B, 3-504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who is glad to have access to the new equipment because ?there are really no more lines to use the equipment.?

?Obviously, every time you go into (the gym), it?s crowded,? said Ferrazas. He said that the gym offers more than a place to work out. It offers ?escape,? he said. ?I go in there and I can just forget about everything.?

He said that like a lot of soldiers, ?I just get on a treadmill, and take off running,? he said. ?You?re just in there working out, taking out frustrations, or just relaxing,? and that?s how it should be,? he said.

Montgomery said his favorite aspect of the course was the camaraderie he saw between his fellow Marines.

?It?s great to be able to bond with other Marines,? he said. ?They all feed off of the energy. I love it!?

Schaller said what he enjoyed most about the course was ?getting Marines together to do Marine stuff.?

?I love it! You really see it when they come out here and click,? he said about the comradeship. ?We?re getting back to our basic roots ? back to the warrior mentality. Whether you are admin or infantry you are still a warrior and still a Marine.?

? 2003, U.S. Central Command.



Marines participate in martial arts training in Qatar.
U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Leah Smith



Sempers,

Roger