OPEN-LETTER: Response to Criticisms
of Competition Cage Fighting Skills Being Taught to Police and
Military
by Pat Miletich
It has been brought to my attention that some
private police and military training companies state that the
skills needed to compete in a cage fight, better known as MMA,
have no place in the police or military world. They make several
uneducated statements and claims I feel compelled to discuss,
which leads me to writing this article. The fact I have gained
immense knowledge from others in both the fighting world and
the LE/Military world over many years has led me to find this
an easy subject to debate.
I become frustrated when reading certain articles
that disrespect the fact that officers are learning these skills
to help them survive the attack they hope will never happen.
We must address the motives behind articles of this type. I
have always been a believer that every system has something
to offer, however small that something might be. This is the
true essence of Mixed Martial Arts fighting. When an individual
writes an article of this nature, I feel a sense of fear and
lack of being open minded on their part. Perhaps more likely
is they feel a little threatened as far as loss of business.
They also do not understand the years of experience
and development that goes into bringing these two worlds (LE/Military
and MMA) together to save lives. After all, are we not in this
to gain knowledge that will save lives? The people who have
truly done their homework in the two fields have come to an
understanding of the mixed martial arts material that is appropriate
and applicable in the LE/Military worlds.
As in the martial arts world, many traditional
martial artists make ludicrous claims stating that they do not
compete in MMA because they would kill someone with their one
strike, one kill techniques. The other one I hear is that we
are not martial artists. I find that hard to believe when I
have black belts in Karate, two forms of Jiu-Jitsu, held a title
in Muay-thai kickboxing, wrestled for 20 years, was unbeaten
in pro boxing and held the world title in the UFC for 3 1/2
years. I have also been either lucky enough or good enough to
train more pay-per-view and world champion fighters than anyone
else in the game.
The previous statements about myself are not
an attempt to toot my own horn, but rather to make a point.
I do understand how to handle a human body. I also understand
police use of force rules, lack of budgets and time for training
officers, coupled with the unfortunate lack of enthusiasm by
some officers to train enough to save their own skin in a tight
spot.
My experience in training police and military
has had a few mentors to which I paid very close attention.
Although I have had many advise me, I have spent time learning
from three individuals. Mark Hanssen is the first I will mention,
as Mark and I have been steadfast friends for many years. Mark
started me in the training world when he would bring me in to
help train officers in our home state of Iowa. Mark is a police
officer in Davenport, Iowa and also a very accomplished martial
artist who was ranked in the top ten heavy weights in the world
of MMA. He would correct me if I mistepped in teaching incorrectly
in relation to use of force rules police had to follow.
The next two are Don Roberts and Tony Grano
of the Controlled F.O.R.C.E. police training company. Tony and
Don are two of the most experienced I have seen in the industry
and I greatly respect the knowledge they have passed on to me
in the LE/Military training world.
Pat Miletich (center) with Tony Grano
(left center)
and Don Roberts (right center) at USMC Martial
Arts Center for Excellence in Quantico, VA
They explained that they wanted to tap into
some of my knowledge in the fighting world to help officers
learn how to move correctly when under stress in encounters
with street savvy subjects as well as passive resisters.
The following are some of the misconceptions
I see taking place in the police and military training world
towards mixed martial arts being taught in the police and military
world.
They assume the following things when attacking our way of
thinking and teaching:
1) All involved
in the MMA game are teaching police and military to perform
submission holds.
ANSWER:
This could not be further from the truth. After years of experience
I have learned officers must be taught the fundamental basics
of movement and control to survive an encounter with a passive
resister and beyond. To teach officers submission holds does
not apply to their line of work and is offending my intelligence
to say I would even teach this as a goal to officers.
Could an officer use a submission hold? Of
course, but it's not the goal!
2) MMA techniques
are not useful in the police world because of use of force rules
now implemented in law enforcement.
ANSWER:
Quite the opposite is true. The fundamentals of controlling
a subject taught in MMA are without a doubt the best we have
available to us in the history of combat at whatever level.
The sport of MMA fighting is simply a proving ground for these
techniques. By using this arena we quickly find out what works
and what does not work. These techniques can be used to gain
compliance of a passive resister without injury, or can be escalated
as needed if the subject escalates in level of force.
3) The skills
needed in a cage fight cannot be used to defend oneself against
multiple attackers.
ANSWER:
Wrong!! The fundamentals of cage fighting can easily be used
to survive multiple attackers. Don’t assume that I would
take a fight on the street to the ground against even one opponent.
And yes, I have been attacked by multiple attackers and things
worked out quite nicely.
4) It would be
easy to stick the barrel of my gun down the throat of a skilled
fighter if he were to attack you.
ANSWER:
Who are you kidding? You think that people announce when they
are going to attack a police officer. When officers are attacked
they are always surprised and very seldom ready to react. Don’t
mislead officers by saying you would almost always win the fight
because you are in possession of a firearm.
Imagine a street wise fighter attacking you
when you’re not ready. He throws you on your head and
begins to pound you in the face. You’re saying you would,
while being punched in the face, remove your hand from protecting
your head, reach down and pull out your gun and shove it down
the attackers throat. Not likely. You'll be suprised how self
preservation insticts take over in a real fight. Protecting
your head from being caved in usually comes first.
If you have been trained how to first stop
the takedown, then defend yourself on the ground if needed and
escape back to your feet, you would then be able to pull your
weapon and take care of business. I don't know about you, but
I would rather understand how to survive the fight first and
depend on the weapon as a last case scenario. Putting your faith
in a weapon you might never have the chance to pull is odds
I would never bet on. Officers have said to me that they would
die for their families. I simply tell them to train hard so
they can live for their families.
Officers who are trained in MMA fighting techniques
are much more confident and less likely to panic under a stressful
situation. Using common sense on how to stay relaxed in a verbal
confrontation and the skills of controlling subjects used in
MMA fighting helps save lives. This is our main goal, right?
Pat Miletich has over 14 years experience
as a LE/Military Instructor specializing in Advanced Survival
Tactics and Military Support and Stability Training. Mr. Miletich
as also a former UFC World Champion, has trained over 85 pay
per view fighters and 14 world champions in the sport of MMA.
