U.S. Marines Close-Quarter Combat Manual

Reading over the other reviews, I thought I would try and clear the air about what this book and the system it explains is all about. For credentials, I have dabbled in several different fighting arts, and I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps infantry when they were still teaching this system. First, please understand that this is NOT a self-defense system. The Marine Corps does not teach you how to survive a mugging. They do not teach you how to beat up the local bully. They teach you how to kill your opponent. The Marine Corps does not have the time or the instructors to teach a complex fighting system to every Marine. So this system is very simple. It is based on a few maneuvers, which are adapted around different situations that soldiers are likely to encounter. It is assumed that your opponent will most likely be wearing a flak jacket, so blows to the abdomen are not dwelled upon. Strikes to the throat and groin, eye gouging and the breaking of limbs are the standard techniques. There are no wasted movements, and all moves finish with some form of killing blow, usually a kick to the head of a prone opponent. The whole premise of LINE training is to condition your muscles to react in a certain way in given situations. That is why the moves are all so similar. This simplifies the muscle memorization to make it easier to teach this system to many people in as short a time as possible. It is a very basic, yet effective system. LINE training's simplicity is its strongest asset. This system was never intended to create world class fighters. It was intended to be effective in difficult surroundings when the user is tired, cold, and hungry. It was designed to provide Marines with the means to destroy the enemies they might encounter on the battlefield, as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you have already trained in the martial arts or some other fighting system, then this is may not the book for you. It's simplicity and lack of practical alternatives to killing may not be what you are looking for. However, there are some useful sections about sentry elimination, knife fighting, and weapons of opportunity that you might not get in a standard martial arts class. And lastly, it is my understanding that the Marine Corps abandoned this system because it was too effective. Unfortunately, you cannot force Marines to only use what they have been taught when they are on the battlefield. Too many bar fights and other scuffles amongst Marines themselves or against civilians resulted in severe injuries to the combatants. And because there is a relatively small chance that our soldiers will run out of bullets, it was felt that a less brutal system could be found. I highly recommend this system and this book. It does what it is designed to do very well.

I will recomend this book gladly.The pictures in this book are a bit crude but bring the point of the instruction across verry well. The techniques are easy to understand for most anybody I could think of. I would be carefull about when you chose to use these techniques because they are all the simplified method of killing. As far as self defence goes, I think its fine to use these techniques as long as you dont use the kill move. Be carefull, you may end up injuring your freinds if you use these techniques with no judgment. They say that these moves become automatic, well Im sure thats true for marines who do the moves 100 times a day when doing basic training. I think that the whole nueral over ride thing is a point of repetition and training that you decide upon. Its a good foundation to work off in hand to hand combat. I recomend giveing it a look.

This is a miltary ops manual not a book on sport or civilian application of martial arts. As a military ops manual it gives a detailed presentation of a simplified system to kill your opponent. Useful information from an overall training format. The repetiveness of technique referred to by some is KISS in application. You should give this ops manual a read to broaden your prospective, while at the same time understanding that for force applications outside of military operations the goal is to stop the threat not to kill.

I personally recoment this book to any of you who are worried about what you will do when you are in a life or death situation. However, this book is strongly suggested to be avoided for those of you who have a weak stomache, or may use this information without thought of conciquence. Quote from the intro: "Close combat techniques cause permanent bodily damage to the opponent with every attack and should end in the opponent's death." Not reccomended for civilian use. Buy at your own risk.

When I joined the Marines, I was taught the LINE system. the hard way, I had more than a few bruises from being kicked, punched etc. This manual offers instruction in LINE (Linear Infighting Neural Override) training and is NOT a martial art system, which is valuable in a studio, fighting other martial artists. It is NOT a "self-defense" book. ie; "repel an attack, so I can get away to get help"... This book teaches you how to KILL. It tells you how to counter punches, kicks, chokes, headlocks, knife attacks, bayonet attacks.. It also covers how to fight with a knife, bayonet, how to remove a sentry (in various situations), how to fight multiple opponents, how to fight on the ground, and tactical weapons of opportunity....in each scenario, the opponent is KILLED FAST. It is very simple to learn, and can be learned safely with a partner (although I recommend finding someone who knows what they're doing to help you) FOR USE IN LIFE-OR-DEATH situations only. OORAH Semper fi (Note: LINE training has been discontinued by the USMC because it is "Too violent and brutal"... If it's too harsh for the Marines, You KNOW it's rough) The Close-combat system currently in use by the Marines is "Kill or get killed" by Col. Rex Applegate. also known as "BLOCK" training.