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thedrifter
12-19-05, 06:52 AM
Martial arts giving Marines an edge

QUANTICO, Va., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps is combining the most effective techniques of martial-arts disciplines from around the world into a single course of study.

Lt. Col. Joseph C. Shusko, director of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, tempers martial-arts instruction with character-building lessons as he forges a new breed of warrior at the Marine Corps Martial Arts Center of Excellence in Quantico, Va., the Washington Times reports.

If the 49-year-old New Jersey native -- known as "Cyborg" -- has his way, every Marine will benefit from the program, the newspaper said.

Unlike men and women in the other branches of the armed forces, every Marine is taught how to fight hand-to-hand.

"Every Marine is a rifleman. Every Marine is a martial artist," Shusko said.

The motto "One Mind, Any Weapon" is emblazoned on the T-shirt of every instructor in the program, which teaches 184 fighting techniques and more than 60 character-building lessons.

Shusko, who has been MCMAP's director since 2003, believes his is the largest martial-arts school in the world, with more than 150,000 students, the newspaper said.