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thedrifter
10-04-08, 05:09 AM
"It all comes down to you"

10/3/2008 By Lance Cpl. B.A. Curtis , 2nd Marine Logistics Group

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Oct. 3, 2008) —Since 1999 the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program has been a key component in the development and training of America’s Marines. The MCMAP’s motto, “One mind, any weapon,” is taken to heart by Marines shortly after they first place their feet on the infamous yellow footprints, to the day they depart from active service in the Corps.

Although all Marines take part in MCMAP, a unique blend of combat-tested martial arts skills, close combat training techniques and time-honored core values, some use the program’s fundamental teachings as a base to further their own martial arts education.

One Marine from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, Staff Sgt. Adam R. O’Malley, had no martial arts experience before joining the Marine Corps, but was immediately drawn in by the competitiveness and skill required to be successful in MCMAP, and has now taken what he learned from the program to the next level.

“The MCMAP program sparked a greater interest to learn about martial arts for me,” O’Malley said. “I wanted to learn more.”

The average person may run from the towering, 6-foot-6-inch, broad shouldered Cleveland native, who is now a black belt instructor in MCMAP. To add on to that, he has used the curiosity created by the program to drive himself to learn multiple disciplines of martial arts including: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-thai, Kickboxing and Sambo.

The talented martial artist uses the skills he’s learned to travel around the country competing in mixed martial arts competitions. Mixed martial arts is a full contact mixture of striking and grappling martial arts techniques.

O’Malley competes in dozens of competitions throughout the year. Later this year he will

Be going to the South Carolina Submission Grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship, to see if he can win his division for a third year in a row.

O’Malley, who currently serves as the Heavy Equipment Platoon commander for Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd MLG, also uses MCMAP as a launching pad to train eager Marines that share his love of martial arts.

“I think that teaching Marines MCMAP will open up their curiosity to learn other martial arts on their own accord,” O’Malley said.

“MCMAP to me is a basic fundamental understanding of martial arts,” He added. “Whenever a student has a curiosity about other techniques, I have the means to take the opportunity to teach them something else they can use.”

During the upcoming MMA competition in South Carolina, O’Malley will be competing alongside a team of aspiring martial artists chosen by him from MCMAP classes he teaches around Camp Lejeune. He has furthered these Marines’ skills by helping them learn additional forms of martial arts, thus preparing them for the competition and helping them better themselves by achieving their personal martial arts aspirations.

“I have always wanted to get into Jiu-Jitsu and Muay-thai,” explained Pfc. Brandon J. Gibson, a student of O’Malley who is competing in the competition. “Coming here and being able to train with someone who knows what he’s doing has really helped me … there’s a lot of things he has taught me that I never thought I could do.”

Gibson, a seasoned wrestler, now has serious aspirations to pursue greater skills in MCMAP and MMA thanks to O’Malley’s mentorship and dedication to teaching martial arts.

“By the time I leave here I want to be at least a brown belt in MCMAP,” Gibson said. “Staff sergeant (O’Malley) is way more then qualified to teach me those skills.”

O’Malley’s love for MCMAP and other martial arts stems from the experiences he’s encountered early during his martial arts training.

“Martial arts are a different means of competition that doesn’t rely on being part of a team,” O’Malley noted. “It all comes down to you. Can you keep your focus? Were you disciplined enough to accomplish everything you needed to achieve a win?”

O’Malley is confident that the teaching of martial arts is a good re-enforcer of the values taught to Marines from the beginning of their training, such as discipline, courage, commitment and combat skills. He feels it’s crucial to help Marines accomplish the dangerous missions they will face in the Corps, like prisoner handling, room clearing and any other mission where Marines may encounter hand-to-hand combat.

“I think it’s very important for Marines to learn martial arts,” O’Malley stated. “Marines have always been the types to engage in close-quarters combat, whether it may be armed or unarmed.”

O’Malley’s long hours of practice and hard work have helped him become the martial artist he is today. He contributes his success as a martial artist to the people he has trained with and have made it a way of life that he has embraced and come to love.

"I would just like to thank all the people who have helped me for all they have done."

Ellie