MARINE WITH A SECOND-DEGREE BLACK BELT



Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jeremy Meadows holds a Marine in a headlock while grappling at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., April 22, 2013. A martial arts instructor trainer, Meadows is one of only a few second-degree black belts assigned to the air station. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Melissa Eschenbrenner

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Face of Defense: Marine NCO Strives to Lead by Example
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Melissa Eschenbrenner
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif., May 23, 2013 - In the world's strongest fighting force, only a select few can say they've earned a second-degree black belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy Meadows is one of the few who proudly wear two red tabs here.

Before enlisting in the Marine Corps, Meadows -- a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor trainer with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 and a Lubbock, Texas, native -- earned a black belt in taekwondo. When he joined, MCMAP was still new and unknown to many Marines.

During his grey belt training, the challenging physical training and combat conditioning was something that made MCMAP fun, Meadows said.

"I got my green belt instructor tab in 2006," he said. "From that point, I got back to my command and started training Marines, and I fell in love with it. I like being in the dirt with the Marines. I would do that any day of the week."

The course is designed not only to prepare Marines for hand-to-hand combat, but also to add to the quality of the Corps as a whole. MCMAP is based on a synergy of three elements: physical fitness, mental strength and soundness of character.

"I try to style my life around the three synergies," Meadows said. "I just keep that in my mindset and try to better myself that way."

Meadows said he constantly sustains and passes his knowledge to other Marines, noting that it's pointless to have knowledge and skills but not share them with others. "You do know a few things, but what do you have to prove?" he added. "You should use those techniques to help other people."

Meadows wouldn't expect anything out of his Marines that he could not do himself, said Marine Corps Cpl. James Vandling, a green belt MCMAP instructor and a Randolph, N.J., native.

Marine Corps Cpl. Daitoine Austin, an operations noncommissioned officer with HMH-462, said Meadows is the type of Marine his subordinates should strive to be.

"I take a lot from his leadership style," said Austin, who hails from Cleveland. "You don't have many Marines that will go the distance to better Marines. He's not afraid of a challenge, and he's definitely not afraid of change."

Meadows said he uses what he knows as a martial arts instructor trainer and as a staff NCO to better the upcoming generation and ensure the legacy of greatness continues.

"I hope they take bits and pieces of my leadership style and apply it to theirs and strive every day to lead by example," he added. "You have to step in front and show your Marines that you're willing to do everything they do."

MARINE INSTROTOR IN THE MARTIAL ARTS

 

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bryan Polonia executes a hip throw on Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Zachary Acevedo during Marine Corps Martial Arts Program training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., March 26, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Melissa Wenger
 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Face of Defense: Instructor Trains Marines in Martial Arts
By Marine Corps Cpl. Melissa Wenger
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif., April 4, 2013 - In the early morning mist, a small group of Marines is limbered up, weighted down with flak jackets and ready for a fight. The rest of their squadron is preparing for another work day.

The instructor, a hulking figure packed with 30 to 40 more pounds of muscle than the next-largest Marine, surveys a rubberized gravel pit enclosed by slashed tires. The small group of students from Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 38 thrashes about in the pit, causing a spray of rubber pellets with each technique executed. The supervisor looks on as steam escapes from the bodies of each weary, but ever fierce, Marine as they push through pain and fatigue. And this is only their warmup.

The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, or MCMAP, isn't for everyone, and some find it especially difficult to be motivated to practice during those early hours.

"To want to do MCMAP takes a good instructor, not just an instructor that knows the techniques or an instructor who just knows what he's talking about, but an instructor that really makes you want to come out here every morning and keep doing these techniques," said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bryan Polonia, a gray belt class participant and a Stamford, Conn., native.

"[Marine Corps 1st Lt. Mark Cowett] is definitely one of those people," he added. "He cares about his students, he cares about the techniques he's teaching, and coming out here every day just makes you feel good about yourself."

No session with Cowett is complete without sweat-stained undershirts and boots full of gravel. Daily reiteration of the Marine Corps core values alongside physical training allows for growth and development of the students of the squadron's martial arts course.

"MCMAP is really a synergy of three disciplines: physical, mental, and character," said Cowett, a Chicago native. "The physical is accentuated every day when we teach the techniques."

The extremely physical nature of the martial arts program is balanced by the mental conditioning that Cowett emphasizes.

"When I teach the technique, it's more than just how to knock someone over. You have to be mentally sharp and know exactly what you're doing in any situation," he said. "That way, they really understand how MCMAP is more than just a test to be taken for a belt. It's actually a real life scenario and response to any kind of situation."

As for the character discipline, Cowett incorporates "tie-ins," ideas related to various aspects of the warrior ethos, with the teaching of each technique.

"There are always different ones about hazing, about commitment and about a lot of other things that we can definitely use," Polonia said. "It really teaches you how to be a better person, how to be a better man and a better Marine."

By employing these three disciplines, Cowett said, he has noticed a definite change in the skill level of his students.

"I used to just go through them like a knife through butter, but now, it's much more difficult," he said. "I'm looking forward to the day where they can all beat me, because it means that I've finally taught them all that I know."

Even though he has reached his end of active service and will be assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve this summer, Cowett carries on teaching the course to make sure that his students maintain some continuity in the mornings.

"It says a lot about his character," Polonia said. "It says a lot about the Marine he is and the Marine he will always be."

While covered in sweat, debris and maybe even a bit of blood, each student leaves the class looking like a battle-hardened warrior. Still, the adrenaline rush of the morning gives way to the soreness and fatigue of the afternoon for the Marines who participate in this training. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that they are excited for the next period of instruction.