By: Mike “Pesh” Poeschl, Contributor
US Army Retired Veteran Kris Perkins put on the event after modeling it after the US Army’s Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP). Many brand new tournaments have a bit of a shaky start but not this tournament. The staff was mostly comprised of Active Duty ARMY soldiers with a lot of grappling experience. The referees all come from the MACP program in Fort Hood and kept total control of the tournament and the competitors, making the event organized, disciplined and fun.
The rules of the event were modeled after the MACP program and truly promote advancing the fight to more and more dominant positions. There are no advantage points; straight leg and foot locks were permitted for everyone and there will never be a referee’s decision as to who won. If the match time expires and both competitors are tied, the match continues after the whistle until the next points are scored.
“”A nice thing about the tournament is it rewarded offense rather than playing a points game in terms of holding and stalling positions,” said John Ramseier from John’s Gym in Austin. “Each referee was encouraging the athletes to continue advancing their position, and attentive to gaming the scoreboard, by quickly giving warnings of stalling or eventual points for the other competitor. IT was cool”
Team results are forthcoming shortly from event organizers, which we’ll share as we get them, but look for more from this group in Austin and surrounding areas as they seem to have caught the attention of the local community based on feedback from their initial event.
Click below for more event photos. You can also find the full gallery and purchase prints via Lineage Photos here.
