Email   Print   Share By Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

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Although favored before the match, Adam Boyd, 3rd ACR, was battered by his heavyweight opponent, Ryan McCraken, assigned to the RSS, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Ryan McCraken tagged Adam Boyd early in the first round of their heavyweight bout, the final of seven matches held during the 2009 Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

After nearly quitting due to a first-round pounding, Josiah McCoy, a West Point Cadet, turned the tables on Joshua Orr and won his light-heavyweight championship match Friday at Abrams Physical Fitness Center. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

In the opening flyweight bout of the Army Combatives Tournament at Fort Hood, Robert Texidor, 3rd ACR, tagged Christopher Dehn, 48th Chem. Co. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

A cadet representing the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, attached to 2-3 ACR, wailed on a fellow Soldier during the light heavyweight championship match during the 2009 Fort Hood Army Combative Tournament, eventually winning the championship. Pfc. Alisha Nye, 14th Public Affairs Detachment

Garren Bremer, HSC, III Corps STB, walks toward the fight cage before his match against Michael Pecero, 404th ASB, 4th CAB, 4th Inf. Div. Pecero won. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Michael Pecero, 404th ASB, 4th CAB, 4th Inf. Div., hangs on as Garren Bremer, HSC, III Corps, STB, attempts to throw him to the mat during their cruiserweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Christopher Dehn, 48th Chem. Co., pauses before his flyweight match against Robert Texidor, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Derrick Royal, an independent fighter, poses with women representing a beer manufacturer afer defeating Darren Barnett, 48th Chem. Co., in their lightweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Derrick Royal, an independent fighter, grapples with his lightweight opponent, Darren Barnett, during their championship match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Darren Barnett,48th Chem. Co., points to Derrick Royal, an independent fighter, after Royal had beaten him during their championship lightweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Derrick Royal, an independent fighter, embraces Darren Barnett,48th Chem. Co., after winning their lightweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Raymundo Villegas, an independent, raises his arms while being examined before his welterweight fight against John DelaRosa, 48th Chem. Co. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Raymundo Villegas studies John DelaRosa during the opening moments of their welterweight fight. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

During their welterweight match, John DeLarosa gains an advantage over Raymundo Villegas. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

His trainer treats cuts on John DeLarosa's face between rounds of their welterweight fight. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Dazed and bleeding, John DeLarosa pauses during a break in his welterweight fight against Raymundo Villegas. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Shane Lees, an independent, warms up in the fight cage before his middleweight match against David Wahlers, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Shane Lees, an independent, rains blows down on his middleweight championship match opponent, David Wahlers, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Right, David Wahlers, 3rd ACR, smiles at Shane Lees, an independent fighter who defeated him to win the middleweight championship match during the III Corps and Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

David Wahlers, 3rd ACR, embraces Shane Lees, an independent fighter who defeated him to win the middleweight championship match during the III Corps and Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

The referee separates Michael Pacero, 4th CAB, 4th Inf. Div., and Garren Bremer, III Corps, during their cruiserweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Michael Pacero, 4th CAB, 4th Inf. Div., raises his arm after being declared the winner of his cruiserweight match against Garren Bremer, III Corps. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Josiah McCoy, a West Point cadet, enters the fight cage before his light-heavyweight fight against Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Josiah McCoy, a West Point cadet, walks toward the fight cage before his light-heavyweight fight against Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR, is examined before his fight against Josiah Mccoy, a West Point cadet. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR, is examined before his combatives match against Josiah McCoy, a West Point Cadet. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR, is ready for the opening bell of his combatives match against Josiah McCoy, a West Point Cadet. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Before the opening bell, Josiah McCoy, a West Point Cadet, stares across the fight cage at his opponent, Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Moments after the opening bell had sounded, Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR, hammered Josiah McCoy with a right cross. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

After nearly throwing in the towel at the end of Round one, Josiah McCoy got underneath his light-heavyweight opponent, Joshuar Orr, and threw him to the mat, a turning point in their championship combatives match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

After throwing him to the ground, Joshia McCoy gained control of Joshua Orr. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

After throwing him to the ground, Joshia McCoy punished his light-heavyweight opponent, Joshua Orr. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Between rounds, Joshia McCoy's trainer applies an ice pack to his head. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Joshua Orr adjusts his mouthpiece between rounds of his light-heavyweight match against Josiah McCoy. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

He's down, but Joshua Orr throws an elbow at Josiah McCoy. Mi

McCoy returns the favor. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

The fighters warily circle each other. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

The fighters warily circle each other in the final round of their light-heavyweight match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Josiah McCoy, a West Point cadet, is declared the winner of his light-heavyweight match against Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt., trades blows with Ryan McCraken in the opening seconds of their heavyweight Army combatives match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

A battered Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt.,is pressed against the inside of the fight cage by Ryan McCraken. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

A battered Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt.,is pressed against the inside of the fight cage by Ryan McCraken. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

A battered Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt.,is pressed against the inside of the fight cage by Ryan McCraken. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

A battered Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt.,warily eyes Ryan McCraken. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Ryan McCraken pauses, waiting for ringside officials to decide if his heavyweight match against Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt., will continue. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Ryan McCraken is declared the winner of his heavyweight match against Adam Boyd, 2-7 Cav. Regt., as the last fight in the 2009 III Corps and Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament ends. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Accompanied by his son, Latu, Raymundo Villegas, who fought as an independent, accepts the championship trophy for winning the flyweight division of the Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament. Brig. Gen. William Grimsley, the post's deputy commander, and Garrison Command Sergeant Major Don Felts presented the awards at Abrams Physcial Fitness Center. Second-place finisher John DelaRosa is on the left. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Shane Lees, an independent, celebrates his first-place trophy, awarded for winning the middleweight division championship match. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Brig. Gen. William Grimsley presentsw the team competition trophy to members of the 3rd ACR Army combatives team. The 48th Chem. co. placed second. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

Wearing his cavalry hat, Adam Boyd, 3rd ACR, holds the team championship trophy while fellow Brave Rifles Army combatives team members celebrate their victory. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Staff

After taking a first-round pounding that stunned him, a West Point cadet stuck to his pre-fight strategy and captured the light-heavyweight division championship Friday during the 2009 Fort Hood Army Combatives Tournament.

Held Aug. 3-6 at Abrams Physical Fitness Center, the tournament drew more than 200 fighters from seven military installations. The winner of each of the seven weight divisions will represent III Corps and Fort Hood in the All-Army Championship Combatives Tournament to be held Sept. 17-20 at Fort Benning, Ga.

Before the championship fight, Josiah McCoy, a 196-pound cadet who wrestled at Movile High School in Iowa and later became a Level III instructor in Modern Army Combatives, said, to win, he would “Close the distance and take him to the ground.”

McCoy had his hands full in the first round, barely surviving a series of punches that he later acknowledged left him thinking, “Man, should I give this up?”

But early in the second round, McCoy got underneath his 190-pound, 5-foot 10-inch opponent, Joshua Orr, maintenance troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and drove him to the mat. This time McCoy pummeled Orr, who still did a good job of defending his head, McCoy said.

To get inside Orr’s defense, McCoy threw some leg kicks.

“When he lowered his arms,” McCoy said, “that’s when I came across with the right.” The blow dropped Orr to the mat.

Of combatives training, McCoy said, “It makes you more confident; you know what to do with your body whether in a fight or doing anything else such as room clearing or dealing with civilians.”

In the mid-1990s, then-Lt. Col. Stanley McChrystal – now a four-star general in charge of the Afghanistan operation – reinstituted martial-arts training in his Rangers battalion. A program was developed by Matt Larsen, who is credited as the architect of modern Army combatives.

From there, it spread to other infantry units.

In 2002, the Army made combatives part of its official doctrine.

At Fort Hood, Brig. Gen. William Grimsley, the post’s deputy commander, described combatives as a key part of a Soldier’s training.

“What I really love about this program, and I fight, too,” Grimsley said, “is that the Soldiers will get out there and they’ll fight to the death but, in the end, they realize they’re both warriors and you’ll see the hugs and the high-fives. It’s electric.”

Another shock to the enthusiastic crowd of about 1,600 combatives fans came when Ryan McCraken, a 6-foot 1-inch, 230-pound sergeant assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, defeated his heavyweight opponent, the 3rd ACR’s Adam Boyd.

At 38, Boyd was one of the oldest Soldiers competing in the tournament. During the three days of fights before the championship match, his only injury had been a scratch on his nose. He dispatched most of his opponents quickly, one in 90 seconds.

But not Friday night. McCraken, a scout-sniper and 2002 North Carolina state high school wrestling champion, knew Boyd holds a fourth-degree black belt in Judo.

“I’m going to try to stay out of his clench, so he can’t throw me. If I have to take it to the ground, I want it to be on my terms, not his,” McCraken said.

From the opening bell, the match was fought on McCraken’s terms.

“I stayed away from him and stood him up all the way before taking him out; that was my fight plan,” McCraken said.

One of the longest fights of the night occurred in the welterweight division. Raymundo Villegas, who fought as an independent, traded blows and falls for three rounds with the 48th Chemical Company’s John DelaRosa.

Before the fight, Villegas, who redeployed from Iraq in June with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, said “aggression and tenacity” were his best traits as a fighter.

“It just feels good to be here,” Villegas said, whose six-year-old son, Latu, was acting as his corner coach. Latu was standing in for Villegas’ 16-year-old son, Hector, a Jiu-Jitsu expert who usually coaches him. After three rounds, ringside officials called the match, concerned about a bloodied DelaRosa’s ability to defend himself.

With 16 points, 3rd ACR won the team competition, followed by the 48th Chemical Company, which tallied 11 points.



WINNERS

Flyweight: Robert Texidor, 3rd ACR, beat Christopher Dehn, 48th Chemical Company.

Lightweight: Derrick Royal, independent, beat Darren Barnett, 48th Chem. Co.

Welterweight: Raymundo Villegas, independent, beat John DelaRosa, 48th Chem. Co.

Middleweight: Shane Lees, independent, beat David Wahlers, 3rd ACR.

Cruiserweight: Michael Pacero, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, beat Garren Bremer, III Corps.

Light-heavyweight: Josiah McCoy, a West Point cadet, defeated Joshua Orr, 3rd ACR.

Heavyweight: Ryan McCraken, 2-7 Cav. Regt, beat Adam Boyd, 3rd ACR.