Sharp encounters in Poland
British soldiers have been learning the art of knife-fighting and self-defence from their Polish allies
When you think of knife-fighting and hand to hand combat, the likes of James Bond and Jason Bourne will come to mind, but for a select few British soldiers, it was their time to get to grips with this dangerous form of combat.
Knife-fighting is a form of close-quarters combat that is seen by many as the most dangerous form, it takes individuals many years to master this style of combat and shouldn't be taken lightly.
A select few soldiers, deployed in Poland, were invited to attend two combat courses at the Polish headquarters where they would learn a variety of new skills that are not taught at this level in the British Army.
The British Army is currently attached to the US-led Battlegroup in Poland, as part of NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP).
In their first course, they focused on a variety of close-quarter battle and urban warfare tactics — entering and clearing buildings and operating in built-up urban environments.
The second course then moved to a more dynamic and thrilling session with knives and self-defence. The Polish instructors were teaching various methods and techniques in how to disarm attackers and neutralise threats.
“We’ve had a great week, that course was fantastic. It was great fun learning new skills from our Polish allies and getting the chance to see how they operate! Definitely the highlight of my tour so far”. — Trooper Hardy
The course was a tough and long week for those involved. The British and Polish soldiers ‘fought’ each other, training and learning the art.
Those involved were all awarded the HARPUN certificate by the Polish 15 Mechanised Infantry Brigade Commander.
The Polish instructors were impressed with the commitment and skill of the British soldiers, with plans to run more advanced combat courses in the future, including a water-grappling course and advanced hand-to-hand combat.
