Missouri Guard crowns first state combative champions

Pfc. Issac Krout, standing, works for a better position against Spc. Steven Atkins in the lightweight championship match of the Missouri National Guard's first-ever Army combatives tournament at Davidson Fitness Center on Fort Leonard Wood. Krout, of Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, at Whiteman Air Force Base, went on to beat Atkins, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-138th Infantry Regiment in Kansas City for the title.
(Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

By Matthew J. Wilson
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard's adjutant general crowned the state's first-ever state Army Guard combatives champions in seven weight brackets Sunday morning during an awards ceremony at Davidson Fitness Center.

Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner thanked and praised more than 45 Guardsmen for participating in the event before he placed medals around the winners' heads.

The awards ceremony followed a non-gender specific bracketed tournament Saturday at Davidson. Combatives is the Army's name for hand-to-hand combat technique which encompasses various hybrid martial arts that incorporate fighting techniques from conventional martial arts and combat sports.

"Combatives are very important because this is at the core of warrior skills," said Command Sgt. Maj. James Schulte, the Guard's state command sergeant major. "This is a confidence builder for our Soldiers. When you can grapple and engage with the enemy one on one, then you can take on anything. I'm excited by the enthusiasm and attitudes of these young warriors."

The Guard plans to make the tournament an annual event.

"I expect it to grow and get better every year," Schulte said. "We are going to field teams, just like we have in other programs, all the way to the national level and let others know that Missouri is there to show them how it's done."

Winners of each weight bracket qualified for the annual National Guard Tournament that is traditionally held in March at Fort Banning, Ga. Winners of that tournament will be invited to compete in the All-Army Tournament.

Each match consisted of one, six-minute round of regulation competition. Competitors could win by outscoring their opponent or forcing them to 'tap out' with a submission hold.

Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, at Whiteman Air Force Base, led the state with two champions - Pfc. Issac Krout and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dalman.

"This was a good experience," said Krout, who lives in Kearney.

Krout won the lightweight bracket with a pair of victories. He relied on techniques from high school wrestling and the martial art jujitsu to edge Spc. Steven Atkins, of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-138th Infantry Regiment in Kansas City, 15-10 to take the championship.

"I pretty much just kept on moving and didn't slow down," Krout said. "I utilized my muscle memory on my moves and holds. Once you have the muscle memory down, everything is natural."

In one of the more competitive brackets, Dalman, who lives in Gladstone, swept through the light heavyweight division with a 3-0 record as he earned submission wins in each bout.

In the championship match, Dalman wore down Staff Sgt. Richard Warner, of the 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion in Maryville, and used his quickness to earn a takedown before executing an arm bar to seal the victory.

"He was strong, and I was not going to fight his strength," Dalman said of Warner. "All I was trying to do the entire time was make him tired. I knew he was a little bit more seasoned than I am and I knew if I made him tired, then I've got the match."

Dalman, who wrestled for three years at Oak Park High School, said it took him about two minutes to set up the key shot and takedown on a restart.

"I was tired. Then we got a couple of time-stoppage breathers and I said, 'I can do it now,'" Dalman said.

For Dalman, it was his second combatives tournament and his second victory. The first came in 2006 during his advanced individual training.

In the welterweight bracket championship match, Spc. Gerald Miller, of 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion, topped Staff Sgt. Shawn Buffalo, of the 1-138th Infantry Regiment.

In the middleweight bracket championship match, Pfc. Dalton Toombs, of the 1140th Engineer Battalion, of Cape Girardeau, clipped Spc. Frank Byers, of the 294th Engineer Company in Carthage.

In the cruiserweight bracket championship match, Spc. Jeremiah Koerper, of the 1175th Military Police Company in St. Clair, topped Sgt. Shelton Emry, of Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, at Whiteman Air Force Base.

Just two competitors each participated in the flyweight and heavyweight brackets, won by Pfc. Miles McDonald and Sgt. Ron Fosdyck, respectively.

McDonald, who won his title before a vast majority of the matches even occurred, was pleased to be the Guard's first ever combatives champion.

"It's a pretty great honor," said McDonald, of Company D, 1-138th Infantry Regiment in Anderson. "I'm very proud to represent my unit that way."

In his first combatives tournament, McDonald bested 1st Lt. Eric Dier, of the 206th Area Support Medical Company in Springfield, by submission in the first match and then defeated him 20-6 in the second.

"I was just mentally prepared and really went after it," said McDonald, who lives in Ozark. "I went out there and used my speed and strength to submit him, get the points and take him out. Dier was a great competitor."

Fosdyck, of the 276th Engineer Company in Pierce City, won both is matches against Sgt. David Rusin, of the 1035th Maintenance Company, at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, with submission holds. In both contests, Fosdyck relied on his three-year background in jujitsu.

"I consider myself kind of a guru," said Fosdyck, who lives in Republic. "I probably run my mouth a little too much at the unit, but I love doing jujitsu.
"Winning this tournament means a lot to me. Obviously only two of us showed up, but now I get to walk home and say I'm a state champion."

Fosdyck looks forward to combatives expanding within the Guard.

"I hope we can get a lot more Guardsmen involved in this," he said. "I love this sport - I have a passion for it and I'm always preaching combatives back at the unit."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, shakes hands with Pfc. Miles McDonald, of Company D, 1-138th Infantry Regiment in Anderson, after Danner placed a championship medal around his neck at the Missouri National Guard's first-ever Army combatives tournament awards ceremony at Davidson Fitness Center on Fort Leonard Wood. McDonald won the flyweight bracket. Danner donned medals (Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

Missouri National Guard Combatives Tournament
At Davidson Fitness Center, Fort Leonard Wood
Top three finishers

Flyweight (125 pounds and under) - 1. Pfc. Miles McDonald, Company D, 1-138th Infantry Regiment; 2. 1st Lt. Eric Dier, of the 206th Area Support Medical Company.

Lightweight (140 and under for males, 147 and under for females) - 1. Spc. Issac Krout, Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion; 2. Capt. Christopher Courtney, 835th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion; 3. Spc. Steven Atkins, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-138th Infantry Regiment.

Welterweight (155 and under) - 1. Spc. Gerald Miller, 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion; 2. Staff Sgt. Shawn Buffalo, 1-138th Infantry Regiment; 3. Pfc. Nicholas Koch, 1139th Military Police Company.

Middleweight (170 and under) - 1. Pfc. Dalton Toombs, 1140th Engineer Battalion; 2. Spc. Thomas McGinnis, 135th Army Band; 3. Spc. Frank Byers, 294th Engineer Company.

Cruiserweight (185 and under) - 1. Spc. Jeremiah Koerper, 1175th Military Police Company; 2. Sgt. Shelton Emry, Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion; 3. Spc. Thomas Marler, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 70th Troop Command.

Light Heavyweight (205 and under) - 1. Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dalman, Company D, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion; 2. Spc. Wesley Wooten, 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion; 3. Staff Sgt. Richard Warner, 1-129th Field Artillery Battalion.

Heavyweight (above 205) - 1. Sgt. Ron Fosdyck, 276th Engineer Company; 2. Sgt. David Rusin, 1035th Maintenance Company.