Eric M

My name is Eric McCrory, I have been in the U.S. Army for 17 years. After leaving an overseas assignment I found that my next assignment would be as an instructor to NCOs on many basic Army subject areas, one being a system called the Modern Army Combatives (M.A.C.) which is based on Jiu-Jitsu. Not knowing anything but hand to hand combat techniques from basic training and experience as a JV wrestling dummy in a school of 125 kids 20 years prior, I knew I needed to find a subject matter expert quick.

Knowing that I would be soon sent to Army Combatives School, I searched a 4 state area with the powers of the internet. I searched every forum, chat room and read every magazine article related to the Modern Army Combatives system and Jiu-Jitsu. In my search the Lloyd Irvin School kept popping up and there was one just up the road from my house, so I gave it a try, after all you can’t learn what a school is really about from a website alone. The hardest part was getting out of my car and into the gym the first day…honest. I explained what I needed to get out of this class to Julius on the first day and it seemed as though he wrote a lesson plan specifically for me from then on out.

In the next three months I went as hard and often as my aging body would deem possible at 88 BJJ and learned as much as I could in the short amount of time. I was also sent to Army training for Level 1 and Level 2 Combatives courses which I no longer was worrying over so I was able to enjoy and welcome the training. I actually felt ahead my peers in a sense because I had already seen these moves and how they are properly employed and linked to other moves.

The instruction, conditioning and experience that I got from 88 BJJ in just three months gave me that extra boost and confidence I needed, when I needed it. It allowed me to couple this specialized training in Jiu-Jitsu with my official Army training in M.A.C. making me a more effective soldier. While I don’t claim to be great, I am still learning but I feel great inside just for what I have learned and experienced so far. I will continue to go to class and soak up all the knowledge possible so that I can achieve my new goal of competing in an Army Combatives tournament sometime this year. I don’t have to place as I have already won.

While stationed at Fort Meade, Eric trained in:

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