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MCMAP practitioners engage the foe with a punch, kick,
grapple, or grab, followed by a throw or takedown attempt.
They usually finish a downed opponent with a double stomp
to the head: two Stamp Kicks aimed at the face or skull.
Treat this as an All-Out Attack (Double) or Rapid Strike.
While MCMAP is a specific training style for a particular
military branch, it’s a good example of the kind of unarmed
training used to condition recruits. Other services have very
similar styles. None of these offer cinematic skills – they
completely lack legends of special abilities. Cinematic stylists
should simply buy high skill, ST, DX, and HT.
Remember that however skilled a Marine gets at
unarmed combat, he’s expected to rely on his firearms and
bayonet first. All recruits receive bayonet training similar to
Jukenjutsu (p. 197) in addition to MCMAP. They also receive
firearms training, of course – but this isn’t part of MCMAP
or topical for Martial Arts.
Skills: Brawling; Judo.
Techniques: Disarming (Judo); Elbow Strike; Knee
Strike; Stamp Kick; Targeted Attack (Stamp Kick/Face);
Targeted Attack (Stamp Kick/Skull).
Perks: Improvised Weapons (Brawling).
Optional Traits
Advantages: Combat Reflexes; Fit or Very Fit.
Disadvantages: Bloodlust; Overconfidence.
Skills: Karate; Spear; Staff.
Techniques: Ground Fighting (Brawling or Judo); Retain
Weapon (Rifle).
Sambo
4 points
Sambo is an acronym for the Russian samozashchita bez
oruzhiya (“self-protection without weapons”). The style originated
in the 1930s as an amalgamation of traditional
wrestling styles – including Mongolian, Caucasian, Greco-
Roman, and belt wrestling – and Judo. Its founders deliberately
set out to design a unifying “Soviet” art that would
replace all existing styles in the USSR.
Grappling comes first in Sambo. Strikes serve chiefly to
distract or injure the enemy, “softening” him for an effective
hold or lock. Stylists use a full range of maneuvers, but the
style emphasizes aggression over reaction, making Wait and
Evaluate less common than Attack and Committed Attack.
Perhaps unusually, Sambo makes extensive use of Leg
Locks. Many proponents claim that limb locks are more
effective than chokes for defeating a foe.
While Sambo lacks a body of legendary techniques, it
enjoys a mystique as a brutally effective art used by ruthless,
physically powerful men. Cinematic samboists are likely to
have high levels of ST and HT, and use Power Blow to shatter
arms and snap legs. They might also know certain
“strong man” techniques that, while not realistic for actual
combat, feature prominently in the wilder claims made for
the style.
The style presented here is military or “combat” Sambo,
taught to special-operations forces and elite police units.
There’s also a sport version. To get this, add the Wrestling
Sport skill and remove the Disarming and Choke Hold
techniques – and since striking isn’t allowed, eliminate
Karate and its techniques, too.
Skills: Judo; Karate; Wrestling.
Techniques: Arm Lock; Choke Hold; Disarming (Judo);
Elbow Strike; Ground Fighting (Wrestling); Head Lock; Leg
Lock; Leg Throw; Lower-Body Arm Lock; Lower-Body Head
Lock; Lower-Body Leg Lock; Stamp Kick; Triangle Choke;
Wrench (Limb).
Cinematic Skills: Immovable Stance; Mental Strength;
Power Blow.
Cinematic Techniques: Backbreaker; Piledriver.
Perks: Iron Legs; Power Grappling; Special Exercises
(Striking ST +1); Technique Adaptation (Ground Fighting).
Optional Traits
Advantages: Combat Reflexes; Fit; High Pain Threshold.
Disadvantages: Bloodlust.
Skills: Boxing; Brawling; Knife; Spear.
MUAY THAI
3 points
Muay Thai is Thailand’s native kickboxing style. It’s related
to other Thai martial arts, such as Krabi Krabong (p. 176).
Due to the burning of Siamese records in the 17th century,
its origins are lost. As a form of full-contact tournament
fighting, though, the style dates back at least that far. Muay
Thai is practiced worldwide today.
Muay Thai is a pure striking style. Students learn three
kicks, six punches, and use of the knees and elbows. Few targets
are off-limits. Stylists learn no grapples or throws, but
takedowns from a “clinch” sometimes occur when fighters
get in close. Most contenders prefer to throw Knee Strikes in
the clinch, however (see Grab and Smash!, p. 118).
Muay Thai fighters are famously aggressive. They favor
Committed Attack and shun Defensive Attack. Most kicks
use the shin as a striking surface, and the usual targets are
the head and body (for the knockout) or the legs (to score a
knockdown). Muay Thai has a distinctive guard style, with
both hands held up and far forward of the body to help ward
off elbows and high kicks. Against low kicks, the usual counter
is a Jam.
Finishing moves tend to be spectacular – often Telegraphic
Attacks (p. 113) – and too risky to attempt against a fresh,
wary opponent. Examples include the jumping Knee Strike,
which is an All-Out Attack (Strong), and a Spinning Punch
that incorporates an Elbow Strike. Fighters save Spinning
Kick for fight-ending shots, too. Even then, many consider
this technique showy – and insulting to the victim!
Most Muay Thai fighters learn their art from professional
teachers at training camps, sometimes under the control
of promoters. Professional prizefighters train daily; their regimen
includes cross-training, bag work, sparring, yoga, massage,
and running. In the past, conditioning exercises included
hitting the legs with sticks or kicking trees to toughen the
shins, but modern practitioners use heavy bags. Muay Thai
camps are full of prospective fighters hoping for a shot at the
title – much like boxers in other countries. Few last long
enough to make it far. Poverty and crippling injuries are
more common than title shots.
STYLES 185