Autobiographical accounts of military hand-to-hand combat

Jensen, Peter, Smith, Matthew and Sampson, Jack 2024. Autobiographical accounts of military hand-to-hand combat. Martial Arts Studies (15) , pp. 61-71. 10.18573/mas.194

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Abstract

The current study examines autobiographical accounts of soldiers to enhance our understanding of the demands faced, and the subsequent emotional responses experienced, during the military combat task of hand-to-hand fighting. Nine autobiographies with descriptions of military hand-to-hand fighting were sampled, and three themes were developed: unexpected, life-threatening, and killing. The findings extend the current literature by illustrating the severe psychological strain soldiers face from hand-to-hand fighting situations, such as having to apply lethal actions against an opponent, and suggesting how in situ cognitive performance degradations can result from the encountered fear-based affective components. Based on this study, recommendations are offered to enhance representativeness in training for military hand-to-hand fighting. The autobiographical analysis in this study presents an approach for enhancing existing and future interview-based research that explores affective components of martial arts that prepare for violent conflicts.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Cardiff University Press
ISSN:	2057-5696
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	1 June 2024
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2024 12:41
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170875

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