Durban - The SANDF’s Light Infantry unit based in Durban KwaZulu-Natal receive hand-to-hand combat training to prepare soldiers for the possibility that a rifle does not fire in the combat area.
The SANDF in a statement on Monday said the agility and fighting skills of soldiers would come into play if a rifle does not fire while in combat and an adversary is approaching.
In July, General Officer Commanding SA Army Infantry Formation, Major General Dube, instructed the unit to finalise their Hand-to-Hand Combat Course that began on October 16 to be completed by November 11.
The training was conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel ASB Linda, the Officer Commanding the Ingobamakhosi Regiment, who is qualified in martial arts.
The SANDF said Linda was tasked to fulfil the mandate of the SA Army which is aimed at providing combat-ready landward forces.
“Soldiers need to have a skill/fighting techniques to help them survive a situation where using a weapon is no longer an option, thus hand-to-hand combat training is often less about the direct application than it is about building confidence, instilling the ‘warrior spirit’, and it’s also a way to maintain physical fitness,” said the statement.
