Foreign Legion: Hand-to-hand combat training with Major Gérald

See another interesting video published by the official French Foreign Legion YouTube channel, featuring Major Gérald, head of the Sports Office of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE).

This time, the well-known NCO gives viewers a look at training in the French military’s hand-to-hand combat system (known as TIOR). The video focuses on a course for future TIOR supervisors from various Foreign Legion regiments, and even includes one non-Legion soldier from the regular French Army. These supervisors (moniteurs) are trained to Module 1 level, which prepares them for situations such as attacks on soldiers deployed on Operation Sentinelle patrols in French cities.

Filmed near Marseille at Camp Carpiagne, home of the 1er REC, the video begins with an introduction to the course. Starting around the 3:00 mark, it shows the participants’ progress after one week of training. The emphasis is now placed on teaching skills, since the ability to instruct hand-to-hand combat techniques is essential for every supervisor.

As one senior corporal explains, the course is exceptional in how it trains rapid reactions to a wide range of possible attacks. A soldier must be ready within seconds, as there is no way to know in advance what type of attack or weapon an aggressor may use. The senior corporal himself is a former French MMA champion (2013), as could be seen here: Sports in the French Foreign Legion.

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