In order to be best prepared to perform as an asset in combat, you must first master the conventional positions and movement techniques on an individual level. Failure to change positions rapidly or cover ground quickly can result in you becoming a casualty, and thus becoming a liability to your team. For this reason, the individual is obligated to master their IMT or Individual Movement Techniques. Quick position changes and controlled movement is ideal. This demands a level of fitness that you cannot attain by going to the gym. The best way to reach IMT mastery is to practice these techniques through a sensible progression.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
If you think you can deadlift your way to IMT mastery, you are sorely mistaken. This is only accomplished through practice. Pick your combat uniform, combat gear/belt kit (I use the French uniform and a loaded JayJays Commanders Webbing system) and have your unloaded rifle ready with an empty magazine loaded. Then you will need some room. Your backyard, garage, living room, etc. That is all. Trust me when I say that a gym will have zero use for you, even when doing supporting exercises. Stay home and practice at home. Also, forget about needing to do this at the range. You can master this without shooting, but then test yourself by doing a class with Max Velocity Tactical.
POSITIONS
The positions you will need to master are the kneeling and prone. When I say positions, I am not necessarily talking about the static position and holding it, but rather the act of acquiring that kneeling or prone position quickly and efficiently while fully geared for combat. Also, we must remember that these positions exist for us to take advantage of cover/concealment. You must learn to ID your cover, put that cover between yourself and the enemy, acquire a firing position without over-exposing yourself, and fire at the enemy without striking cover or being knocked out of position.
The next part of positional training is the transitions into and out of the positions. You need to be able to acquire the position fast, but also get out of it just as fast, repeatedly. Take fire and movement for example. You are conducting short rushes from cover to cover and acquiring quick positions momentarily. You will be needing to get into position fast, and out of position fast in order to limit exposure time. You will do this over and over again, so the real test is doing it for several minutes without a break. The way you transition from standing to kneeling to prone is going to be instrumental in the next segment.
POSITIONAL MOVEMENT
Positional movement is simply moving while in a lowered position. For instance, I advocate mastering the high crawl, low crawl, kneeling shuffle, and ghost walk. All these movements have served me well, and I rarely see people fit enough to do them. These movements are mostly used when trying to move with stealth, which is just as hard as trying to do these movements at speed. Trying to be quiet demands balance, static strength, and patience. This is why these movements are on here.
For the two prone positions, your money is going to be made by practicing forearm planks in full gear. I had great success when practicing the lizard walk in full gear. Also, don’t forget to practice shifting left and right with full gear. You may find that moving in the plank position is easier than scraping and dragging your belly. My advice is to first develop your skills by practicing in line 1 gear with your rifle, and trying to be dead silent while moving 30ft or more with zero breaks. When that becomes easy, do it with your line 2 gear added for 50ft or more. Again, the goal is to do it absolutely silent while maintaining the perfect form and with no breaks whatsoever. This will take quite a while to get good at, so don’t B.S. yourself.
Kneeling shuffles is basically where you just hold your rifle in your firing hand and use your support hand on the ground to support you while you shuffle forward or to the side. In this position, your support side knee would be on the ground and your firing side foot would be used to push or pull you, depending on what kind of movement you are conducting. Again, this can be done slowly to build strength and done fast to help you move to another piece of cover while under fire.
Lastly, the ghost walk is a foundational movement technique that is utilized on patrol. The idea is to balance on one foot while silently lowering the other one on the ground to minimize noise. Even if walking on dry leaves, you can put your foot down so slow that you make only the faintest noise. It is all about balance and control. We have become spoiled and accustomed to moving rapidly, but the ghost walk is all about moving super slow. You should be putting your foot down so slow that you look and feel like you aren’t moving. The saying I have used when teaching others is “If YOU can hear the leaves crunching under your feet, you are going too fast.” If you think that it is too hard to walk quiet, I don’t need to know you to judge that you are unfit and would be a tactical liability. The ghost walk is only hard for the unfit tactical amateurs, if I am being honest.
MORE TO COME
I know that I glossed over some things here and didn’t get detailed with how to do everything. Consider this a primer for a following article discussing agility and the specific movements. If you wish, do the best you can to practice with whatever feels comfortable. Practice balancing on one foot. Practice doing planks in full gear. Try moving while in a plank position and without raising your but to relieve your core. Try transitioning in and out of positions in less than a second. Do what you can and I will return with more information you can use.
If you think you can deadlift your way to IMT mastery, you are sorely mistaken. This is only accomplished through practice. Pick your combat uniform, combat gear/belt kit (I use the French uniform and a loaded JayJays Commanders Webbing system) and have your unloaded rifle ready with an empty magazine loaded. Then you will need some room. Your backyard, garage, living room, etc. That is all. Trust me when I say that a gym will have zero use for you, even when doing supporting exercises. Stay home and practice at home. Also, forget about needing to do this at the range. You can master this without shooting, but then test yourself by doing a class with Max Velocity Tactical.
POSITIONS
The positions you will need to master are the kneeling and prone. When I say positions, I am not necessarily talking about the static position and holding it, but rather the act of acquiring that kneeling or prone position quickly and efficiently while fully geared for combat. Also, we must remember that these positions exist for us to take advantage of cover/concealment. You must learn to ID your cover, put that cover between yourself and the enemy, acquire a firing position without over-exposing yourself, and fire at the enemy without striking cover or being knocked out of position.
The next part of positional training is the transitions into and out of the positions. You need to be able to acquire the position fast, but also get out of it just as fast, repeatedly. Take fire and movement for example. You are conducting short rushes from cover to cover and acquiring quick positions momentarily. You will be needing to get into position fast, and out of position fast in order to limit exposure time. You will do this over and over again, so the real test is doing it for several minutes without a break. The way you transition from standing to kneeling to prone is going to be instrumental in the next segment.
POSITIONAL MOVEMENT
Positional movement is simply moving while in a lowered position. For instance, I advocate mastering the high crawl, low crawl, kneeling shuffle, and ghost walk. All these movements have served me well, and I rarely see people fit enough to do them. These movements are mostly used when trying to move with stealth, which is just as hard as trying to do these movements at speed. Trying to be quiet demands balance, static strength, and patience. This is why these movements are on here.
For the two prone positions, your money is going to be made by practicing forearm planks in full gear. I had great success when practicing the lizard walk in full gear. Also, don’t forget to practice shifting left and right with full gear. You may find that moving in the plank position is easier than scraping and dragging your belly. My advice is to first develop your skills by practicing in line 1 gear with your rifle, and trying to be dead silent while moving 30ft or more with zero breaks. When that becomes easy, do it with your line 2 gear added for 50ft or more. Again, the goal is to do it absolutely silent while maintaining the perfect form and with no breaks whatsoever. This will take quite a while to get good at, so don’t B.S. yourself.
Kneeling shuffles is basically where you just hold your rifle in your firing hand and use your support hand on the ground to support you while you shuffle forward or to the side. In this position, your support side knee would be on the ground and your firing side foot would be used to push or pull you, depending on what kind of movement you are conducting. Again, this can be done slowly to build strength and done fast to help you move to another piece of cover while under fire.
Lastly, the ghost walk is a foundational movement technique that is utilized on patrol. The idea is to balance on one foot while silently lowering the other one on the ground to minimize noise. Even if walking on dry leaves, you can put your foot down so slow that you make only the faintest noise. It is all about balance and control. We have become spoiled and accustomed to moving rapidly, but the ghost walk is all about moving super slow. You should be putting your foot down so slow that you look and feel like you aren’t moving. The saying I have used when teaching others is “If YOU can hear the leaves crunching under your feet, you are going too fast.” If you think that it is too hard to walk quiet, I don’t need to know you to judge that you are unfit and would be a tactical liability. The ghost walk is only hard for the unfit tactical amateurs, if I am being honest.
MORE TO COME
I know that I glossed over some things here and didn’t get detailed with how to do everything. Consider this a primer for a following article discussing agility and the specific movements. If you wish, do the best you can to practice with whatever feels comfortable. Practice balancing on one foot. Practice doing planks in full gear. Try moving while in a plank position and without raising your but to relieve your core. Try transitioning in and out of positions in less than a second. Do what you can and I will return with more information you can use.
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