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International Journal of Scientific Research & Engineering TrendsVolume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb-2021, ISSN (Online): 2395-566XPhilippine Military Academy Cadet Corps Armed Forcesof the Philippines who were floated survey questionnaires,Table 1 shows the number of CCAFP respondents with atotal of thirty four coming from different year level 4thclass cadets being 1st years, 3rd class cadets being 2ndyears, 2nd class cadets being 3rd years and 1st class cadetsbeing the 4th years all of which with different experienceswith the current martial arts and combative program.graduated from the academy who now holds the ranks ofGenerals. The Guest Martial Arts and CombativeInstructor is an experienced Military Martial Artsinstructor of several Military institutions who is also theFounder and the Chief Instructor of his own Martial ArtsSchool and a Hall of Famer inductee of the AustralasianMartial Arts Hall of Fame and the Philippine Martial ArtsHall of Fame.Table 1. CCAFP Respondents from different year CADETSCADETS85912The survey questionnaires floated to the PMA CCAFPconsists of eleven questions mostly answerable by yes orno and an elaboration of their choice, the questions weredesigned to unearth the cadets’ point of view and answerthe questions;1.Is it important for a PMA CCAFP to betrained to become Combat ready? And 2.Is the currentPMA CCAFP Martial Arts Program effective?The CCAFP respondents are all part of the current MartialArts and Combative program who in one way or anotherexperience it as a course, subject or as part of the CorpsSquad (varsity team).Martial Arts and Combative Faculty of the Sports andPhysical Development Unit of the Philippine MilitaryAcademy (SPDU, PMA) who were floated interviewquestions adhering to the pandemic protocol of limitingperson to person interaction, two foreign graduate officersone from Australian Defense Force Academy (ADFA) andfrom United States Navy Academy (USNA) respectively,the former Commanding Officer or CO, SPDU PMAchanged to Athletic Director or AD, SPDU PMA, thecurrent Athletic Director of SPDU PMA both answeredthe same interview questions given to the SPDU PMAFaculty and two officers assigned in the field, one ofwhich has a direct involvement and experience in thedevastating Battle of Marawi or the Siege of Marawi theywere sent the same interview questions through theirsocial media account and happily obliged to share theirexperiences.Table 2 shows the respective respondents of the interviewquestions who are considered to be experts in the field ofMartial Arts and Combative and also officers who haveexperienced the program when they were cadets and havehad the opportunity to test it in the field.Officers9Table 2. Interview Respondents.Combative andCombative andMartial ArtsMartial ArtsFacultyInstructor61The interview respondents are all credible source for thisstudy being officers who have graduated from theacademy that have undergone the program and haveexperienced using what they learned during their fieldassignments, the Combative and Martial Arts Facultybeing long time practitioners of their respective Combativeand Martial Arts disciplines and some have their studentsTable 3 presents the result of the survey questionnairebaring questions 1-7 that are all answerable with yes or nowith elaborations of their respective choices.Table 3: Survey Questionnaire floated to the CCAFPQUESTIONSYES%NO%Should the PMA3410000CCAFP be trained tobe combat ready?Have you been319.1738.82enrolled in any of theMartial Arts orCombative subjects inthe Sports andPhysical Developmentcourses?Are you a member of2367.64 11 32.35any of the Martial Artsor Combative PMACorps Squads?(equivalent to varsitiesin the Universities)Is there a relevance of3410000Martial Arts orCombative for a cadetaspiring to be officersof the AFP?Is Martial Arts3410000program important forPMA CCAFP?Should the Martial3410000Arts Program beMandatory for thePMA CCAFP?Is the current PMA2264.70 12 35.29CCAFP Martial Artsprogram effective forits objective?As shown in the table 3 all or one hundred percentof therespondents answered yes on the first question agreeing 2021 IJSRET107

International Journal of Scientific Research & Engineering TrendsVolume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb-2021, ISSN (Online): 2395-566Xthat the PMA CCAFP should be trained to be combatready, citing the reason that as future military officers ofthe AFP, cadets should be able to learn and acquire theskills that would enable them to perform missions orfunctions during military operations faced with combatsituations, they also pointed out that as soldiers or futureofficers they should be honed to be combatants equippedand ready with self-defense, ironically some of therespondents also pointed out being trained under thediscipline or values of Martial Arts and Combative so thatthey would know how to address situations in the fieldwhen faced with combat situations. “Martial arts havealways been of a great importance for a versatiledevelopment for the members of the military and thepolice force.Thanks to the regular and systematic practice of variousmartial sports, soldiers and policemen are physically andpsychologically speaking more prepared for carrying outtheir tiresome and demanding duties.” (Stainko, 2018).The result yielded thirty one answered that they have beenenrolled against three that said have not yet enrolled in anyMartial Arts or Combative Subject under the Martial ArtsProgram, the design of the current program is thateveryone will have to be enrolled in a Combative andMartial Arts Subject under the program up until theybecome graduating cadets, the case of the three thatanswered not being enrolled belonged to the group that isenrolled in a prerequisite subject gymnastics or swimmingbut will eventually be rotated to take up their combativesubjects as pre-requisite for their next term.Data on question number three yielded twenty threerespondents that are members of a Combative or a MartialArts Corps Squad and eleven who are not, althoughadmitting to themselves that Combative and Martial Artsis an important part of being a cadet aspiring to be officersof the AFP many cadets still chooses not be a member ofany of the Combative and or Martial Arts Corps Squadbecause they love other sports like basketball, volleyballetc. where they excel as players and joining more than oneCorps Squad for them becomes a burden of timemanagement which could sacrifice their performance inother activities, but there are cadets who are fond ofjoining every possible Corps Squad not just a member butas an active practitioner and competitor believing thatwhat they are doing is a prelude to their would be life asmilitary officers in the field so might as well learn to liveand enjoy it.On the premise of relevance and importance of MartialArts or Combative for a cadets aspiring to be officers ofthe AFP stated in questions four and five, a hundredpercent or all of the respondents answered yes, of whichmost of the reason is on the idea that as early as cadetshipthe essentials of Martial Arts and Combative should beinstilled in them not just for self-defense, not just foraddressing possible treats but most importantly the tenetsof a true warrior embedded in Combative and MartialArts, together the respondents implied that having theknowledge and skill in Martial Arts and Combative wouldprepare them on their future career and may even savetheir lives and the lives of others in foresight of their fieldassignments where threats are inevitable. Martial Arts andCombative is more than physical it is also mental andemotional; the ethos of a combatant is what makes himeffective in applying what he knows and understand whathe can do. “Imagine feeling confident that you can comeout as the victor of an attack without a weapon. That iswhat mastering a martial art can give you. Whether youwant to feel safe on the streets or boost your militarytraining, you won’t regret learning martial arts techniquesfor attack, self-defense, or just to boost your confidence.”(Miller, 2020).Undergoing the Martial Arts and Combative Program isdeemed Mandatory by all of the respondents citing theimminent situation of being fielded in missions upongraduation from PMA, many pointed out that as youngofficers of the AFP being assigned to the field havingundergone the Martial Arts and Combative Program ofPMA will prepare them from the dangers that they areabout to face, some even pointed out that guns run out ofbullets while having the knowledge and skills in MartialArts and Combative makes your arsenal have unlimitedsource of techniques that you can use in combat, one morestriking idea stated by the respondents is, undergoing theMartial Arts and Combative Program is developing yourculture for combat readiness one even using the quote ofFranz Kafka “Better to have, and not need, than to need,and not have.”, Soldiers or the Military are expected to becombat ready for the graduates of PMA each couldimmediately deployed to combat missions where as youngas they are fresh from cadetship at PMA will have to befront liners exposed to the dangers of their missions.On the premise of the current PMA CCAFP Martial ArtsProgram effectivity as perceived by the CCAFPrespondents stated on question number seven, twenty twoout of thirty four respondents answered yes while twelveanswered No, although majority respondents answered yesall thirty four respondents answering yes or no were allsuggesting the need for revision of the current programciting the need for more time of training and more focus ofreal situation scenario techniques, some also haveexpressed their idea of creating a special program thatseparate subjects like Arnis, Boxing, Judo, Karate,Taekwondo and Wushu but a compressed program thatcould be offered during their graduating year, somepointed out that with the variety of Martial Arts andCombative subjects being taught it is an advantage if withthe liberty of time to grasp all of the essentials from thesaid Martial Arts and Combative. The sentiment of therespondents is actually valid, them being novices inMartial Arts and Combative seeing the said ordeal that 2021 IJSRET108

International Journal of Scientific Research & Engineering TrendsVolume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb-2021, ISSN (Online): 2395-566Xprevents their chances of mastery is the same assessmentbeing thrown out by the experts in this field training takestime and skills needs time to be mastered, Martial Arts andCombative is about aiming perfection in mastering a skillor a technique for it to be effective as the great Bruce Leeonce said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick10,000 times.”Cadets are duty bound, they prioritize activities that areconsidered or categorized to be duty like attending theirAcademic classes, the Martial Arts program should formpart of their requirements and duty for it to be takenseriously and for it to be effective making sure thatCCAFP completes the program its entirety, as elaboratedby the respondents the problems with Martial Artsprogram are; not enough time for training, lacks real lifescenario aspect, confusion due to mixes of the severalMartial Arts Disciplines being taught. “There are manydifferent forms of martial arts. You could spend yearstraining in any of them. So, it is important to know whatthe best martial arts will be for you, and to understand thatnot every form of martial arts will help you fight off anattacker or win in combat situations.” (Miller, 2020).While the CCAFP respondents saw the importance of thePMA Martial Arts program in its physical or combatessence the Faculty and the Officers are more inclined thatMartial Arts develops mental focus and resilience to dealwith various threats, while physical prowess for militarypersonnel are innate because of the routines, trainings andenvironment they are immersed to, Martial Arts enhancesall of this with the precise skills needed to perform theirduties, more importantly the values that are imbedded inMartial Arts making it both physiological and moreimportantly psychological. “The psychological benefits ofmartial arts training have come to the attention of westernpsychologists over the last thirty years and in particularwithin the last ten years due to the rise in popularity ofMMA (Mixed Martial Arts)” (Mccafferty, n.d.). It isacknowledged that martial art training embodies a systemof moral values (e.g. respect property, be faithful andsincere, exert oneself in the perfection of character), thattogether can inculcate physical and mental relaxation,control of mind and body, and an increase in selfconfidence (Weiser et al, 1995).In assessment the Faculty respondent’s verdict the currentPMA CCAFP Martial Arts Program to be effective butdefinitely needs revision or improvement according to thefaculty that handles the program, Martial Arts andCombative as a subjects are not enough to produce acombat ready graduate of the academy although it setsthem in that direction, the offering of several Martial Artsand Combative subjects makes it hard for them to masteranything to apply but on the contrary, the Martial Arts andCombative subjects offered in the program immerse themin the values that are innate in the respective Martial Artsand Combative disciplines which is vital for a combatantand a gentleman, the Officer respondents also agreed thatthe PMA Martial Arts Program is effective same with thatof the Faculty’s perception they suggested improvementsand revisions, citing the need for a more comprehensiveMartial Arts program that entails more physical contactand or actual combat scenarios to test and enhance notonly their skills and or techniques but also their attitudetowards different situations and circumstances, as oneofficer pointed out competition exposure will help a lot toexhume the warrior ethos of cadets but aside fromcompetition, the program should also create or includesimulation of attacks and counter attacks on differentsituations like one-on-one or one against multipleopponents, this will boost their understanding of thecomplexity and the should be attitude in actual situations.Master William John Johnson a Martial Arts andCombative Instructor from Australia pointed out, “themajor concern is when two forces collide in closeproximity ex. room clearance /extreme Close QuarterCombat (CQC), that problems arise through the F.E.A.R.principle (False Expectations Appearing Real).Sensory overload becomes a major problemBlood/excrement–Pain yours and theirs, and therealization that your training in hand to hand combat hasproven to be totally ineffective therefore leaving you indeep water, not knowing how to swim, this induces panic,the realization that your lack of training in this closeenvironment is totally deferent from the Martial Artclasses you have attended.”“No other activity prepares a military force better forcombat than combat itself. The environment in whichcombat is conducted one of violence, death anddestruction, fear and valor, complexity and uncertainty isone of the most challenging in which any human being orhuman organization must operate. It is so challenging andunique that it cannot be completely replicated outside ofcombat itself. Thus, to be effective, military organizationsmust train under conditions that are as realistic as possibleand come as close as possible to placing the individual, theteam, the unit, and the crew in the environment andsituations they will face in combat. Training realism is oneof the key measures of training effectiveness.” (Greer,2018).As this study have sought, the Martial Arts Program of thePhilippine Military Academy Cadet Corps Armed Forcesof the Philippines (PMA CCAFP) is effective but with thefindings on its weak points and areas of improvement, theMartial Arts Program of PMA CCAFP needs to beenhanced so as to cover these respective areas ascommented by the CCAFP respondents most importantlyby the Martial Arts and Combative Faculty and theofficers who have had the chance to test the effectivenessof the program against the threats of their mission in the 2021 IJSRET109

International Journal of Scientific Research & Engineering TrendsVolume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb-2021, ISSN (Online): 2395-566Xfield, with all that sorted the researcher recommends for amore comprehensive Martial Arts and Combative Programfor the PMA CCAFP that fuses the significance of each ofthe Martial Arts and Combative Disciplines being offerednamely, Arnis, Boxing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo andWushu and come up with a Mixed Martial Arts versionthat would compress skills and techniques essentiallyneeded by the CCAFP to prepare them of the rigors andunforgiving missions, much like the United States MarineCorps Martial Arts Program (US MCMAP) a combatsystem developed specifically for use by United StatesMarines and combines elements of various fightingplatforms into a single discipline in which all Marinesmust undergo training (Hollings, 2017).Development Courses, much like the United States MarineCorps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)IV. DISCUSSIONSThere is no question about the effectivityof the currentPMA Martial Arts and Combative Program as part of thecourse offered to the CCAFP, but a creation of acompressed and comprehensive Martial Arts andCombative Program that would prepare the PMAGraduates on their immediate dance with fate would be abetter approach to fill their arsenal and make them combatready on the field or on their missions.The purpose of this study is to determine Effectiveness ofthe Martial Arts Program of the Philippine MilitaryAcademy Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines(PMA CCAFP) to include its relevance to the careers ofthe PMA CCAFP when they graduate from the academy,Martial Arts Combative and Military have long beenintertwined, every military is not without Martial Arts andCombative in their training even with the advances intechnology where wars are dictated by machines intechnological warfare, biological warfare etc. the MilitaryPersonnel will always be the exclamation point who willhandle important missions in the field facing threats headon against their adversaries, thus the importance of MartialArts and Combative programs in military schools such asthe Philippine Military Academy the premier militaryschool of the Philippines that produces future men andwomen officers for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.Currently the Martial Arts and Combative Program ofPMA is based on Martial Arts and Combative Subjectsoffered to the cadets under the Sports DevelopmentCourses, this study have established that the currentprogram is effective but needs to be improved, the studyalso have exposed the recommendation of creating a newprogram that would cater to the immediate need of PMAgraduates.From the perceptions of the CCAFP respondents and thesharing and assessments of the Officers, Martial Arts andCombative Faculty and the Guest Martial Arts andCombative Instructor it was established that the MartialArts and Combative Program of PMA is an integral part ofthe CCAFP’s training and that the current programalthough effective needs a lot of improvement or acreation of a better one that would address the challengesthat hinders its full potential, thus the dominantrecommendation of creating a compressed butcomprehensive Martial Arts and Combative program thatwould fuse all the essentials of all the Martial Arts andCombative Subjects offered under the PMA SportsV. CONCLUSIONSThe assessment of the Martial Arts and CombativeProgram of the Philippine Military Academy Cadet CorpsArmed Forces of the Philippines this studyestablishes theimportance of the existence of the PMA Martial Arts andCombative Program as part of the cadets training, also thisstudy has unearthed the need to create a well-developedMartial Arts and Combative Program for PMA and itsgraduates considering the ordeals that challenges t

Marine Corps has their own Martial Arts and Combative Program that is actually named Marine Corps Martial Arts Program or MCMAP (USMC, 2019). Even the famous Navy Seal has their own Martial Arts and Combative program that is a combination of four Martial Arts and Combative discipline (Jensen, 2019). These branches of