Martial Arts Instructor course, known to fleet Marines as MAI, is a two-week long course that teaches each Marine the skills necessary to instruct groups of Marines in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, also known as MCMAP. MCMAP is the standard martial arts program taught to each Marine, as early as boot camp, and encompasses hand to hand fighting and self-defense techniques.
The course is physically and mentally tough, requiring each Marine to fight each other multiple times per day, as well as memorize hundreds of standard MCMAP moves to graduate to the next belt level. The course also teaches anatomy, physiology, and other things necessary to make a well-rounded fighter and instructor.
The Marines who enter the course are expected to have already achieved a Green Belt in MCMAP, which is the third belt level, and while MCMAP belts do not have any rank restrictions at the green belt level, it is most likely the non-commissioned officers and junior officers that attend the course at this level to become instructors. After graduation, Marines will have earned their brown belt with tan tab, a sign that they have now mastered what is required to teach the martial arts program to other Marines.
Check out the MCMAP Marine Corps Martial Arts Program for yourself below:
