Self-efficacy and state anxiety during mandatory combatives training

Background: The new U. S. Army combatives program has been implemented to provide soldiers with the physical and psychological demands of hand-to-hand fighting prior to engaging in combat. The purpose of this study was to describe changes in self-defense efficacy, self-efficacy for teaching combatives, and levels of competitive state anxiety during of a one-week US Army combatives instructor level-one instructor certification program training course. Material/Methods: his pilot study evaluated the levels of self-defence efficacy (SDE), teaching combatives self-efficacy (TCSE), and state combatives anxiety (SCA) among U. S. Army soldiers (n=25) attending an instructor combatives training course. Results: Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed a significant increase in SDE and TCSE across the course. Individuals with higher levels of SCA scored lower in SDE than those with lower SCA scores at all measurement points. Conclusions: Individuals ordered to attend training scored lower in SDE, TCSE, and higher in state anxiety than those who volunteered for the training. These results provide preliminary, descriptive evidence that combatives self-efficacy can be increased by participation in this course.