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Cultivating a culture of discipline

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jovan Banks
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

Combative training is something that every Air Force member learns during basic military training. As a security forces member, it is a training requirement. So, who better to learn from than an instructor who has been inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame?

 

Billy Matheny holds that title and is also the only civilian Security Forces Squadron (SFS) combative instructor in the Air Force.

 

Matheny was inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2016 after being nominated by his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) students and then evaluated on the contributions, accomplishments and achievements he has made in the world of martial arts.

 

With the skills Matheny has learned over years of dedicated training, he became the senior combative training instructor for the 509th SFS at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, in 2010.

 

“Normally, civilians aren’t selected to attend the basic instructor course of the senior SF instructor course,” said Matheny, who described being chosen as an honor.

 

Matheny is primarily responsible for instructing security forces members in self-defense techniques that could save the lives of Airmen in a real-life scenario.

 

“The combative course consists of learning the basic strikes with fists, elbow, knees and feet, and defending strike attacks,” said Matheny. “We also spend a great deal of time on basic submissions and escapes, as well as weapon retention while fighting.”

 

For security forces members, combative training is just a very small part of the overall training they receive.

 

“They gets 10 to 20 hours of combative training a year and then move on to the next training subject,” Matheny said. “That is the big difference in this type of training – the time dedicated to it.”

 

Matheny knows the true meaning of dedication. On top of spending 40 hours a week with SFS, he devotes about 13 hours a week in the base fitness center to teach advanced techniques to people looking to further their martial arts skills.

 

“Eventually, my students wanted – and required – more training than the fitness center could accommodate, so I opened a training studio in Warrensburg in 2007,” said Matheny. “Security Forces members are required to be trained annually, and with the large number of SF members we have, the training never really stops.”

 

About half of his students are military members and many of them come from different career fields. One of his newest students, Airman 1st Class Richard Elizalde-Barrios, an individual protective equipment apprentice assigned to the 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron, has quickly taken to the teachings of Matheny.

 

“I’ve learned patience,” said Elizalde-Barrios. “I tend to want to move on to the next thing, but Matheny focuses on repetition instead of learning too much at one time.”

 

It takes courage to fight against another trained individual and this is something that Matheny believes carries over into other aspects of life.

 

“In today’s modern military, we’re not going to win a war because we’re great hand-to-hand combat fighters,” said Matheny. “However, we will win wars because of those same traits it takes to be a great Airman or soldier: courage, honor, discipline, respect and dedication.”