How Marine Corps recruits test hand-to-hand combat skills during the Crucible at boot camp

• During The Crucible in the Marines Corps Boot Camp, recruits are forced to face off against one another.
• Monserat CarmonaCorrea was a unique recruit having fought as a semi-pro boxer before boot camp.
• This event is meant to force recruits to learn to adapt to any situation.

Following is a transcript of the video.

- [drill instructor blows whistle] These recruits are 36 hours away from officially becoming United States Marines.

Drill instructor: Finish her!

Narrator: But to get there, they have to fight each other first.

Drill instructor: Break his ribs!

Narrator: Using hand-to-hand combat in an event called the Battle of Belleau Wood.

Drill instructor: Do you get nosebleeds a lot?

Recruit: No, sir.

Narrator: It's just one of several tests recruits complete during their final challenge of boot camp, a 54-hour gauntlet called the Crucible. [drill instructor blows whistle]

Drill instructor: Winner! Loser! Get out!

James Cimino: At some point, you need to engage the enemy. At some point, you are going to be face-to-face with somebody through all these conditions, and you're still going to have to be aggressive enough to win.

Narrator: During boot camp, Marine Corps recruits learn 17 different fighting styles, from tae kwon do to Brazilian jujitsu, as part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, or MCMAP.

Drill instructor: Strike harder!

Narrator: Recruits learn techniques like hammer fists and delivering knees to the body when a fight has gone to the ground. And all of that comes to a head during the Battle of Belleau Wood, where they go toe-to-toe with their fellow recruits.

Gregory Hopkins: Everything that takes place during the Crucible is considered a tactical evolution. When you break down the subcontext of what they're doing, they're either fighting for their lives or they're fighting to subdue someone else.

Narrator: One recruit has a considerable advantage. My name is Monserat CarmonaCorrea, from Dallas, Texas.

Narrator: Recruit CarmonaCorrea entered boot camp with the unique experience of a semipro boxing career.

Cimino: I have heard she has a wicked hook when it comes to sparring.

CarmonaCorrea: I started when I was 15. My record's 13 fights, 11 wins, two losses. Out of the 11 wins, I have two knockouts. I'm trying to go to the Olympics and then eventually turn pro.

Narrator: According to CarmonaCorrea, her training emphasizes body shots, uppercuts, and hooks.

CarmonaCorrea: Yes. I take it more like playing around.

CarmonaCorrea: Yes, sir.

Narrator: Recruits face off in a structure known as the Octagon.

Cimino: They'll have headgear, they'll have gloves, and they'll also be wearing a flak jacket.

Regina Qiokata: I think it's meant to kind of get them prepared for any aspects of combat. You could be fighting an enemy that you don't really know anything about. Although they know each other and they're in a platoon together, there are still a lot of things they don't know about each other, their capabilities. I think this is a way to just kind of keep them on their toes and keep them cognizant of their actions or the other person's actions.

CarmonaCorrea: The drill instructors, they always tell me to go hard and to keep punching.

Narrator: Although recruits wear headgear, punches to the head are strictly prohibited. [instructor whistles]

Drill instructor: Body shots! Body shots! Cimino: If I take a shot at your head, you might get a concussion, you might get knocked out, especially because I'm cold, I'm tired, I'm fatigued, so I'm much more susceptible to injuries.

Narrator: Occasional accidents occur.

Narrator: Medics stand by in case of injuries.

Narrator: Finally, it's CarmonaCorrea's turn to enter the Octagon.

Drill instructors: Body shot! Body shot! Body shot! Body shot!

Drill instructor: Yes!

Drill instructor: Body, body!

Narrator: Recruits spar for about 60 seconds.

Drill instructor: Get her, get her! Punch him!

Narrator: The instructor judges the match on technique, effectiveness, and effort and then declares a winner and a loser.

Drill instructor: Winner! Loser! Get out!

Narrator: CarmonaCorrea, the winner, exits through a hatch labeled "DEVIL DOGS."

Drill instructor: Winner, get out. Loser, get out.

Narrator: While the loser is sent to the penalty box.

Drill instructor: Full plank. Get your butt down. You get down.

Recruit: Yes, ma'am.

Instructor: You get down.

Recruit: Yes, ma'am.

Drill instructor: Your hands are shoulder width apart.

Recruit: Yes, ma'am.

Drill instructor: Your head is to the front.

Recruit: Yes, ma'am.

Drill instructor: Get up. Go away. Narrator: If the recruits aren't making a strong enough effort, they're both declared losers. [instructor whistles] Drill instructor: You both lose. Get out!

Hopkins: I think about who wants it more, who is willing to mentally push themselves and their bodies out of their comfort zone to accomplish a mission. And I think pushing through all that adversity to accomplish that is a perfect venue for those martial arts skills.

Narrator: Having successfully completed the Battle of Belleau Wood, these recruits are now ready to conquer the remainder of the Crucible and become United States Marines.