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By TODD FLORY

Salina Journal

FORT RILEY -- Jenna McIntire didn't want to be intimidated.

Then, she heard that the man she was supposed to fight was the second runner-up for the all-Army team lightweight class the year before, and all bets were off.

"That got me even more intimidated. I kind of lost confidence even before I fought," said McIntire, who was participating Thursday in the 2008 Combatives Tournament at Fort Riley.

The double-elimination tournament, which started Thursday and continues today, consists of three stages. During the first stage, participants primarily use grabbing and wrestling techniques. The second stage incorporates slapping as well as grabbing. Soldiers who advance to the third stage don gloves and protective footwear and engage in punching and kicking techniques.

Soldiers are divided into weight classes ranging from flyweight to heavyweight, and the top two finishers in each weight class will represent Fort Riley at the All-Army Tournament at Fort Benning, Ga., later this year.

"Our job is to make sure ...to support our soldiers; give these types of tournaments that involve all our community and show them that we care," said Edwin Torres, intramural sports coordinator at Fort Riley.

The last two years, Torres said, Fort Riley received second place at the All-Army Tournament at Fort Benning, and hopes are high that the Kansas base can capture first this year. Torres said support and enthusiasm from the soldiers and commanders are an important part of putting on the tournament.

"There is really good command support throughout the sports program," he said. "The soldiers, in this case here, they managed, they controlled, they're keeping track of the brackets, they did all the set-up, they did all the coordination for the officials."

Only four women

Of the 147 soldiers who participated in the tournament, only four were female.

"I think there should definitely be more, because I know there are more women on this post that could do this and that would be good at doing this," said McIntire, who is from Sunman, Ind. "I think we've just got to get more females out there to compete."

McIntire didn't get the opportunity to fight a female, but she would have gladly welcomed it.

"It's a little less intimidating, but some females are amazing fighters, as well," she said. "I like to see a female that can, you know, dominate any opponent."

Giselle King, Indianapolis, Ind., didn't mind the fact that there were so few females participating.

"We're all soldiers," King said. "There's no real difference; I mean, yeah, the men are stronger than me, but it's not really about strength, it's about technique."

Both McIntire and King lost their first two matches, but were looking forward to watching their fellow soldiers compete.

"There are a lot of people from my battalion that are still fighting," McIntire said. "I have a meeting at 1300 (1 p.m.) today, but I'm going to be here both days, all day as much as I can."

It's sort of familiar

For some of the participants, the method of fighting was already familiar. Jeremy Gilmore, Kansas City, Mo., who has been in the military for almost seven years, wrestled for four years in high school and has some experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

"It definitely gives you an edge as far as technique goes," Gilmore said. He started off the tournament 2-1. "I use my wrestling to get them down to the ground, and my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to finish them off."

Gilmore joined the military when he was 17 to travel the world and to stay busy and active. For him, the tournament provides much of the same excitement.

"It's fast-paced, you know. I'm a lightweight, so the guys in my weight class are a little bit faster, a little bit scrappier," he said. "The competition's great. It's just a really good time to get out here and compete."

Even if the participants had not had fighting or wrestling experience before joining the military, the tournament is similar to much of the training that they receive in the military. Since they are fighting against other people, King said, the tournament is a little more in-depth than regular training, but still contains some of the basics.

An enemy situation

"If you're in an enemy situation, there aren't any rules, you do what you've got to do," she said. "But in a competition, there's rules you have to follow, so you don't want to break the guy's arm off, because you may be in a firefight with the guy the next day. It's different, but, yeah, it does help out on the battlefield."

Torres feels that the support from military families and other Fort Riley employees who attend makes the tournament just that much better.

"It's amazing that when you put on a tournament and you have this much competition, this much participation, it's worthwhile," Torres said.

"And this, again, is because of the command. When you have a command at Fort Riley supporting the soldiers, supporting the sports program, everything becomes a success."

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