Special Operations Combatives Program® (SOCP®) Knife
Designed and patent pending
by Greg Thompson
I started teaching combatives in the 1990s and have examined hundreds of knifes and sheaths trying to find the best answer for the soldier. Some were good, but none could bridge the gap between hand-to-knife and knife-to-gun rapid access
capabilities during hand-to-hand combat. It took me several years to develop the answer and it is the SOCP®.
| SOCP® Knife | |
The SOCP® Knife has a ribbed ring on the end of a thin, dagger handle so you can grab it with either hand. The sheath extends up the side of the ring making it very difficult for anyone other than the carrier to access. This allows the hand that is holding the knife to transition to a handgun and, most important, there is no disconnect between the knife and gun. The ring enhances the knife, making accessibility easy and fast on the draw. The knife is created with a thin design allowing you to hide it behind a magazine, pouch, or easily conceal it behind a belt with a shirt bloused over. No matter what position you are in, be it standing or on the ground, all you need to do is hook your finger on the ring and the knife is in your hand. Not only is it perfect for concealment, when used effectively, it creates space on the ground.
If you are carrying a handgun concealed in a warm climate, it can be hard to get the weapon out fast. If you are grabbed from behind, in a bad position on the ground, or thrown over an object, this knife will help you get to a safe leverage position on an attacker before introducing a firearm. If you transition in a bad leverage position, the firearm may come out of battery. You may not know where the rounds are going. Your retention of the firearm is weak. Using the SOCP® knife makes you safer and more effective at close range.
Note: The gripped thumbrest
stops the knife from sliding in
your hand.
In Close Quarters Battle (CQB) hand-to-hand training: rapid access to the knife is the first step most often used to create space in a lethal clinch situation. This is an important move, especially during a rear grab, which is an extremely difficult move to defend. Successful defense to the rear grab is
often hindered by environment, physical attributes of you and the attacker, and the sheer skill that is often required to effectively combat a rear grab. The SOCP® technique links perfectly to the SOCP® Knife.
Striking and Transition to Knife
During CQB, situations happen rapidly where a quick response is necessary. Often, soldiers do not prepare effectively for CQB and carry knives in easily visible positions. Attackers can see and easily strike based on the knife location. For example, use of standard Owen knives for overseas CQB has resulted in many documented stabbings that could have been prevented had proper training and weapon placement occurred. CQB also has situations where other problems arise. For instance, a soldier grabs his knife, stabs or cuts the attacker, and yet still fails in his defense because the attacker knows the soldier is going for a handgun during transition. Transition to a handgun, passing a knife between hands, opens up dangerous situations where attackers can use a clinch position to spin and drive a soldier over objects in a room. Rapid access to a firearm is essential in these situations. Being prepared for additional attackers, having mental quickness and physical skills for effective combat is imperative, and ultimately your life could depend on it. A simple blade or knife does not always stop an attacker during hand-to-hand fighting, which is why mental, physical, and tool preparedness is not only mandatory but often lifesaving in CQB situations.
Ep 187 A Look Into Special Operations Combatives Program® With Greg Thompson
SOCP® Dagger - Benchmade 176/178 SOCP® Dagger Military Application
SOCP® Rescue Tool
SOCP® (Special Operations Combatives Program®)
SOCP® Creator Greg Thompson's Combative Tips
To evolve the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP) Greg Thompson was asked to help. He volunteered his time to be videoed demonstrating cuff prisoner handling vehicle extractions, post, frame, hook and other techniques. The Techniques will go on a secure military site for soldiers and Instructors. He closed with lecturing on things that soldiers forget or get complaisant with.
I strongly recommend Mr. Greg Thompson for consideration as a primary trainer and/or advisor for any unit’s combative program. I am currently responsible for the planning and execution of the Army’s Special Forces advanced Close Quarters Battle program and for the past 3 years we have incorporated Mr. Thompson’s combative program into...
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I strongly recommend Mr. Greg Thompson for consideration as a primary trainer and advisor for any unit combatives program. As commander of Range 37 I have the responsibility to train and to familiarize all of our Special Forces assaulters on the most up to date and current techniques, tactics, and procedures. This includes a comprehensive combatives...
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It has been my personal and professional pleasure to be acquainted with Mr. Greg Thompson for more than ten years. As a fourteen year veteran of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community, with service in the Ranger Regiment and Special Forces Group, and better than twenty years of martial arts training and experience, I have found the...
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“Training with Greg Thompson for the past 5 years has been the best thing that could have happened to me. Since I started training with Greg I have gone 6-1 in my professional mixed martial arts career. He has been my premier ground and Jiu Jitsu coach. During my time with Special Forces Greg has been the primary instructor for all combatives...
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Two words describe Greg Thompson: ability and wisdom. As a martial arts instructor, Greg Thompson is a rarity. He has the natural physical and mental abilities of a worldclass fighter and has the skills to back it up. His wisdom as an instructor is unsurpassed, having exceptional skills in all areas of martial arts, from weapons to all ranges...
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Greg Thompson’s H2H program is the Close Combat overhaul Special Forces has been waiting for! As an instructor for Close Combat at SFARTAETC I had to fill a void that was painfully obvious. Conducting Close Combat with full kit is an expected part of CQB but not properly trained for. . . Greg formalized a program that fit the CQB environment,...
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As a nineteen year veteran of law enforcement, defensive tactics instructor, military veteran and 2nd Dan Black belt in Tae Kwon Do . . . Being a Certified North Carolina Subject Control and Arrest Techniques Instructor and former Defensive Tactics Coordinator of North Carolina’s largest law enforcement agency, I know the importance of accomplishing...
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Greg has developed his programs based on the feedback of soldiers who have “been there and done that” in the Close Quarters setting of Iraq and Afghanistan during the War on Terror . . . Greg Thompson is a true asset to the military or any other agency that he is acquainted with and I am honored to call him my friend.
William Clark,...
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