Semper Fu

0755 — Body hardening drills — There is no greater compliment you can give a Marine than to say that they are ‘hard.’ Hard is a mysterious, intangible personality trait that belies definition. Hard, however, also has a physical component. In order to become hardened physically we go through a series of drills in which we: slam our femur bones together, kick each other on the side of the thigh, kick each other in the inner thighs, and punch each other in the abs. I realize, to my dismay, that I am neither ‘hard" nor ‘hard."

0810 — Hip throws (see photo) — Imagine being lifted three feet into the air, put in a horizontal position (with your feet slightly higher than your head), and then dropped onto rock-hard ground. That’s what happens during a hip throw. You‘re picked up and slammed to the ground. Hard. Extremely hard. ‘Dang-I‘m-gonna-feel-that-tomorrow" hard. The throwing part is easy; falling is the more difficult task. After lots of practice, however, I was able to master the art of being thrown to the ground. Now I’m almost always able to do it without crying like a little girl.

Yow. Full thing here. Happy birthday USMC.