Historical Military Training

  • Spartans (Greece): From age 7 Spartan boys entered the rigorous Agoge system, focusing on endurance, discipline and combat skills .  Training was communal: youths performed daily athletics and mock battles to build toughness.  By age 20 they became hoplites (heavy infantry) and remained under state training until 30 .
  • Romans: Roman legionaries trained with an emphasis on discipline, formation and weapons mastery .  Recruits marched in full gear (up to 30km/day) and drilled intensively on shield-wall tactics .  Sword training was central: legionaries repeatedly practiced grip, stance and thrusting with the gladius, polishing/oiling it daily until combat movements became automatic .
  • Mongols: Nomadic Mongol boys learned horsemanship and archery from childhood as part of daily life .  There was no formal school – hunting and skirmishing on horseback taught them speed, accuracy and endurance.  By teenage years they were expert riders armed with bow, lance and saber, forming the core of Genghis Khan’s cavalry.
  • Vikings: Scandinavian youth trained in village life. Boys rowed boats, climbed cliffs and wrestled for strength, and helped in hunts and raids .  Weapons training (axes, swords, bows) was informal but constant.  As warriors, Vikings valued loyalty and cohesion in the shield wall; unity and trust in battle were drilled through repeated group practice .
  • Samurai (Japan): Samurai children (around age 10) began mastering kenjutsu (sword), kyūjutsu (archery), and equestrian skills .  In total, 18 classical martial disciplines (“bujutsu”) were taught – including armed and unarmed combat, swimming and horsemanship .  Bushidō ethics also instilled self-discipline and courage during this lifelong training.
  • Zulu (Southern Africa): Zulu regiments operated on age-set service. Formal drilling was minimal – warriors received only brief induction training upon joining their regiment .  Instead, Zulus relied on skills honed in daily life and cattle-raiding. They became expert skirmishers: e.g. executing encircling “horns of the buffalo” attacks modeled on hunting practices .  Though lacking formal drill, Zulu warriors were noted for steadfast discipline under heavy fire .

Modern Military Training

  • U.S. Navy SEALs: The BUD/S pipeline is famed for its brutal physical and mental tests. It “is designed to assess and select” candidates able to meet extreme challenges . Trainees endure Hell Week (continuous training with minimal sleep), long ocean swims, obstacle courses and small-unit tactics under stress. The goal is to build resilience: post-training surveys note that SEALs’ toughness significantly improves over BUD/S .
  • Russian Spetsnaz: Spetsnaz selection starts with seven grueling physical tests: e.g. a 3 km sprint in ~12 minutes, numerous pull-ups, and a hand-to-hand combatives exam .  Recruits also face psychological screening.  Initial training (about 3 months) includes daily 15–20 km runs, obstacle courses and weapons drills.  Martial arts like Systema are integral – teaching instinctive strikes, pain tolerance and knife defense.  As one report notes, recruits practice exhaustive endurance runs and live drills to become a “transformative” special operator .
  • Israeli IDF: As a conscript army, Israel trains large cohorts in combined-arms infantry skills.  Basic training (~4 months) covers discipline, marching, weapons use, and field exercises .  Physical fitness and weapons handling are core.  At the end of combat training recruits undertake the notorious “Beret March” (20–45 miles with gear) – success earns them the unit beret in a ceremony .  Advanced training then focuses on squad/team tactics, fitness, and mission-specific skills .  Unique Israeli programs (e.g. Talpiot tech academy) also integrate cutting-edge technology and leadership into the curriculum.
  • British SAS: SAS selection unfolds in demanding phases:
    1. Endurance (“The Hills”) – 3 weeks of forced marches in the Brecon Beacons with heavy packs . Candidates navigate checkpoints on foot over unforgiving terrain. It culminates in “the Long Drag” – a 40-mile trek carrying ~55 lb in under 24 hours .
    2. Jungle Warfare – Troops train in Belize’s jungle and savannah for survival skills, patrol tactics and live-firing . They live off rations and learn ambush methods in tropical conditions.
    3. Escape/Evasion and Resistance – Candidates spend 3 days evading forces in hostile terrain, then undergo interrogation exercises . This phase tests navigation, survival under pursuit, and resistance to intense captivity scenarios.

Guerrilla and Asymmetric Warfare Training

  • Insurgents and Militias: Guerilla forces typically train in smaller, decentralized camps.  Research shows effective insurgent training is consistent (all recruits get core instruction in weapons handling, camouflage, basics of tactics) and realistic (extensive live exercises under simulated combat stress) .  Sessions may last weeks or months, focusing on marksmanship, ambush drills, land navigation and improvised operations.  For example, Taliban fighters have organized camps teaching ambush tactics, IED preparation and night movements.  Classical guerrilla strategy (e.g. Mao’s “People’s War”) emphasized living among the populace and using propaganda and small-unit ambushes before open battles .  In practice, successful guerrillas drill squads in terrain familiarization and stress endurance – echoing the military maxim that “hard field training saved blood in combat” .

Survival and Bushcraft Skills

Wilderness survival training (such as SERE – Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) teaches how to stay alive with minimal resources. Trainees learn to build shelters, start fires, collect and purify water, navigate, and administer first aid.  For example, U.S. Marines in jungle survival class were shown edible plants and bushcraft techniques . Military SERE programs explicitly train in diverse environments (desert, mountain, jungle, arctic, open ocean), covering tools like natural-medical skills and rough evacuation .  Civilian bushcraft courses similarly emphasize the “5 C’s” (cover, combus­tion, crisis, container, and cordage) – fire, shelter, water and signaling.  As one guide puts it, making fire is “the king of survival techniques” – needed for warmth, cooking and morale .  Instructors also stress not panicking, and knowing how to safely forage (e.g. “you can live up to three days without water” and “do NOT eat plants you cannot identify”) .

Psychological and Mental Conditioning

Modern forces systematically build mental toughness alongside physical skills.  Techniques include Stress Inoculation Training (SIT): controlled exposure to stressors so soldiers learn to stay calm under pressure.  For example, U.S. Air Force Pararescue trainees undergo “drown-proofing” – bound-hand swim drills – to force control of panic and attention to detail .  SIT is executed in phases: classroom coping strategies, then progressive drills, and finally application under realistic strain .  The result is that recruits habituate to high-stress cues (fatigue, fear, chaos) and perform reflexively.  Physical fitness itself is considered a resilience builder: fitness not only enables task performance but also “builds…resilience and toughness” – i.e. the ability to recover from stress and trauma .  Many armies also teach mindfulness or breathing techniques to handle fear, and cultivate unit cohesion and confidence through shared hardship (often summarized as an esprit de corps or “winning mentality”).

Self-Defense and Martial Arts (Civilian Combat Training)

Today’s civilian self-defense courses often draw on military combatives.  Israel’s Krav Maga, developed for the IDF, selects the most practical techniques (from boxing, wrestling, judo, etc.) and teaches aggressive counterattacks to neutralize threats quickly .  In many armed forces, hand-to-hand training includes global martial arts: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is prized for ground grappling and submissions (enabling control or non-lethal takedowns in close quarters ), while striking arts like boxing and Muay Thai train fast powerful punches, knees and elbows .  For instance, U.S. Army instructors have taught BJJ moves to foreign cadets as a combatives technique .  Police and SWAT teams similarly train in improvised tactics and shoot/no-shoot scenarios in urban environments.  These programs emphasize reacting under stress: repeated sparring and scenario drills build reflexes and confidence (mirroring the military’s stress training).

Weapons Training

Mastery of weapons has always been fundamental.  In ancient and medieval times this meant lifelong drill with swords, spears, bows, etc.  For example, Roman legionaries spent hours daily rehearsing gladius sword techniques – from basic stance and grips to precise thrusts at enemy vulnerabilities .  Medieval knights similarly trained from boyhood in lance and sword fighting (often using heavier practice weapons to build strength).  Archery specialists (English longbowmen, Mongol horse-archers) fired hundreds of arrows routinely to build skill.  Today, armies emphasize firearms and explosives: recruits undergo classroom and live-fire instruction in rifle and pistol marksmanship, weapon safety and maintenance.  Standard curricula (like U.S. Army Basic Rifle Marksmanship) require thousands of repetitions on the range until handling becomes second nature.  Specialized units train with anti-tank missiles, sniper rifles, demolitions and advanced weapons systems.  Across eras the principle is the same: intensive, repetitive practice to instill discipline, precision and muscle memory with every weapon.

Sources: Authoritative military histories and journals , supported by contemporary analyses of training regimens . Images from military training archives illustrate these practices .