I don't know a whole lot about Rex Applegate the man, but I've seen examples of his system, and it looks pretty effective. It is old (as far as modern systems are concerned), and is based on Greco/Roman Wrestling, Catch-as-Catch-Can, boxing, small elements of Judo and Karate (I believe), and what I can only describe as brute street stuff (that helped, right?).
Many of its elements are primarily defensive, recognizing the fact that most h2h situations on the battlefield are the result of surprise attacks and loss of weaponry.
The counter attacks are viscious, and seem to be of the "crush the windpipe or balls and leave" variety, with a few submission/joint breaks thrown in. They also focus on escapes.
I'm particularly attracted to its defenses against a standing opponent while you are on the ground.
This is not by any means a complete critique of the system. It is my knowledge from seeing some of my military friends mess around, websites, and books. I've never learned the system myself.
To answer your other question, the difference in h2h between us and specops is a matter of goals and tactics.
The specops guys train for a variety of eventualities, but most of their h2h is geared toward "guard" liquidation. In other words, you can't use a gun because of the noise, so you sneak up behind someone and knife them or garrote them. Failing that, you break their neck with your bare hands.
If that goes haywire, or they run out of ammo but have a chance to escape, they go with the knife and a stealthy getaway (if they can). Failing that they usually revert to Thai boxing for kicks, and JKD-derived hand techniques (not trapping, though). They are fond of bil-jees (finger jabs to eyes or throat), knife hand to throat, and crashing into the clinch with knees and elbows, followed by hard throws and stomps. They (SEALs) do not seem to prefer to go to the ground, and I don't know if they train that or not.
Most specops have received a modicum of training/seminars for: Bando, BJJ, MMA, JKD (and derivatives), and Thai Boxing. The largest mixture comes from BJJ, Thai, and JKD, it seems. I got this info from articles and books (mostly MA mag articles).
A lot of this info comes from trawling the Net and various books. I do know a guy who knows a SEAL, but I haven't known him long enough to ask anything of him. This I plan to do later.
