Training for Combat – Technical Report Series (RT) · No. 1 · February 2026

Author: José Eleutério da Rocha Neto, captain in the Military Police of Paraná, with a master's degree in Psychology (Behavior Analysis) from the Federal University of Paraná, and a researcher with the TFESP group.

Instituto Arrecife's first Technical Report proposes an evidence-based path for police use-of-force training. The author starts from a diagnosis: many Brazilian police forces have no training manuals, and the existing ones rarely draw on research. The report reviews the models, principles and doctrinal aspects of the use of force in Brazil.

It shows how to set clear, measurable learning objectives, design the curriculum and apply the best practices identified in the literature, such as simulations with real-world stressors, biofeedback and sparring. Finally, it argues that trainees should be assessed in simulations of the real situations they are being trained for, not only on the execution of techniques.