The Wuzhou detachment of the Guangxi corps of China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP) has completed the first coach-training session of 2026, aimed at forging a new cohort of highly skilled combat instructors often referred to as "wu jiaotou". The week-long programme concentrated on practical, close-combat skills and teaching methods, reflecting an institutional push to improve the quality and consistency of grassroots training across PAP units.
Curriculum emphasis was resolutely practical: basic tactical movements, stabbing techniques, grappling and detainee-control methods, weapons handling and construction of cover and field fortifications. Organisers implemented a combined methodology of classroom theory, lesson-plan drafting, intensive skills practice and standardisation drills, using group discussion, live demonstrations and on-site exercises to harmonise movement standards and teaching procedures.
Participating coaches were assigned roles and tasked with refining lesson plans and training aids, elevating their ability to explain, demonstrate and instruct — summarised locally as improving their skills to "speak, do and teach". The stated objective is explicitly multiplier in nature: to produce trainers who can return to lower echelons and drive uniform, regulated training at the unit level.
The announcement, accompanied by photographs credited to local PAP photographers, is best read in the wider context of the past decade’s Chinese security reforms. Beijing has repeatedly instructed its armed services and paramilitary forces to prioritise "real-combat" readiness, professionalise instructor cadres and standardise training content and assessment. The PAP, responsible for domestic security, counterterrorism and border duties, has been a particular focus of these efforts.
That focus matters for observers both inside and outside China. Standardised, higher-quality instructor training is a force multiplier: it accelerates the dissemination of doctrine, reduces variance in unit capability and makes improvements in tactics and procedures more durable. In a region such as Guangxi, which borders Vietnam and hosts significant internal-security responsibilities, enhanced close-quarters combat and fieldcraft skills have direct applications for counterterrorism, crowd control and border operations.
The report offers a clear signalling function as well. Publicising methodical train-the-trainer exercises showcases institutional competence and political prioritisation of readiness, while also serving domestic morale and legitimacy purposes. At the same time, the brief release leaves unanswered questions about scale, assessment metrics and how these courses dovetail with PLA exercises or joint operations, which are relevant indicators for analysts tracking capability trends.