Matt Larsen
The Army Ranger who built the U.S. Army's modern combatives program on Gracie jiu-jitsu, a black belt under Jacaré who now directs combatives at West Point.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Matt Smith (Northwest Guardian), 'Army combatives training is helping today's Soldier become more effective', army.mil, June 27, 2008.(opens in a new tab)
In 1995 Matt Larsen, then a squad leader in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, was tasked by battalion commander Lt. Col. Stanley McChrystal with reviving a practical hand-to-hand fighting method; the article describes this as the start of what became the Modern Army Combatives Program.
Where in the source: Section 'The early years', first paragraph — 'then a squad leader'
Accessed:
Larsen assembled a group of soldiers who trained in various martial arts off post and tested how each style held up; they also tried the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program handbook. On the advice of J. Robinson, a Vietnam-era Ranger and University of Minnesota wrestling head coach, Larsen settled on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu taught by the Gracie family.
Where in the source: Section 'The early years', second and third paragraphs — 'J. Robinson'
Accessed:
According to Sgt. 1st Class Michael Robinson, one of Larsen's early Rangers, the first Gracie to teach the battalion was Royce Gracie, who took on 30 soldiers from the battalion one after another without a break before showing them how he had done it; Robinson called this the start of the battalion's combatives program.
Where in the source: Section 'The early years', Robinson's recollection — 'the Gracies came up'
Accessed:
The 2nd Ranger Battalion's first test of the new training came at a Joint Readiness Training Center, where an impromptu combatives pit formed between the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions and a company from the 3rd; Robinson recalled that after about eight hours of matches the 2nd Battalion had lost only three.
Where in the source: Section 'The early years', paragraphs on the Joint Readiness Training Center — 'only lost three matches'
Accessed:
Larsen moved to the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was charged with taking his combatives program Army-wide; he opened the 'fight house' that became the home of the Modern Army Combatives Program and served as its NCO in charge. In 2002 his rewrite of the Army field manual FM 3-25.150 (Combatives) became official Army doctrine.
Where in the source: Section 'Grass roots growth', second paragraph — 'the fight house'
Accessed:
Larsen was then reassigned to the 11th Infantry Regiment, where he developed a four-level train-the-trainer course that became known as the United States Army Combatives School.
Where in the source: Section 'Grass roots growth', third paragraph on the 11th Infantry Regiment and the four-level course
Accessed:
By mid-2008 Larsen had retired from the Army and was the civilian in charge of the combatives program; the article reports that the training had by then become a requirement for passing initial entry training and part of the Warrior Tasks list every soldier must know.
Where in the source: Section 'Grass roots growth', third paragraph — 'Now retired'
Accessed:
As described in 2008, the program ran in four levels: Level I was a 40-hour, week-long introduction to basic jiu-jitsu moves (about 20 techniques) that included a drill in which students had to close to a clinch while an instructor punched them; Level II was a two-week course of about 50 techniques that trained students to teach Level I; Levels III and IV each lasted a month, with Level IV taught only at Fort Benning.
Where in the source: Sections 'Level I', 'Level II' and 'Levels III & IV'
Accessed:
Linda Crippen (TRADOC), 'Kickin' it combatives style at Fort Benning', army.mil, August 27, 2010.(opens in a new tab)
In 2010 the Army's training command described Larsen, a retired NCO, as the creator and director of the Army Combatives Program, and said he was often called the father of the program because he wrote FM 3-25.150.
Where in the source: Section 'POST, FRAME, HOOK', third and fourth paragraphs — 'Retired NCO Matt Larsen'
Accessed:
Larsen said two lessons drove the 2010 curriculum changes: that 'Every fight is grappling', and that on the battlefield there is no truly unarmed fight. As a result, weapons-related fighting skills were pushed down into basic training.
Where in the source: Section 'POST, FRAME, HOOK', third and fourth paragraphs
Accessed:
Larsen put hand-to-hand combat in perspective by saying that the winner of such a fight in combat is the soldier whose comrade arrives first with a gun; he argued that the value of the training lies in making better soldiers and leaders.
Where in the source: Section 'WARRIOR ETHOS', second paragraph — 'whose buddy first shows up'
Accessed:
Larsen described the program's real mission as changing Army culture so that warrior skills and attributes are valued, arguing that soldiers learn values through the demands training places on them rather than by memorising slogans.
Where in the source: Section 'WARRIOR ETHOS', last three paragraphs — 'change the culture of the Army'
Accessed:
As evidence that technique beat size, Larsen pointed to the program's first female level 3 instructor, 1st Lt. Christine Van Fleet, who at about 145 pounds choked out a 225-pound opponent 30 seconds into a match.
Where in the source: Section 'WOMEN IN COMBATIVES', Larsen's example of the first female level 3 instructor
Accessed:
Matt Larsen's Combat Fitness Center, 'About' page (self-published, undated).(opens in a new tab)
Larsen began training in martial arts as a young Marine infantryman stationed in Tokyo and later Okinawa, and travelled and fought across East Asia, from Korea and Thailand to the Philippines.
Where in the source: About page, first two sentences — 'young Marine infantryman'
Accessed:
After switching from the Marine Corps to the Army, Larsen served more than twelve years in the 75th Ranger Regiment, including a parachute assault onto the Torrijos-Tocumen airfield during the US invasion of Panama and Ranger operations during the Gulf War.
Where in the source: About page, third sentence — 'invasion of Panama'
Accessed:
Larsen served as NCO in charge of combatives training for the 2nd Ranger Battalion and, as the program grew, for the whole 75th Ranger Regiment, where he was also the regimental master trainer for close-quarters battle and marksmanship; he then took the same role at the Ranger Training Brigade, where he wrote FM 3-25.150, and finally for the entire Army.
Where in the source: About page, fourth sentence — 'regimental master trainer'
Accessed:
Larsen retired from the Army in 2005. Afterwards he worked as a security contractor, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, helped rewrite the combatives curriculum for the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, the US Air Force and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, and consulted with the Royal Marine Commandos and the British Army's infantry on their combatives programs.
Where in the source: About page, fifth sentence — 'retiring from the Army in 2005'
Accessed:
Larsen rewrote the Army field manual on hand-to-hand combat, FM 3-25.150 (Combatives), twice, in 2002 and 2009, and edited two books on survival and evasion for the publisher Lyons Press.
Where in the source: About page, sixth sentence — 'in both 2002 and 2009'
Accessed:
Joshua Shaw, 'C4 Combatives: Extreme Close-Range Gun-Fighting w/ Matt Larsen', Spotter Up, April 4, 2018.(opens in a new tab)
A 2018 instructor biography published with a C4 Combatives course states that Larsen holds black belts in several martial arts, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and that he earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Romero 'Jacaré' Cavalcanti.
Where in the source: Matt Larsen biography, first and second paragraphs — 'earned his BJJ black belt'
Accessed:
The same biography says Larsen competed early in his career across many styles and countries: at the All Japan Karate Championship, in Kodokan judo in Tokyo and Okinawa, in Muay Thai in Bangkok, in kali in the Philippines, in taekwondo in Korea and in boxing with the US Marine Corps.
Where in the source: Matt Larsen biography, second paragraph — 'All Japan Karate Championship'
Accessed:
The same biography states that Larsen founded the Army Combatives School and served as both its commandant and director of the Modern Army Combatives Program from 2000 until 2010, and that he wrote 'Modern Army Combatives: Battle-Proven Techniques and Training Methods' and co-wrote 'Sniper: American Single-Shot Warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan'.
Where in the source: Matt Larsen biography, third and fifth paragraphs — 'from 2000 until 2010'
Accessed:
U.S. Military Academy West Point, directory profile 'Matthew C. Larsen' (read September 29, 2026).(opens in a new tab)
Larsen is an instructor and the director of combatives in the Department of Physical Education at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Where in the source: Directory profile header and 'About' tab, first sentence — 'instructor and combatives director'
Accessed:
West Point describes Larsen as a career Army Ranger known as the father of the Modern Army Combatives Program, who served in the US Marine Corps and the 75th Ranger Regiment over a 22-year military career, founded the United States Army Combatives School and served as its commandant and as Army Combatives program director for more than a decade.
Where in the source: 'About' tab, second paragraph — '22-year military career'
Accessed:
West Point says Larsen has worked as a private security contractor in the Middle East and Africa, including managing a security company in central and southern Africa, and consulted on combatives training for, among others, the Polish Diplomatic Security Corps, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and Presidential Guard, and the Kuwait Police Special Forces.
Where in the source: 'About' tab, third paragraph — 'managing a security company'
Accessed:
West Point lists Larsen's education as an M.A. in combat psychology and a B.S. in natural science.
Where in the source: 'Education' tab of the directory profile
Accessed:
Modern War Institute at West Point, event page 'How We Build Warriors Willing to Fight – Matt Larsen, Founder of Modern Army Combatives', December 6, 2017.(opens in a new tab)
On December 6, 2017, Larsen spoke in West Point's Modern War Institute speaker series under the title 'How We Build Warriors Willing to Fight', on how Army hand-to-hand training evolved and why combatives is also meant to instil a warrior spirit.
Where in the source: Event page, title and description — 'MWI Speaker Series event'
Accessed:
Vince Little (The Bayonet), 'Army combatives program changes lesson plan', army.mil, November 20, 2009.(opens in a new tab)
In November 2009, as director of the US Army Combatives School, Larsen said the curriculum was being revised with lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, drawing on more than 900 interviews with soldiers who had fought hand to hand there. The aim was to push advanced material, such as fighting for control of weapons and applying grappling principles standing up in small rooms, down to small units and basic training.
Where in the source: Article body, first six paragraphs — 'More than 900 interviews'
Accessed:
Larsen said in November 2009 that more than 57,000 troops had graduated from the Army Combatives School: 50,374 at Level 1, 5,255 at Level 2, 1,408 at Level 3 and 564 at Level 4.
Where in the source: Second-to-last paragraph, on graduate numbers — 'more than 57,000 troops'
Accessed:
Under the 2009 changes, Levels 1 and 2 became the basic and tactical combatives courses and Levels 3 and 4 became the basic and tactical combatives instructor courses, keeping 40, 80 and 160 training hours per tier; Larsen said the school would keep its four pillars of universal, foundational, motivational and tactical instruction.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on the four pillars and on the renamed courses
Accessed:
Raz Chen, 'The West Point Program', Black Belt Magazine, November 25, 2022.(opens in a new tab)
A 2022 Black Belt Magazine visit to West Point described Larsen as the academy's combatives director and set out the cadet program: it starts with movement fundamentals such as running, climbing, falling, basic gymnastics and swimming under stress, then moves through boxing and ground fighting with strikes to a final close-quarters class that brings in weapons.
Where in the source: Sections 'Principle: Learn How to Move' and 'Principle: Learn the Rules, Then Break Them'
Accessed:
Larsen told the magazine that the cadets, as future officers, will be responsible for maintaining their soldiers' fitness and for working with subordinate officers to hold the standard; the magazine noted that their training is not typical of the average soldier's. Larsen described learning as moving skills from short-term to long-term memory, comparing it to learning letters, then words, then forming independent thoughts.
Where in the source: Paragraph after the introduction — 'Larsen reports'; section 'Principle: Learn the Rules, Then Break Them' — 'short-term memory to long-term memory'
Accessed:
Alliance Martial Arts Center (Atlanta), instructor biography of Romero 'Jacaré' Cavalcanti, alliancebjj.com, Internet Archive capture of November 8, 2010.(opens in a new tab)
Larsen received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Romero 'Jacaré' Cavalcanti: the instructor biography on Cavalcanti's Alliance Martial Arts Center website in Atlanta, as archived in November 2010, lists Matt Larsen among the black belts Cavalcanti had graduated.
Where in the source: Section 'Black Belt Graduates', alphabetical list — entry 'Matt Larsen'
Accessed:
The same biography lists Cavalcanti as a consultant and instructor in hand-to-hand combat to the US Army Rangers at Fort Benning, Georgia, and says that Cavalcanti, working together with Larsen, was chosen by the Rangers at Fort Benning and by several law enforcement agencies as their main instructor.
Where in the source: 'Background' list and closing biography paragraph — 'Consultant/Instructor US Army Rangers'
Accessed:
According to the same page, Cavalcanti received his black belt from Rolls Gracie in 1982, returned to live in the United States in 1995 (he had studied in New York in the 1970s) and settled in Atlanta in late 1996.
Where in the source: 'Dedication' section and closing biography paragraph — 'moved to Atlanta in late 1996'
Accessed:
Library of Congress Name Authority File, record no2009094329 'Larsen, Matt' (created 2009, revised 2025), id.loc.gov Linked Data.(opens in a new tab)
The Library of Congress name authority record for 'Larsen, Matt', which is tied to the revised U.S. Army Survival Handbook (2009, credited to Sergeant First Class Matt Larsen) and to The Official U.S. Army Combat Skills Handbook (2018), gives his year of birth as 1967, citing the publisher's cataloguing data.
Where in the source: Record no2009094329, fields 'birthDate' and 'citationNote'
Accessed:
Legends of the 75th (podcast), 'SFC (R) Matt Larsen', Season 1, Episode 45, RedCircle, December 2, 2023.(opens in a new tab)
The episode notes of a December 2023 Legends of the 75th podcast interview with Larsen summarise his account of moving from the Marine Corps to the Ranger Regiment, the Panama invasion and the rise of the combatives program, and say that jiu-jitsu came into the Ranger Regiment after Royce Gracie's success in the UFC led to the Gracies being brought in as instructors.
Where in the source: Episode 'SFC (R) Matt Larsen', Season 1 Episode 45, episode notes — 'recruitment as instructors'
Accessed:
Matt Larsen, 'War Books: Matt Larsen, "Father of the US Army's Modern Combatives Program"', Modern War Institute at West Point, April 8, 2019 (first published February 2017).(opens in a new tab)
In his own list of five books that shaped his thinking about war, written for West Point's Modern War Institute in 2017 and republished in 2019, Larsen stressed unit belonging as a source of effectiveness and resilience, argued that training which does not prepare soldiers for the confusion and fear of real combat is wrong, and wrote that the side that keeps its will to fight longest wins.
Where in the source: Entries on Junger's 'Tribe', Von Schell's 'Battle Leadership' and Callwell's 'Small Wars' — 'then it is wrong'
Accessed:
John Amble, 'MWI Podcast: Turning Soldiers into Warriors, with Matt Larsen', Modern War Institute at West Point, September 5, 2018.(opens in a new tab)
Introducing a 2018 interview, West Point's Modern War Institute wrote that anyone who had served in the Army over the previous fifteen years or more would almost certainly have done the combatives training Larsen helped create, and that in the conversation he argued a warrior ethos must exist throughout the Army, not only in infantry and other combat arms units.
Where in the source: Episode introduction, first paragraph — 'not just in infantry'
Accessed:
Matt Larsen's Combat Fitness Center, home page (self-published, undated).(opens in a new tab)
Larsen ran a fitness and training gym under his own name, Matt Larsen's Combat Fitness Center, in Columbus, Georgia.
Where in the source: Home page, site title and footer (city only)
Accessed: