You’d first have to ask yourself how does any martial art come to exist? We like to make the argument that martial arts come from evolutionary pressures of a societal need to fight.

With the rise of mass killings and terrorism in our nation, C4 recognizes there is a need for our people to learn to fight in order to preserve our culture. We’re bringing the next evolution of the Modern Army Combatives Program to every American who wants to make those around them safer by virtue of being there. We need the warrior in the room ready, willing, and with the training to stop evil.

The C4 team brings with it more than 50 years of combined experience of Combatives training, teaching, and consulting at the highest levels globally. We teach an updated and modified version of the combatives  program used by millions of United States Army Soldiers, every Government agency you can think of and most of our foreign allies whom we train.

Matt Larsen

Matt Larsen is the most successful hand-to-hand combat trainer and program  developer in history, responsible for creating the combatives program  currently used by the U.S. Army. For over three decades he has studied martial arts, earning black belts in several styles including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

Larsen earned his BJJ black belt under Romero “Jacare” Cavalcante, leader of  the most successful team in the history of the sport. Early in his career Larsen competed against fighters in many countries and many styles: the All Japan Karate Championship, Kodokan Judo in Tokyo and Okinawa, Muay Thai in Bangkok, Kali in the Philippines, Taekwondo in Korea, and boxing in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Starting his military career in the U.S. Marine Corps, Larsen later joined the  U.S. Army and eventually the ranks of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. While there, he was called upon to design a hand-to-hand combat program which was quickly adopted by the entire Regiment. Over the next decade as part of Army Special Operations he became the subject matter expert on hand-to-hand combat. Larsen overhauled the Army’s hand-to-hand combat doctrine by rewriting the Combatives field manual – FM 3-25.150. Regarded as the father of the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP), he founded the Army Combatives School and served as both its commandant and the director of the MACP from 2000 until 2010.  

During his military service Larsen saw combat in Panama and Iraq. Afterwards  he worked as a private security contractor throughout Southwest Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He trained U.S. Marine Corps personal security detachments for deployment to Iraq, designed a Combatives system for the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, and consulted on the design of Combatives training systems for the U.S. Air  Force, the  British Royal Marines and the British Infantry.  

Matt is the author of “Modern Army Combatives: Battle-Proven Techniques and Training Methods” and he co-authored “Sniper: American Single-Shot  Warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan.” He currently resides in West Point, New York where he serves as the Director of the Combatives Department at West Point Military Academy.

John  Valentine

Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt., John  Valentine, is a combat veteran with eight years of active-duty service. An Army Combatives instructor since 2007, John works with and trains multinational military members, overseas contractors, civilians within government agencies, and private organizations at the highest levels to include JSOC special mission units as a lead instructor.

John holds a brown belt in the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP), and  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His martial arts experience includes amateur mixed  martial arts (MMA) and boxing, having competed in both disciplines. He is an international submission grappling medalist, as well as in IDPA competitive shooter.

John’s focus is enhancing his client’s self-awareness through preparation. When John isn’t training or working as an independent contractor where he is high demand, he is a author for the world famous tactical publication Spotter Up Tactical, where he discusses academic elements of successful Combatives training, methodology behind character building with Combatives, and data from his training experiences using innovative training products.

John’s training ideology comes from the desire to be the best husband and father possible. His only rule for life is “Never say anything behind a man’s back that you don’t have the courage to say to his face.”

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