"My Manual Became The Base Doc For Army Combatives" -Dale Comstock

About this video

Dale Comstock recounts his journey from childhood street fights to developing combatives programs for Army Special Forces. He describes training with the Gracie brothers at Delta Force, creating a combatives manual that he was told became the basis for the Army’s hand-to-hand combat program, and competing professionally in kickboxing and early vale tudo matches in the 1990s. Comstock explains how his unit supported his fighting career because he brought knowledge back to train operators.

Key takeaways

• Comstock claims his combatives manual became the base document for the Army’s hand-to-hand combat program after he developed and taught the program at Delta Force and 3rd Special Forces Group
• Comstock describes how Delta Force brought in Hoyce and Rorian Gracie to train operators before they were well-known, with Hoyce dominating much larger soldiers through jiu-jitsu techniques
• Comstock states he fought in the first vale tudo match in the United States in 1994 in Richmond, Virginia, against one of Frank Cucci’s fighters with minimal rules and equipment

Episode details: published June 21, 2025 · 11.6K views · 13:42 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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