Matt Smith instructs high speed survival, primitive big game hunting and all disciplines of tracking. Matt has spent over 1500 days in the backcountry of the Continental Divide and Eastern woodlands in various stages of survival. Matt spent many years transitioning in and out of primitive survival early on in his development as an instructor. During this time period Matt lived the high speed life style; spending many years living out of his Toyota Tacoma and immersing himself in the ecosystems of the mountain west and desert southwest. Matt considers this 4 year period in his life to be the most valuable to his development as an instructor. He experienced things in the wild that few can relate to. Transitioning out of this lifestyle and networking with other instructors; Matt quickly learned how few people there are that have “really lived it.”

Matt began training with onPoint Tactical in 2009. Since then, from a survival perspective, Matt’s skillset has evolved to take the practical approach to survival. When addressing real need and especially considering the current state of the world; this practical approach began to drive Matt. Fusing together the primitive skills into a modern context is extremely valuable from a true survival perspective. Matt needed to “walk in both worlds.” From this the concept of High Speed Survival was born. This curriculum has been valued by military and civilians alike and is even attracted attention from major TV networks.

Tracking has always been a constant for Matt, even before he was conscious of it as a small child. Matt believes in the practical applications of tracking. For years, Matt worked in wilderness therapy and was often called on the track and recover running or “absconding” students. This experience became a proving ground for his tracking abilities and gave Matt the necessary experience to perform in other real world tracking cases.

Second only to his family circle; the hunt drives Matt. Matt hunts with entirely primitive archery tackle. Matt prefers to hunt with reflexed self bows and stone tipped arrows. This skillset encompasses everything. Humans are goal oriented. The hunt satisfies this thirst for primitive technology while creating a tangible goal. The hunt peaks our awareness, fine tunes our tracking, brings our stalking to a whole new level, forces us to become an expert in manufacturing primitive weapons and teaches us to kill in a good way. This skill set pushes the envelope for any practitioner and has obvious tactical applications.

Matt Smith, Instructor:

•   Expertise in primitive and non-primitive survival, tracking, wilderness evasion, emergency preparedness, survival psychology and primitive big game hunting
•   Over 1,500 days in the backcountry of the continental divide, from the Canadian to the Mexican border, in various stages of survival
•   4 Years as a wilderness therapy instructor in the high desert of Utah
•   Matt’s tracking ability has been critical in the recovery of several “absconding” at risk youth.
•   Tracker: Mexican Wolf re-introduction into the White Mountain Apache Reservation of Arizona
•   Instructor/Program Developer: University of Utah wilderness survival program
•   Instructor: White Pine Wilderness Academy of Indiana
•   Instructor: Rabbitstick Rendezvouses of Idaho
•   Instructor: Martial Tactical Training of Michigan
•   Instructor: Maine Primitive Skills gathering
•   Instructor: Grove Therapeutic Boarding school, ‘survival club’
•   Founder/Chief Instructor: Aegis Training Solutions, LLC. Aegis is a crisis intervention training and service provider