The lowest cost folding training knife on the market Jim Wagner
I am happy to announce that Boker has just released the NEW Jim Wagner Reality-Based Blade Trainer and it is now available on our online store for the low cost of $56.95 USD.
For those of you who have bought the original Jim Wagner Reality-Based Blade, or the several versions, this new training model feature a dull blade and a vibrant red handle for safety. All of the specifications are that of the lethal versions.
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The true benefit of training with the Trainer is to learn rapid deployment under pressure, and to practice with actual metal, and yet without accidentally cutting or stabbing yourself or your partner. Other high quality trainers on the market are usually double the price.
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German students train in new Reality-Based facility Jim Wagner
I arrived in Solingen, Germany a few days before I was to teach my first course on September 22. The purpose of my advance was to overseen the work being done on the new Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection facility at the Boker knife manufacturing plant. In cooperation with the president of the company, Carsten Felix, and my German director Tobias Leckebusch, we have taken a part of the plant and have turned it into a Reality-Based facility which consists of a large training hall and an adjoining classroom that can accommodate 22 students. The facility includes men and women’s bathrooms, beverage machines, and an outdoor area for a wide variety of scenarios.
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When I arrived the workers were finishing blacking out the windows with thin wood black painted panels. The walls and ceiling had already been painted and shelves brought in for students’ bags and personal items. What remained undone for this time was the floor and some of the fixtures yet to be painted black. The work is to be done in three phases. This September was the training hall. October, phase II will be the painting of the floor and classroom, and phase III will be furniture for the classroom. By the time that this project is complete it will not only be the first Reality-Based Personal Protection facility in Germany, but it will be the one of finest training facilities in all of Europe. Currently my Directors in Holland and Sweden have Reality-Based facilities: blacked out rooms, special effects lighting, and lots of realistic props.
On Saturday, September 22, my first set of students had a chance to enjoy the training facility for the first time. This was a one-day Knife Survival course. Students came from all over Germany to attend this course, and even police officers from Basel, Switzerland and Cologne, Germany.
From September 24 to 28 were my Level 1 courses (Defensive Tactics, Ground Survival, Knife Survival, Crime Survival, and Terrorism Survival finishing off on Friday). This was quite a unique class of people since half of them were either police or security personnel. The rest were martial arts instructors and a few beginners with no experience at all, which is the perfect place for them. We even had Martin Mikolasek take the train all the way from the Czech Republic. Many of my articles appear in Czech martial arts magazines, and according to him, I am “well known” in the martial arts community. I was appeared on the front cover of Fighter’s magazine. The others who became instructor certified under me were: Balzer Feldjager, Roland Flaccus, Jens Kandler, Nils Mark, Detlev Meurer, Jurgen Nickel, Seel Timo, Bjorn Rex, Peter Schmidt, and Jens Worner. Assisting me, beside Tobias, were Level 1 instructors Stefan Orlowski and Bernadas Seskevicus. This was a week full of energy, and the students bonded well.
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On September 29 was my second Saturday teaching Knife Survival, and the class was packed. My one and only female student of the week was Brigitte Laube who came with her husband Michael. She turned out to be quite a fighter, and could hold her own in the “free style” knife conflicts.
On Sunday, the 30th, I headed back to California. I was quite pleased with the trip, and Germany is fertile ground for the Reality-Based Personal Protection system. I look forward to going back in November to teach the overflow courses, which are already SOLD OUT. I also look forward to finishing the facility and making it a place where people will get the most out of the training and spread the concepts throughout Germany and the surrounding countries.
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Jim Wagner for another season of Swedish T.V. Jim Wagner
Before leaving for Germany I had quite a unique task to perform: teach two Swedish T.V. hosts how to shoot a variety of firearms.
On September 18th I met Musse Hasselvall and Jarmo Ek at the Burro Canyon Shooting Park in the mountains of Los Angeles; a place where I have been a police and military shooting instructor for years. They are the hosts of the popular television program Yippee Ki-Yay on TV6 in Sweden. I appeared on six shows last season, and they wanted me to appear on seven more shows for the new Fall season.
Last season I appeared on the show 10 minutes at a time to teach various Reality-Based self-defense techniques. We filmed all six episodes in Stockholm earlier in the year. This upcoming season they wanted me teaching various firearms techniques using a variety of weapon systems. Assisting me throughout the day was Steve Vu who works with me on an executive protection team.
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The sunny, warm, Southern California morning started off with teaching Musse and Jarmo how to apply military face paint with the new ACU (Army Combat Uniform) colors. Of course, to make them feel more like a tactical operator I had them put on military jumpsuits first.
I then taught them basic sniper fieldcraft: how to walk, crawl, and slither. I was a trained scout/sniper when I was on the Costa Mesa Police Department S.W.A.T. team in the mid 1990s and received my sniper training from them as well as the U.S. Marines Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton, the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, German GSG9, and later I became a sniper instructor teaching hundreds of police and military snipers over a decade period. I took those same skills and taught my two eager Swedish students.
I then had Musse and Jarmo get behind the Remington 700 .308 rifle and fire some shots. I coached them through the first few shots so they would know the proper procedures. Jarmo did not do so badly, but Musse was a natural and hit the center of his target each time.
After sniper training we had lunch – military field style. We each had a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). This is the same meals eaten by troops in the Afghanistan and Iraqi area of operations. I had to teach both hosts how to cook their food using the chemical heaters that are activated by water. All in all they thought the meals were pretty good. I had an MRE with them, and the whole thing was taped.
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After lunch I took them through assault rifle training. On hand were an American M-4 rifle and a Chinese AK-47 rifle. We did some basic marksmanship training, and then after that was movement training. After this we did some shooting with a 9mm pistol and a .45 caliber pistol. I even had them do a hostage rescue scenario that made both of them quite nervous.
After the live-fire portion of their training I did some dry-fire bodyguard work with them. I taught them how an agent walks with a principal and how to engage potential threats. Of course, I was a professional bodyguard for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on the Dignitary Protection Unit (DPU) from 2000-2002. I have also done some private bodyguard work in Hollywood, including a two-week assignment with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I am still involved in bodyguard work to this day, and I shared some of my skills with Musse and Jarmo.
Finishing the taping for Swedish T.V. was a lesson in combatives: how to use a non-firing assault rifle to protect one ’s self. I also taught them how to transition from a malfunctioned long gun to a pistol during a knife attack – something I have been teaching Special Operations units since 1991.
At 4 pm the producer said, “That’s a wrap.” Steve and I then policed the range and secured all the weapons into our vehicle. Nobody was hurt, everyone had fun, and I had to go home and pack for my trip to Germany the next day. Now, I’m just waiting to have the shows air on prime time Swedish T.V., and after that I will get my DVD copies of each show.
Of course, such a successful show definitely helps spread the Reality-Based system in Scandinavia. I will be teaching in the city of Malo in the Spring of 2008. If you are interested in taking my Level 1 courses you may contact my Director of the Scandinavian countries Peter Falk.
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