Meet the new Reality-Based Personal Protection Coordinator of Germany – Norbert Andres
by Jim Wagner
In November Böker, the company that manufactures my Reality Based Blade series and has hosted my self-defense courses for 10 years, amicably separated. Oh, we are still working together when it comes to my knives and future products, but for self-defense courses we have split. Since my former RBPP Director of Germany, Tobias Leckebusch, works for Böker in Solingen, he had to give up his position. Fortunately for me one of my students, and a good businessman, wanted the job. After interviewing a couple of other people for the position I decided to take him up on his offer. That man is Norbert Andres.
The moment I started working with Norbert I knew I had made a wise decision, for Norbert had a lot of work to do, and he jumped in with both feet: create a new website, translate a lot of material from English into German, look into tax laws, buy liability insurance for us and our Tactical Tutors, and talking with his predecessor and other RBPP instructors.
At the end of January Norbert informed me that he was going to be in Colorado for a couple of weeks, and I invited him out to California if he had the time. Norbert made the time and flew in on Saturday, February 6, 2016. Knowing that he was coming into town I was able to get permission from the military to have the day off, but not after I was promoted.
First formation was at 0700 hours, and I was promoted at approximately 7:20 o’clock in the morning by my colonel. After the formation was dismissed I went to S-3, Operations, signed a form, took a photo or two with my Sergeant Major, and he told me to enjoy the rest of the day off. I raced home, stripped of my military uniform, with the new rank of Master Sergeant on it, and got into summer clothes. That’s right, the weather in Southern California was just like summer with blue cloudless skies. No sooner had I changed clothes did Norbert called me from the airport, for his plane had arrived early. “Not a problem,” I said, “I’ll be there soon.”
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Norbert was ready to get right to work, but I told him, “No. I’m going to show you around Los Angeles, and we can talk business as we go from point to point during the day.” And, that is exactly what we did.
First I took Norbert to the famous Tommy’s Burger for a chiliburger, which he loved. The first tourist destination was Venice Beach. Then we went over to the Santa Monica Pier where a few movies had been made. After that I took him to Grumann’s Chinese Theater where all of the famous footprints and signatures are in cement, and where feature films are presented with the red carpet. We also walked along the sidewalks on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard where the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars are mounted in the marble. From this location there is a good view of the Hollywood sign up on the hill.
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I then drove Norbert up the mountain to the Griffith Observatory where there is a closer view of the Hollywood sign and the best view possible of the city of Los Angeles. It was a spectacular view.
That night we had an Italian dinner with some friends, and we finished the evening with an hour of work designing the German Reality-Based Personal Protection website.
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In the morning my wife made us a great breakfast, we went to church, and then had another world famous hamburger at In-N-Out Burger near Los Angeles International Airport. We hung out for an hour sipping on drinks from Starbucks Coffee going over final plans for courses in Germany. Then it was time for me to drop off Norbert at the terminal, and off he went. It was a very productive 27 hours.
If you will be attending any RBPP courses in Germany it is Norbert Andres that you will be working with. If you do please welcome him to his new position as RBPP Coordinator of Germany, and you will even see him attending courses that I teach, and assisting others as well.
The biggest job Norbert has for the next few months is updating all German RBPP student and instructor contact information. If you have taken courses in the past in Solingen or Cologne, and you want to make sure that Norbert keeps you up to date on courses and new information about the system, then send him and email giving him your contact information, and what courses you have taken in the past (location and dates). You can also get on the newsletter by going to the German Reality-Based Personal Protection website.
On April 8, 2016 we will be offering, for the first time ever, the Conflict Medic course. The first aid you learned to get your driver's license is not enough if you, or someone you care about, are ever injured in a terrorist attack, knife fight, or are shot. You may only have seconds or minutes to save a life, and this course will teach you many of the medical skills that police, soldiers, and medics learn all around the world. Not only will you get hands-on training, you'll even learn the latest medical supplies you will need in your home or car, and you'll be introduced to the new Jim Wagner Go Bag for travel or just riding on the U-Bahn, train, or airplane. This course is for everybody, and a must for any Reality-Based Personal Protection student or instructor. So, sign up today.
The following day, April 9th will be the Knife Survival course, and the new structure of the system kicks in the next day with Knife Survival Instructor. Yes, after two days of training one can be a RBPP instructor, but only for that course. This is the way all future courses will be offered all around the world. You can see how the new structure by going to the navigation bar on the homepage COURSES & STRUCTURE.
April 11th will be Terrorism Survival, which is very much needed today after the Paris attacks, and many terrorists traversing Germany, and Terrorism Survival Instructor on April 12th.
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