Hello, I was curious if anyone else had come into contact with this guy Jim Wagner? http://www.jimwagnertraining.com/ I attended a seminar a few years ago and found his two handed gun disarm to be interesting. However, I feel that his attitudes towards the extremes of RBSD and disdain for TMA are off-putting. I understand where reality-based systems are coming from and feel that they offer a valid option but that there shouldn't be a need to tear down other choices any more. A personal issue is that his reality of necessary knowledge in self-defense seems alittle extreme and doesn't fit my reality at the moment.

Personally I think you're much better off with Geoff thompson, Tony blauer, Paul Vunak or anyone else, Jim Wagner has never really impressed me much, especially that attitude.

I agree, I personally wouldn't train with him. Is that the reason there is no mention of him on here? That is more of what I was getting at, the fact that searching returned no mention of him at all.

Yeah he's never come across to me as particularly popular. A lot of it is probably his lack of anything particularly revolutionary, his attitude especially his over blown reputation) and the way he just sort of engineers an out of proportion idea of fear and whatnot.
Also the fact that this forum is the predominant habitat for KM and Systema practionters on this site.

Jim Wagner is a Legend in his own mind. Reminds me a lot of Massad Ayoob. for those of you who don't know who don't know who that is, he is an "expert" who is constantly writing editorials and columns for Combat handguns magazine as well as others. Listening to him you'd swear he gets into a fights with gangs of machine gun-wielding bad guys weekly.
Wagners Columns in BB Magazine can sometimes be entertaining sometimes comical and once in a while there is some common sense things there but I would rather listen to some of the above mentioned instructors as well as those like Mike Lee Kanerek.

Yeah, in one of his recent articles in BB, he claimed that unless your self defense or martial arts instructor got into "real" fights on a regular basis or had to defend his or herself against violent attacks often that they couldn't teach real self defense even if they were experienced boxers, grapplers, etc, because that didn't constitute "real fighting" he also recommended that if that applied to you and you were thinking of being an instructor, you should first go work as a bouncer, corrections officer or join the military to get a feel for "real self defense" first.
Yes, he's a goofball. He also endorses that goofy "hammerhead" focus mitt. That is a focus mitt molded like a human head, because of course, otherwise, it's not "realistic.

I figured if this thread stay up long enough, everyone would essentially say what I was going to. I was right.

Wagner does seem to really come off like a tool. He definitely takes the goofy approach. I agree about the human head focus pad comment.

However guys, I'm sure there is a huge audience, just as goofy, that is paying him handsomely. That's what all this is about. Playing off people's fears is a great way to make a large chunk of change. Systema, Krav Maga, etc. (RBSD in general) have mastered this aspect of marketing.

-John

You right. I just wanted say I thought that name sounded familiar and it wasn't until the "head focus mit" was mentioned.

Honestly, I have to agree with John here. I hate the way these arts market themselves. I know that everyone has to make a living but....

That's one thing that I really agree with Matt Thornton about, that the atheletic pursuit of combative truth generally leads to a heathier psycological state.

I've been doing a long commute for a few months now (two hours by bus and train each way), so I picked up Black Belt for the last two months so I could kill ten minutes. I actually crack up laughing when I read Jim Wagner's column. I can't believe that he seems to addvocate that the general public should (to parapharse) 'be on the lookout for car bombs and wmds.' Come on! Who wants to live their life like that?

Living in a constant state of fear disguised as preparedness has nothing to do with being a warrior.

Train hard, sweat, laugh with your partners, get tapped out, learn: try to enjoy the life your so eager to protect.

--Chris