Lesson 1: DEFENSIVE TACTICS (JUN 7, Dallas, Texas)

Defensive Tactics Safety is the primary concern for all Reality-Based Personal Protection courses, and you will be allowed to go at your pace at your own skill level. The second priority is that everybody keeps their egos outside of the classroom and fosters a positive learning environment. Before learning to fight you must know the proper distances at which to place yourself for various threats; different type of people approaching you. You will learn the three Threat Zones by participating in various real-life scenarios (role playing). This is also where you will learn the Alert Stance. This is the position you will be in prior to someone attacking you. You will learn the Criminal Assault Cycle. Criminals and terrorists are not “ghosts.” They don’t simply appear out of thin air. There are steps they take to select you as their victim, and you will learn to recognize them. How do you know if someone is going to attack you? There are tell tale signs known as Conflict Indicators, and a demonstration of each will be shown to you. No matter how much you try to avoid a physical conflict there are always going to be those violent people that are determined to attack you regardless of your wishes or your attempts to diffuse a situation. For such cases you will learn the Imminent Conflict Stance (the fighting stance). From this stance will come your strikes, blocks, and movement. In any physical conflict you must move. You’ll learn that there are only ten possible directions of Movement in any given situation. Not only will you learn how to move in unarmed situations, but in armed situations as well when a blade is coming at you or if somebody is shooting at you. This will be your second set of hands-on scenarios. Whether you are a beginner or a black belt you will find a lot to learn on how to strike a human being with your fists, open handed, and elbows. These are all known as Arm Strikes, and like movement there are only ten possible directions. For the worse case situations you may face, that is to say life and death struggles, you will also learn deadly force techniques and training methods using your bare hands. With all of these techniques you will learn legal issues, using the Jim Wagner Use-of-Force Graph, which you will inevitably face if you use your martial arts skills. Nobody wants to get hit by another person, and that’s why you will learn the ten Arm Blocks as well as a few specialty blocks for unique situations you may find yourself in during a physical altercation. You’ll also learn the Kinetic Sensation Response drill that will help you block or redirect the attacker’s blows in low light or no visibility fights. Your legs are very powerful and that’s why you’ll learn how to use them as effective weapons. Like Arm Strikes there are only ten Leg Strikes, be it with your foot or with your knees. You’re not going to learn the Hollywood stuff like head kicks and fancy spinning kicks, but a few good kicks that will stop an opponent with limited risk to you. These are the same kicks taught to every military and police academy worldwide. Whether you will ever use it or not, you will learn to do Head Strikes, also known on the streets as “head butts.” You learn British, Irish, Australian, and Algerian methods. This course will begin at 8 am and ends at 5 pm. Wear a t-shirt, long pants, and tennis shoes or military boots. You must bring a mouth guard (found in any sporting store), and it is recommend that you wear a protective cup and a sports bra for females. All training weapons and other protective gear will be supplied to you, although you can bring your own knee pads, elbow pads, and skateboard helmet if you like. There will be a one hour lunch and a few 15 minute breaks throughout the day. Upon successful completion of this lesson, taught personally by Jim wagner, the founder of the Reality-Based movement, a Training Certificate will be issued with Jim Wagner's signature. If you complete Lessons 1 to 5 you will qualify for an Apprentice Instructor Certificate. If you have any questions please email Jim Wagner at info@jimwagnerrealitybased.com