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August 7, 2023 A.D.
2024 Presidential Candidate Attends Reality-Based Self-Defense Course
Jim Wagner
Within three seconds my “victim” had a deep slash to his carotid artery on the left side of his neck, a deep puncture wound to the left lung, another identical penetration wound to the small intestines, a superficial cut the entire length of his abdomen, and a few defense wounds clearly visible on both arms. The knife I was using to attack Justin was my rubber Jim Wagner Injury Marking Training Knife that had red lipstick on the industrial felt that's wrapped around the cutting edges and tip, and blue lipstick on the felt on the pummel of the handle that represents blunt trauma. I played the role of a vicious criminal, which was not hard to do because I’ve been around them most of my career; first jailing them for a couple years and then arresting them. This training tool that I used cannot lie. If it touches the human body, it graphically shows the injuries sustained during the knife fight. This is why I had Justin wear a long sleeve light gray shirt, so that all the marks would show. It's an eye opening visual for my students.
I then said to my students, “I could go on all day and severely ‘injure’ or ‘kill’ everyone in the class, but what’s the point? Ha! Ha! Do you like my pun? It was intentional. But, what you need to know is how to survive such a close range knife attack, an attack that is over withinin five seconds. That’s the average duration of a knife attack when the victim is unarmed.”
After allowing myself to be “attacked” with a knife by telling my attacker, “Do anything you want to, and try to kill me,” I went on to explain to my students exactly what I did to survive the brutal knife attack. Things I had learned in real combat. The first time someone tried to kill me was with a knife, by trying to shove the blade of a large Bowie knife into my throat, was in the U.S. Army, and the next big scare was when a man lunged at me trying to ice-pick me in the chest with a kitchen steak knife when I was a patrol police officer. I've had a few other close calls, but they were not as violent as those two incidents I just described.
I then said to my students, “I could go on all day and severely ‘injure’ or ‘kill’ everyone in the class, but what’s the point? Ha! Ha! Do you like my pun? It was intentional. But, what you need to know is how to survive such a close range knife attack, an attack that is over withinin five seconds. That’s the average duration of a knife attack when the victim is unarmed.”
After allowing myself to be “attacked” with a knife by telling my attacker, “Do anything you want to, and try to kill me,” I went on to explain to my students exactly what I did to survive the brutal knife attack. Things I had learned in real combat. The first time someone tried to kill me was with a knife, by trying to shove the blade of a large Bowie knife into my throat, was in the U.S. Army, and the next big scare was when a man lunged at me trying to ice-pick me in the chest with a kitchen steak knife when I was a patrol police officer. I've had a few other close calls, but they were not as violent as those two incidents I just described.
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As I'm teaching how to survive a criminal knife attack, one that's coming at me at full speed and full contact, one of my students (in the red circle) looks on, who happens to be 2024 Presidential Candidate Larry Elder.
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I gave Larry Elder a signed copy of my book PUT ON THE FULL COMBAT GEAR OF GOD, because he's definitely someone who needs to be protected as he fights the forces of evil in the United States during his campaign.
Just after I finished explaining how the first “move” in self-defense must be an instinctive one, and then one’s training kicks in afterwards, I couldn’t help but notice one of the faces, in a sea of faces, in my seminar room. I instantly thought to myself, “How cool is that to have him attend my course titled Introduction to Reality-Based Personal Protection. It was 2024 Presidential Candidate Larry Elder. Then my next thought before showing the next tactic was, “How many self-defense instructors get to have a current Presidential Candidate attending their course?” Not many, I would venture to state.
Almost every Californian knows who Larry Elder is. In 2021, his first run for elected office as the Republican candidate, was in the recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom. He lost, but his popularity only grew stronger. Then on April 20, 2023, Larry Elder announced his candidacy for the nomination in the 2024 presidential election. Of course, long before he entered politics he was already well known as a conservative television and radio talk show host.
My 45-minute seminar for the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Expo, known as DRAGONFEST.COM, was divided into three sections: Knife Survival, Crime Survival, and Terrorism Survival. As such, I taught three survival methods for each section. The first was the Jim Wagner Knife Avoidance Method (the same that elite units around the world had me come teach them in their own countries: the Israeli Police Academy, German counterterrorist team GSG9, Brazilian GATE, Argentinean GOE, Finnish Police Academy, U.S. Marines PMO, DEA, Bulgarian Secret Service, U.S. Air Force Security Forces, and the list goes on), the Jim Wagner Criminal Chemical Attack Defense (I was the first self-defense instructor to create a defensive move for such an attack in 2023, and nobody has come up with anything better since then), and Kidnapping Defense (teaching a triangulation method I came up with to avoid being kidnapped, even by a team of kidnappers moving in on their prey).
What made my seminar course unique is that I not verbally gave permission, but I had signs posted on all four walls that clearly stated:
Almost every Californian knows who Larry Elder is. In 2021, his first run for elected office as the Republican candidate, was in the recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom. He lost, but his popularity only grew stronger. Then on April 20, 2023, Larry Elder announced his candidacy for the nomination in the 2024 presidential election. Of course, long before he entered politics he was already well known as a conservative television and radio talk show host.
My 45-minute seminar for the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Expo, known as DRAGONFEST.COM, was divided into three sections: Knife Survival, Crime Survival, and Terrorism Survival. As such, I taught three survival methods for each section. The first was the Jim Wagner Knife Avoidance Method (the same that elite units around the world had me come teach them in their own countries: the Israeli Police Academy, German counterterrorist team GSG9, Brazilian GATE, Argentinean GOE, Finnish Police Academy, U.S. Marines PMO, DEA, Bulgarian Secret Service, U.S. Air Force Security Forces, and the list goes on), the Jim Wagner Criminal Chemical Attack Defense (I was the first self-defense instructor to create a defensive move for such an attack in 2023, and nobody has come up with anything better since then), and Kidnapping Defense (teaching a triangulation method I came up with to avoid being kidnapped, even by a team of kidnappers moving in on their prey).
What made my seminar course unique is that I not verbally gave permission, but I had signs posted on all four walls that clearly stated:
YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO VIDEOTAPE THIS SEMINARandYOU CAN POST IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY
I did this because I only had a short amount of time to cover a lot of life-saving information, and I didn’t want anyone to miss any details. Not only did I allow videotaping, but I had the 2-page outline posted that included a QR code the students could scan to download the outline if a photo of it was not enough for them. Not only could they get the outline off my website, but they could also download the signed training certificates for the seminar they attended. Yes, you read it correctly, I stated “certificates,” plural. I had the expected Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection training certificate, but I also included the Christian Soldier Self-Defense System training certificate, which is under my new umbrella organization God’s Army Survival Training. I know from teaching my Live Zoom Training Courses for the past nine months that many students do not want a certificate that displays the cross of Jesus Christ. Or, they may not have a problem with it, but if they work for a law enforcement agency, a private security company, or serve in a military unit, their organization may turn hostile toward them for submitting a “religious” training certificate, and that’s because persecution against Christians is increasing worldwide, including in the United States of America. Of course it is, because Jesus said it would happen once the sign would be fulfilled – that sign was the rebirth of the nation of Israel (May 14, 1948) in one day (Or shall a nation be born at once? Isaiah 66:8). On the other hand, no government agency or private security company has a problem with my secular certificates.
None of the students in my course, nor even the organizer of DRAGONFEST 2023 the Martial Arts History Museum, knew that I’d be introducing my new faith-based self-defense & survival system or having my booth under that name, God’s Army Survival Training. My booth name on the map was simply under my name JIM WAGNER. As such, when my seminar course ended, I told my students, “We’re going to take a group photo now. I will be posting it on my website for a week, along with your outlines and certificates, but if you do not want to be in this group photo then don’t be. I will understand.” About half my students did not want to be photographed, and I’m sure their reasons varied. I’m sure some did not want to be associated with Christianity, some did not want their martial arts instructors to know they were taking a course from me (for there is much rivalry within the civilian martial arts community), some have occupations that could get them in trouble if their photo is publicized, and some people just don’t like to be photographed. It didn’t matter to me what they chose, because I respect the decisions of each of my students. My only real concern was providing life-saving techniques and tactics, and to encourage them to teach what I taught them to others.
None of the students in my course, nor even the organizer of DRAGONFEST 2023 the Martial Arts History Museum, knew that I’d be introducing my new faith-based self-defense & survival system or having my booth under that name, God’s Army Survival Training. My booth name on the map was simply under my name JIM WAGNER. As such, when my seminar course ended, I told my students, “We’re going to take a group photo now. I will be posting it on my website for a week, along with your outlines and certificates, but if you do not want to be in this group photo then don’t be. I will understand.” About half my students did not want to be photographed, and I’m sure their reasons varied. I’m sure some did not want to be associated with Christianity, some did not want their martial arts instructors to know they were taking a course from me (for there is much rivalry within the civilian martial arts community), some have occupations that could get them in trouble if their photo is publicized, and some people just don’t like to be photographed. It didn’t matter to me what they chose, because I respect the decisions of each of my students. My only real concern was providing life-saving techniques and tactics, and to encourage them to teach what I taught them to others.
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That's me (in the front row, gray shirt, with my arms crossed) with half of my students from my seminar course Introduction to the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection system and Christian Soldier Self-Defense System.
In addition, and I gave all my students “homework.” Now that they had been taught how to evade a kidnapping, I encouraged them to watch the movie, a true story, which is still in the theaters as of today (grossing 100 million dollars to this point), Sound of Freedom staring Jim Caviezel. This powerful movie brings to light modern slavery, and specifically the sex trafficking of children. I also encourage those of you who are reading this article, to also see this movie, and by doing so, your attendance shows your support in fighting this evil that is worldwide. I know how bad human trafficking is, because for the past several years one of my students, who I certified as an instructor almost two decades ago, Fernando Figueroa, was the first one to make me aware of human trafficking. He is the president and co-founder of the Anti-Trafficking Bureau (ATB) based out of the Dominican Republic. Not only that, he’s also my brother in Christ. It’s no surprise that those fighting modern slavery are mostly Christians, just as it was in the past when Christians were the first in the world to abolish slavery (the northern states of the United States after the Revolutionary War, Haiti, Denmark, Great Britain, the Southern States of the United States after the Civil War, and so forth). It was mostly Christians that started the abolitionist movement, for slavery had always existed among all the peoples of the world since God created the planet almost six thousand years ago. At the end of the movie these words were presented, There are more humans trapped today in slavery than at any point in human history, including when slavery was legal. Millions of these slaves are children.
Going back to Presidential Candidate Larry Elders, he has publicly talked about his faith and disclosed to the Christian Post that he worships at Calvary Chapel Church in Chino Hills. Of course, I am very familiar with this church because I have bodyguard his pastor, Jack Hibbs, several times over the past few years at various prophecy conferences. If you want to listen to a pastor that sticks to the Bible and teaches its truths, then listen to his sermons online MOST RECENT SERMONS. Connected to those prophecy conferences I have done Executive Protection for, I also recommend listening to Pastor Barry Stagner, Amir Tsarfati, and Jan Markell. Between the four of them you'll become well educated on what is happening today (politically, economically, and socially) and how it relates to Bible prophecy (predictions of the future).
A couple of years ago, on Larry Elder’s Twitter account, he tweeted that “Easter is a holiday that celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After His crucifixion, death, and burial, three days later, He rose from the grave. By this, He conquered death and redeemed us from sin.” Well, knowing that Larry Elder is a professing Christian, I gave him a signed copy of my book PUT ON THE FULL COMBAT GEAR OF GOD, because he is in the thick of fight right now – the spiritual warfare that our country is in. I gave Larry Elder a very brief explanation about my book, and why I wrote it. Then I asked the 2024 Presidential Candidate, in a spot away from the crowds, “Do you mind if I pray for you right now?”
He responded, “Of course, go ahead.”
I placed my hand upon his shoulder, we bowed our heads, and I prayed that God would protect him as he continues to stand for truth during his campaign. It was short and to the point, about 15 seconds in length. Then, to my surprise, he suggested that he hold up the book I just gave him, as we get a photo of us together. After the photo was taken, I shook his hand, and about an hour later he was up on the stage giving a campaign speech.
For you Christians, here is my advice to you. Regardless of which candidate you plan on voting for in November 2024, I recommend that you contribute financially to his campaign, even if it is only clicking the $1 button on his official campaign website, and even if you don’t think he has a chance to win. I say this because as long as he is running for President of the United States, he will have the opportunity to reach many people with his godly conservative views. As it says on his website when you press a contribution button, Even $1 helps Larry reach the Debate Stage in August.
He responded, “Of course, go ahead.”
I placed my hand upon his shoulder, we bowed our heads, and I prayed that God would protect him as he continues to stand for truth during his campaign. It was short and to the point, about 15 seconds in length. Then, to my surprise, he suggested that he hold up the book I just gave him, as we get a photo of us together. After the photo was taken, I shook his hand, and about an hour later he was up on the stage giving a campaign speech.
For you Christians, here is my advice to you. Regardless of which candidate you plan on voting for in November 2024, I recommend that you contribute financially to his campaign, even if it is only clicking the $1 button on his official campaign website, and even if you don’t think he has a chance to win. I say this because as long as he is running for President of the United States, he will have the opportunity to reach many people with his godly conservative views. As it says on his website when you press a contribution button, Even $1 helps Larry reach the Debate Stage in August.
There were 85 booths at DRAGONFEST 2023 promoting every martial arts system under the sun, and selling martial arts books, weapons, apparel, and other materials. There were an estimated 1,200 attendees at the event.
This was the God's Army Survival Training booth boldly presenting the cross of Christ (the helmet & cross logo), and a QR code to scan to take people to the official website. These are the two women who ran the booth.
I could not have properly presented God’s Army Survival Training, its first debut to the martial arts community, without my team helping me during my seminar course and running the booth. My wife, niece, her boyfriend, my nephew, Gina, Bret, Greg, Justin, and Craig were super supportive. Among us, we were able to witness (share the Good News of salvation) to approximately 10 people, and many just scanned the QR code on the banner and went their way silently. I, and a few others on the crew, were wearing our FULL COMBAT GEAR OF GOD T-shirts the whole day, and many Christians told us that they liked the shirts. One guy said to me, “Ephesians 6!” while others said, “I like your shirt.” Even though it is a shirt that I designed, I know it's the message that they were complimenting - as it should be. To God be the glory.
At my booth I also signed my books for those who purchased them. I had one book for sale that was secular, titled WARRIOR WISDOM, and the second one was Christian, titled PUT ON THE FULL COMBAT GEAR OF GOD. Two men came up to me, the Montes brothers, and they encouraged me to keep getting my system and message out to Christians to strengthen them. I even had a woman, who served in the Israel Defense Forces, come up to me and spoke to me about my T-shirt and liked the modern presentation of Ephesians 6:11.
Although the seminar course I taught was from noon to 12:45 pm, I had to stick around until closing time at 6 pm. I didn’t mind it at all, because I not only signed books and told people about the Rapture and Great Tribulation that is to come upon the earth very soon, but I went around to all the vendor tables and talked with the Who’s Who of the martial arts world. I gave two of my books, signed, to martial arts movie legend Cynthia Rothrock (we did a training video together years ago in Spain titled Women's Self-Defense with Cynthia Rothrock), I had a 20-minute private conversation with Don “The Dragon” Wilson about training and nutrition, I found out about Kathy Long’s podcast, I had the opportunity to tell Benny “The Jet” Urquidez how he was an inspiration to me when I was a teenager when I was first learning kickboxing, I said “Hi” to my friend Eric Lee (The King of Kata), and spent lots of time with my close friend Jose Luis Hinojosa (I first met him at the Aspen Academy of Martial Arts when I was 16 years old, and he was 21 years old, and we were roommates when were studying Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, and Filipino Kali from Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell). Plus, I had a chance to take a seminar course, which was Apache Knife Combat taught by Robert Redfeather.
At my booth I also signed my books for those who purchased them. I had one book for sale that was secular, titled WARRIOR WISDOM, and the second one was Christian, titled PUT ON THE FULL COMBAT GEAR OF GOD. Two men came up to me, the Montes brothers, and they encouraged me to keep getting my system and message out to Christians to strengthen them. I even had a woman, who served in the Israel Defense Forces, come up to me and spoke to me about my T-shirt and liked the modern presentation of Ephesians 6:11.
Although the seminar course I taught was from noon to 12:45 pm, I had to stick around until closing time at 6 pm. I didn’t mind it at all, because I not only signed books and told people about the Rapture and Great Tribulation that is to come upon the earth very soon, but I went around to all the vendor tables and talked with the Who’s Who of the martial arts world. I gave two of my books, signed, to martial arts movie legend Cynthia Rothrock (we did a training video together years ago in Spain titled Women's Self-Defense with Cynthia Rothrock), I had a 20-minute private conversation with Don “The Dragon” Wilson about training and nutrition, I found out about Kathy Long’s podcast, I had the opportunity to tell Benny “The Jet” Urquidez how he was an inspiration to me when I was a teenager when I was first learning kickboxing, I said “Hi” to my friend Eric Lee (The King of Kata), and spent lots of time with my close friend Jose Luis Hinojosa (I first met him at the Aspen Academy of Martial Arts when I was 16 years old, and he was 21 years old, and we were roommates when were studying Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, and Filipino Kali from Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell). Plus, I had a chance to take a seminar course, which was Apache Knife Combat taught by Robert Redfeather.
Martial Artist and actress Cynthia Rothrock and I go way back, when I was in one of her self-defense training videos for women. I also gave her two of my signed books: one secular and one Christian.
At 68-years-old Don "The Dragon" Wilson is as strong as ever. Although retired from the ring, he still does exhibition fights, works out daily, and teaches the benefits of proper nutrition for martial artists.
When I was first learning kickboxing as a teenager, Benny Urquidez was one of the best fighters at the time. He is also a choreographer and an actor, and I had the pleasure of letting him know about the influence he had on me.
Kathy Long is known in the martial arts community as a kickboxing champion and an actress who appeared in several martial arts movies back in the 1990s. Today she teaches at Tapout in Los Angeles, California.
To the left is Jose Luis Hinojosa, who was my training partner when I was 16-years old, and our mutual friend Eric Lee who is known worldwide as "The King of Kata." We've grown older, but all still training in the martial arts.
Robert Redfeather, shown here teaching Apache Knife, was one of my students back in 2003, and I convinced him to teach his system to the public. Today he is known throughout the world for teaching this ancient system.
Robert Redfeather was one of my first students, and certified instructor, of the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection system when I first started teaching civilians in 2003. During the Knife Survival portion of the one-week course back then, Robert came up to me during a break and said, “You know, your knife system is just like the Apache Knife system?”
I was curious and asked him, “You know the old Apache fighting ways?” and that’s because he was teaching a Chinese Kung-fu system at the time, and he never mentioned anything about a Native American system up until then. Although he obviously had an Indian last name, I didn’t make any assumptions.
He responded, “Yes, my uncle and grandfather taught it to me.”
I asked him, “Why are you teaching Chinese Kung-fu? You should be teaching the Apache system.”
He said disappointedly, “Americans don’t respect the Indians. Nobody would be interested.”
I told him, “The ninjas were assassins, but martial artists respect them because they were fierce warriors. Stephen Hayes (he took one of my courses and I took one of his) brought Ninjitsu back to life and made it popular. People now love it. Although the Apache were indeed enemies to the white man in American history, most people still respect the Apache, and that’s because they were great warriors. I respect the Apache, especially Geronimo. If you start teaching Apache martial arts, I guarantee people are going to want to take it.”
Robert took my advice, and several weeks later I was in his very first Apache Knife course. After fighting him, with wooden knives, he gave me the Apache name “Soldier Dog,” because of the way I fight. We both inflicted the same number of “injuries” on each other in the NO RULES one-minute fight.
Fast forward to this last weekend, in his DRAGONFEST 2023 course, Robert Redfeather challenged me to a knife fight, and I did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity. Like two decades ago, in 2003, we once again inflicted the same about of injuries on each other, which is what I suspected would happen: we are both are equally aggressive, and we both know all the real-world tactics when it comes to knife fighting. After the course, and later in the day, we had a few minutes to talk. Plus, at his booth I had a chance to get a cup of his own APACHE COFFEE brand that is distributed by Temecula Coffee Roasters from Temecula, California. It was a good cup of brew.
Then, as if the day had not been good enough, my brother-in-law, who lives not far from where DRAGONFEST 2023 took place, invited me and my wife over to his house for a BBQ, and the evening weather couldn’t have been better.
I was curious and asked him, “You know the old Apache fighting ways?” and that’s because he was teaching a Chinese Kung-fu system at the time, and he never mentioned anything about a Native American system up until then. Although he obviously had an Indian last name, I didn’t make any assumptions.
He responded, “Yes, my uncle and grandfather taught it to me.”
I asked him, “Why are you teaching Chinese Kung-fu? You should be teaching the Apache system.”
He said disappointedly, “Americans don’t respect the Indians. Nobody would be interested.”
I told him, “The ninjas were assassins, but martial artists respect them because they were fierce warriors. Stephen Hayes (he took one of my courses and I took one of his) brought Ninjitsu back to life and made it popular. People now love it. Although the Apache were indeed enemies to the white man in American history, most people still respect the Apache, and that’s because they were great warriors. I respect the Apache, especially Geronimo. If you start teaching Apache martial arts, I guarantee people are going to want to take it.”
Robert took my advice, and several weeks later I was in his very first Apache Knife course. After fighting him, with wooden knives, he gave me the Apache name “Soldier Dog,” because of the way I fight. We both inflicted the same number of “injuries” on each other in the NO RULES one-minute fight.
Fast forward to this last weekend, in his DRAGONFEST 2023 course, Robert Redfeather challenged me to a knife fight, and I did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity. Like two decades ago, in 2003, we once again inflicted the same about of injuries on each other, which is what I suspected would happen: we are both are equally aggressive, and we both know all the real-world tactics when it comes to knife fighting. After the course, and later in the day, we had a few minutes to talk. Plus, at his booth I had a chance to get a cup of his own APACHE COFFEE brand that is distributed by Temecula Coffee Roasters from Temecula, California. It was a good cup of brew.
Then, as if the day had not been good enough, my brother-in-law, who lives not far from where DRAGONFEST 2023 took place, invited me and my wife over to his house for a BBQ, and the evening weather couldn’t have been better.
Thanks to Michael Matsuda (on theleft), who created DRAGONFEST, I was the first self-defense instructor he invited to teach at the 2023 event, which also allowed me to debut God's Army Survival Training to martial artists.
If you’re a martial artist, think about giving a donation to the Martial Arts History Museum – the only martial arts museum in the world, especially as they are about to sign the lease on a new, bigger, building. A donation of any size helps this non-profit organization. If you decide to make a donation of any size, (do it now while it is still fresh on your mind) then let the President of the Martial Arts History Museum, Michael Matsuda, know by email, that you want your donation to go specifically to the new permanent Reality-Based Self-Defense Movement Exhibit. This would be a section that represents the movement I launched, when I first started to write my monthly column title HIGH RISK for Black Belt Magazine in 1999, thanks to editor Robert Young, by introducing the civilian martial arts community to the techniques and tactics of corrections (jails and prisons), law enforcement, military, bodyguards, bouncers, and the enemies they fight – criminals, enemy combatants, and terrorists. Take a look at any martial arts magazine in the world printed prior to 1999, if you can get your hands on one, and you’ll discover that the modern techniques, tactics, and training methods that we take for granted today were absent from these magazines back then. I’m the one who divided the martial arts into four distinct categories: traditional-based, sport-based, entertainment-based, and reality-based. As such, the names that should go into this new display should be Chaim Peer and Avi Nardia (KAPAP), Dennis Hanover (HISARDUT), Mike Lee Kanarek (Haganah), Dave Dye (Police Defensive Tactics), David Rivas (Reality-Based Protection for Private Security), Hoch Hochheim (Combatives), Tony Blauer (Spear), Matt Larsen (H2H), and several others. Once I “broke the ice” many quality instructors were able to contribute their knowledge to the civilian martial arts community. Of course, when YouTube was launched on February 14, 2005, the proverbial dam busted, and the information flowed freely.
On February 18, 2023, when I took my Canadian student and good friend Mike Kendall to the Martial Arts History Museum, while we were working on some training courses and training videos together while he was in Los Angeles, I donated some of my personal historical items to the museum for display (my police nunchakus that I carried on duty for two years, some of my military and police patches I wore on various uniforms, and one of my knives I designed manufactured by Boker). To have a professional museum quality display (cases, lighting, and text describing the items) requires money. Furthermore, if you’re a Christian, then you may even want Michael Matsuda to know, in your email to him, that you want the Christian Soldier Self-Defense System logo also somewhere in the display. After all, it was through Michael Matsuda’s DRAGONFEST 2023 event that this new system was first presented to the martial arts community. He’s already received my input face to face, but he doesn’t have yours, and your voice matters.
The only thing that disappointed me at DRAGONFEST 2023, and that’s because it happened as I was teaching my seminar course, was the presentation of the Colors (the flag of the United States of America) ceremony that took place on stage, where the Americans in the audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance together. As a true patriot, I am so glad this ceremony was included in the event, especially when so many Americans today are constantly criticizing their own country, even though it has been the freest and most prosperous country in world history. I’ve taught in 20 countries around the world, and I have visited several more as a tourist, and the USA is still the only country I would want to live in (for those pockets not yet overrun with crime and lawlessness). However, if we Americans don’t protect the United States Constitution, which is based upon our Judeo-Christian history, we will indeed be under the godless oppressive tyranny like most of the population of the world is, in one form or another.
WEAK MADE STRONG
On February 18, 2023, when I took my Canadian student and good friend Mike Kendall to the Martial Arts History Museum, while we were working on some training courses and training videos together while he was in Los Angeles, I donated some of my personal historical items to the museum for display (my police nunchakus that I carried on duty for two years, some of my military and police patches I wore on various uniforms, and one of my knives I designed manufactured by Boker). To have a professional museum quality display (cases, lighting, and text describing the items) requires money. Furthermore, if you’re a Christian, then you may even want Michael Matsuda to know, in your email to him, that you want the Christian Soldier Self-Defense System logo also somewhere in the display. After all, it was through Michael Matsuda’s DRAGONFEST 2023 event that this new system was first presented to the martial arts community. He’s already received my input face to face, but he doesn’t have yours, and your voice matters.
The only thing that disappointed me at DRAGONFEST 2023, and that’s because it happened as I was teaching my seminar course, was the presentation of the Colors (the flag of the United States of America) ceremony that took place on stage, where the Americans in the audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance together. As a true patriot, I am so glad this ceremony was included in the event, especially when so many Americans today are constantly criticizing their own country, even though it has been the freest and most prosperous country in world history. I’ve taught in 20 countries around the world, and I have visited several more as a tourist, and the USA is still the only country I would want to live in (for those pockets not yet overrun with crime and lawlessness). However, if we Americans don’t protect the United States Constitution, which is based upon our Judeo-Christian history, we will indeed be under the godless oppressive tyranny like most of the population of the world is, in one form or another.
WEAK MADE STRONG