Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection

Knife Camp

Four separate courses comprise Knife Camp. These original Jim Wagner courses have revolutionized knife training since 1992, and as such many police, corrections, and military units all over the world implement the techniques and training methods found in the curriculum. Martial arts schools, bodyguard schools, security companies, and private individuals have also tapped into this rich resource either through the courses directly, or indirectly through Jim Wagner’s books, DVDs, and articles covering knife conflict.    

Knife Survival  



Other than a gun, the knife is the most common weapon used in crime. Yet criminal attacks are not just committed with knives, but with a wide variety of edged weapons: screw driver, syringe, broken bottle, a shard of glass, a shank in a custody environment, and anything else that can cut or stab you. Knowing how to survive these gruesome tools is vital to your self-defense training.

Right from the start in this course you will see full-speed, full-contact, unpredictable criminal style knife attack demonstrations. Most participants with previous martial arts training will find that everything that they learned about knife defense will not work. However, you will be taken step-by-step through the Knife Avoidance drills that will immediately increase your survivability. You’ll then get a taste of the all-important 21 feet / 7 meter Rule.

If you ever get into a real knife fight you will probably be injured after it is over. That’s why you’ll learn Self Triage and First Aid when it comes to knife wounds; the same life-saving techniques taught in combat units worldwide.

If you were to stop at this point, and not continue on with the course, the truth is that you would know more about protecting yourself when it comes to real knife fighting than 99% of the police, military, and martial artists out there. However, there is so much more you are going to learn in this course.    

Knife fights are scary events, and that is why Mental Preparation is extremely important in this course along with learning the physical techniques and conflict drills.

Not only do you need to know how to defend against a knife, but you also need to know how to use one yourself in self-defense situations. But, it does not necessarily mean you will have a knife when someone attacks you. In a real situation you may be fighting for your life with a fork in a restaurant or aboard a passenger aircraft with a metal writing pen – the principles will be the same though. To learn how to use a knife properly we start with the Edged Weapons Grips. You’ll know the good ones and be given the knowledge to avoid the bad ones. It will only take minutes to literally master each one of them.

You’ll be taught the perfect conflict stance to take before a fight (pre-conflict), which we call the Alert Stance, and the stance to take during hostilities, which we call the Knife Conflict Stance.     

In the world of knife fighting there are only ten angles in which to stab or slice a human being. We call them the Jim Wagner Primary Knife Strike Directions. Without doubt you’ll remember them for the rest of your life after graduating, because they are that easy. Immediately following the ten angles on both your right and left sides you will then be mastering the Directions Combinations.

For the purpose of understanding stopping power when it comes to knife conflict you will receive a brief lecture on the Medical Implications of Knife Injuries.

You will get a chance at using Improvised Edged Weapons in a controlled training environment.

If there are only ten striking angles then that means that there are only ten primary Knife Blocks against an incoming blade. You will practice all ten of the blocks, one at a time, and then you will advance to blocking spontaneous, unpredictable, realistic attacks. But, because real conflict always has exceptions you’ll learn a few Specialty Knife Blocks to help you survive those unique situations as well. What happens if you are up against someone equal or better than you with a knife, like, God forbid, another Reality-Based Personal Protection student. In that case you need to know Fakes. You’ll learn how to fake high and go low, and to fake low and strike high.

To become even better at blocking an incoming knife, whether you are armed or unarmed, especially in low light or no light situations, you’ll get to perfect the Armed (Knife) Kinetic Sensation Response Drill.

Once you get to the point where you have learned to strike, block, and move out of the line of attack, it all comes together in four Knife Conflict Drills. The first three are called One Point Sparring. The second one is called the Feeding Drill, and the third one is the One-For-One Drill. The final drill, the Freestyle Drill, is as close as you will ever come to a real knife fight, minus real knives. It is the final goal of the course – no rules, just like real life. However, we still maintain the utmost in safety.

One day your attacker may attack you in a confined space, such as in your home, in an elevator, or up against your very own car. In these cases you must use the revolutionary four steps imbedded in the Jim Wagner Knife Disarm Rule; something that you can master in mere minutes. This rule is used by many police and military units worldwide.

Probably one of the worse situations in the world is you on the ground with someone on top of you sticking you with a knife. You are going to take some of the earlier skills you learned in the course, combine it with the Jim Wagner Knife Disarm Rule, and learn to get out of the kill zone. This not so pleasant drill is called the Freestyle Ground Drill.

The final two techniques of the course deal with Hostage Situations at Knife Point. This is when someone has a knife on you and you have no idea if they are going to kill you or not. You’ll learn a few techniques on how to get away. 

If Knife Survival were the only course you take from the two-day Knife Camp, then you would have a solid foundation in knife fighting. However, there is more.

Knife Expert  

This course will complete your civilian knife fighting education, and by the time you have finished the curriculum you will be an expert when it comes to knife conflict.

We start off with knife conflict drills that teach you different life lessons. The Leap Frog Drill will prepare you for situations where you and your attacker are trying to get to the same weapon, and what to do if you don’t get it first. Walking The Gauntlet is a drill that everyone loves to do, but nothing will fray your nerves more than this one. This drill helps you to see danger before it comes, and works on reducing your reaction time once under attack.

From time to time you hear in the news about crazy people attacking their victims with machetes or swords. Since such attacks do happen in our violent world you will be taught how to defend against this type of attack. In addition, you’ll be taught how to handle the Machete and Sword yourself as the user. The odds of you ever having to fight with such a weapon is quite slim, but since they are edged weapons that find themselves on the street occasionally in the hands of disturbed people the brief time practicing with them will add to your overall education and give you an appreciation for the role such weapons have played in warfare throughout history.

Some martial arts systems, such as Pilipino Kali, teach their students how to fight with an edged weapon in each hand. Many Western prisons are reporting that inmates are armed with two shanks (a slang prison term for an improvised stabbing weapon) when attacking fellow inmates. It is for this very reason that you will be taught Double Blades; both how to defend against them and how to use two edged weapons at the same time if you must defend yourself. A perfect example is using a knife and fork if you are suddenly attacked at the table of a restaurant.

From the ancient book The Art of War by General Sun Tzu we get the famous expression, “know your enemy.” For just over an hour that is exactly what you are going to learn – how to think like the enemy. After understanding the Weapon Deployment Cycle you will see first hand World Wide Edged Weapons Attack Methods: gang attacks, prison-style attacks, criminal attacks, Middle Eastern terrorist attacks, military attacks, and the way various martial arts systems learn how to use a knife offensively. However, by the end of the day you will learn how to defend against any knife system once you know the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection Knife Survival. This part of the course is purely for INFORMATION ONLY.

Tactical Knife

This information packed two-hour course is RESTRICTED to active and reserve police, corrections, and military personnel only. Building upon your newly gained Knife Survival and Knife Expert skills you will get additional information and training drills to help you survive the type of edged weapons attacks that you are most likely to face on the job. Realistic scenarios will give you actual “experiences” that you will recall should your life ever be on the line. Because of the SENSITIVE INFORMATION contained in this course the names of techniques and drills are being withheld on this course description.

Knife Instructor  

After completion of Knife Survival and Knife Expert, and you have a desire to teach others how to survive a knife attacks, you can become a certified Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection Knife Survival instructor and will be listed on the official website as such; provided you complete the course and pass the testing process.

Whether you plan on teaching at a martial arts school, police academy, or just your family and friends, we want you to succeed. Therefore, you will be guided through techniques and drills that will make you a better instructor through Influence, Purpose, Direction, Motivation, and Improving.

You’ll be told what the Knife Instructor Duties and responsibilities are, and how to create captivating Lesson Plans; valuable information that will spill over into all aspects of your teaching career.

You will then have the opportunity to Review the Knife Survival material again, this time from an instructor’s perspective, and you will actually teach parts of the curriculum to others while being observed by the instructor and critiqued by your peers.

Finally, a test will be given to see if you truly understand the material. Again, the idea of this course is to build you up, and to make you the best instructor that you can be.

To get a sneak peek of what you might expect in Knife Camp, and a little bit of Jim Wagner’s background, view official Jim Wagner video on YouTube at jimwagnerrbpp