Soapbox Issue: Jim Wagner

There are two things that really burn my butt. One is a flame about three feet high. The other is Jim Wagner.

Who's Jim Wagner? Glad you asked. Jim Wagner is a frequent contributor to Black Belt Magazine, and also the many editions of Budo International. He is a "Reality Based Fighting" martial arts instructor who spreads his knowledge through high-priced seminars, a video series , and a book. Prior to his breakthrough into the Martial Arts Media mainstream, he served as a "police and military defensive tactics instructor" (that's straight from the brief bio provided in Black Belt) with several different departments and agencies, and also as a "counterterrorist for the United States government [sic] after 9/11." (That's from the marketing material touting his New York City seminar to be held in the new future.)

Do I dispute his credentials? Let me make this completely clear: I do not. I am ready to believe he is absolutely 100% telling me the truth.

Do not mis-quote me on that. I believe his "stuff."

And because I believe him, that's what burns my butt.

Mr. Wagner writes a regular column, High Risk, for Black Belt Magazine. Desperate for my martial arts information fix, I have a subscription to Black Belt and look forward to receiving it every month. Yes, I know 80 - 90% of it is pure drivel; I'm still hooked for the same reason I read Entertainment Weekly. I read it cover to cover. And generally speaking, I think the informatio Mr. Wagner shares is worthwhile.

My problem is with the enormous ego that oozes off the page. He's like a greasy used car salesman but his product is himself. Like the car, it may be a great product; but the sales technique completely turns me off.

Here's how he starts his most recent column: "Because of your votes, I was recently inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as 2006 Self-Defense Instructor of the Year." Well, no kidding! I read the write-ups for this year's Hall of Fame Inductees last month! I also noticed that Dana Abbott, voted Weapons Instructor of the Year 2006, didn't mention it even once in his column this month. (And let's not get into the fact that the columnists seem to be the ones winning the awards. That's probably my soapbox issue for next month.)

Mr. Wagner is in love with the use of "I" in his writing. Here's the first paragraph of his article contribution in the same magazine: "Four years ago, the martial arts community outside of Israel knew of only one Israeli art: Krav Maga. Then, after returning from my third trip to Israel, I wrote an article for Black Belt that introduced other popular systems of the Holy Land, including Lotar, the fighting system of the nation's counterterrorism school, and kapap, Israel's original close-quarters-combat style."

The very next sentence? "After I convinced kapap expert Maj. Avi Nardia to go public with the system..." I thought about counting the actual number of times he uses "I" in the article about Maj. Nardia, Kapap, and it's coming to the West, but I kept losing count.

Here are some other reputation (i.e. ego) enhancing quotes from Mr. Wagner:

"...I stood with Nardia assessing dozens of special-forces recruits. His job was to select those who would make good candidates for the program, as well as those who would be asked to leave at the end of the day. 'What do you think of that one?' he would ask me. I would respons, 'Yeah, he's special-forces material.' Nardia would then say, 'I'm putting his name on the list.'"

Let me get this straight: American citizen Jim Wagner is selecting Israeli commando trainees? Really? Would I believe that statement if Israeli citizen Nardia said he was selecting Delta Force candidates? I'd sure raise an eyebrow.

"His [i.e. Nardia] first two years were rough... I arranged some kapap seminars for him, designed the art's logo and hooked him up with some contacts in Europe."

"People would post vicious messages on the forums on Nardia's website, often sayng that he lacked the credentials he claimed to possess. I knew exactly what he was going through because I often sustained similar attacks inspired by my Black Belt column High Risk."

Here's a writing tip, if you want to tell someone's story, then tell their story. Do not insert yourself into the story. As a reader, it is very distracting.

Now let's talk about that "counterterrorist for the United States government after 9/11" credential. True. You bet. I have independent confirmation on this too. Mr. Wagner was employed by the American taxpayer as a Federal Air Marshal after 9/11/2001. And if you ask him about his counterterrorist experience, he is apparently very up front about this.

My first issue: yes, technically speaking, a FAM is indeed a "counterterrorist." And believe me when I say, I completely and totally respect a FAM's training. I have every reason to respect it. However, there is a world of difference between being local SWAT cop, and being a FAM, and being a Navy SEAL in DEVGRU, or being a JSOC supertrooper. And for that matter, there are plenty of analytical weenies employed by Uncle Sugar who also proudly wear the title "counterterrorist." All of these people have good reason to be proud of their service, but Mr. Wagner is being rubbery by using the word in his marketing. Why not say, "Former Air Marshal?" Not as sexy.

Here's something else. Based on my reading of a Budo International article that was Mr. Wagner's own account of his FAM stint, he completed his service on 9/11/2002.

Yes: 2002. That means he was hired, provided clearances, trained (at great expense to the taxpayer), and deployed on flights all in the space of a year.

Now, if someone knows different about how long Jim Wagner's experience as a FAM lasted, I'd love to see the evidence. But as a taxpayer, I'm a little disappointed that my security was used as a stepping stone for Mr. Wagner's resume. I'm sure his seminar fee increased based on the line item: "counterterrorist." Sorry if I seem cynical about this point. Maybe I'm just posting another vicous attack based on his column.