The principles that I have learned over the years
as a student of James have come into play on an almost daily basis. We are here protecting President Karzai, who has many many enemies. I have used my aiki more here than anywhere else I have ever been.
I also train with my Bugei Bamboo Katana three times a week. Though a feudal weapon, the principals that I have learned from my study of the sword directly correlate to my M4, sniper system, and obviously empty hand. The most important thing that James has passed on to me is proper mindset. Not only adopting the predatory mindset, but also knowing when and where to fight, as well as being cogniscent of your surroundings in a 360 degree sphere is paramount in a country such as Afghanistan where being an American makes you stand out.
I just wanted to thank James Williams openly and to encourage anyone who can to train with or attend one of his seminars. Jeff Greene | Karzai Protective Detail | Karzai Palace | Kabul, Afghanistan
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Good evening I just wanted to tell you of one of the best
opportunities that I have had as of late. My name is SFC S W and am currently with 7th Special Forces Group in Ft. Bragg, NC. I recently meet and trained with Mr. James Williams the Surefire combatives consultant. I must say that in the two days that I was afforded this opportunity I came away with incredible amounts of knowledge. For starters I learned about your products different applications and the most current products to hit the streets. He was probably the most informative and knowledgeable person about what your product is capable of and showing us how to get the most out of it. His static display was incredible in that we got to try all different types of combinations and setups. His enthusiasm was infectious about your product probably one of the best people you could have picked to represent you. But the truly impressive part is his deep desire to keep the warrior spirit alive, his combatives instruction was incredible and very enlightening in its approach and simplicity. He started very slowly to where my teammates and I could understand and keep up (you have to understand that what he teaches is a complete 180 degrees of what we are used to and it takes time to reset your mind and body to this style). Through all that he never once got pushy or impatient because he is a true master and believes in his work. By the second day we were waiting at the door pushing and prodding for more information, this is interesting for the fact that it is difficult to keep that many Green Berets focused for any amount of time. Yet again he took his time welcomed every onlooker to participate in the class and gave one on one instruction for those that did not understand. I cannot say enough about this incredible individual. The one thing that impressed me the most was his commitment to the cause.Mr Williams was there for one day to meet with some other people and I just happened to cross his path so we started to talk then we set up an afternoon meeting and started to train. It was that simple he was only supposed to stay one day and return home but we asked him to please stay and he did, again you don’t ever find this level of commitment in today’s world. In my own selfish way I would have liked to have keep him for the rest of the month and taken him to our recent training events. In those training events we not only integrated our new techniques in combatives to the point where we were intimidating and effective but also our product awareness helped to increase mission success. So thanks again for your commitment to the armed forces to put out the best product on the market not only materials but individuals too. Thank you SUREFIRE.
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As part of our pre-deployment training
James and several of his students conducted a brief training session covering a multitude of techniques and procedures. Everything James instructed was geared towards the practitioner – the man in the arena. I greatly appreciated his warrior ethos and his emphasis that his System of Strategy was essentially a continuum of problem solving. Whether he was teaching pain compliance techniques, weapons retention, or edged weapons utilization James continually reminded the Marines that what he was passing on was designed to keep them alive and take control of the situation. All Marines have been taught inter-personal violence skills to varying degrees, but I would say that what James Williams taught in four hours was probably some of the most valuable training we´ve had in our preparing to go to war.
Sincerely, Jeff Carpenter Major, USMCR and Officer, Peoria (AZ) Police Department
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James Williams of Bugei Trading Company fame
treated the Blade Show attendees to a rare show of skill with the Japanese sword. We were all quite impressed by Mr. Williams’ poise and presentation as he used both one and two handed cutting techniques to sever 4 inch and 5 inch bundles of Tatami (rice straw) mats. In particular, we enjoyed seeing Mr. Williams make multiple cuts in rapid secession and even sever falling mats in mid air. But perhaps the greatest exhibition of skill was the finale where Mr. Williams demonstrated how a highly killed swordsman could suddenly drop low to the ground to avoid an opponent’s blow while simultaneously drawing and cutting with his own blade. Most impressive!
While Bugei Trading is a fierce competitor of ours in the sword business, we never want to become so mean spirited that we can’t recognize real skill and ability when we see it. We congratulate Mr. Williams on the fantastic demonstration we were privileged to watch and encourage all of our readers who love swords not to miss it next year! Lynn Thompson, Cold Steel Knives