Ireland's Reality Based Personal Protection & Self Defence Experts

Aside from his work as an elite martial arts and reality based personal protection instructor, Mr.O'Brien is a world renowned strength and conditioning expert, owner of BoruFitness and his fitness website www.Isometric-Training.com (ranked in the top 1% of all sites online). His work in the field of fitness and strength has been featured in multiple publications around the world.  

The goal of this course is to prepare the mind and body for a wide variety of conflict using drills and exercises taken from around the world and from dozens of martial arts and military systems. Each drill and exercise is divided up into Individual, Partner, and Group.

This course starts with the Special Forces Warm-Up, which is famous for its systematic approach to warming up every joint in the body using the ten primary directions and circular movement.

Individual Stretching takes you more in depth than in previous courses. These exercises will keep the body young and agile through improved circulation and joint manipulation.

Team Stretching teaches you how to get a deeper stretch with the assistance of a partner. Each stretch always relates back to being a better conditioned fighter. 

The next phase of the training is Conflict Strength Training starting with Individual Exercises that come from Boot Camps and Police Academies around the world. These exercises are designed to toughen you up. The names of these exercises speak for themselves: Peruvian National Police Push-ups, U.S. Navy SEALs Push-ups, Tokyo Riot Police Push-ups, British SAS sit-ups, and so forth.

Having a good partner will always provide you with a more intense workout that you could not achieve on your own. That’s why you will take it up a notch with Partner Conflict Strength Exercises. This is where the muscles start to burn and mental fortitude is built up.

Next comes Individual Conflict Training Drills that are designed to give you a warrior attitude. Some of the drills and exercises come from elite units around the world, some developed from O'Brien's extensive martial arts background and unique insight into strength and conditioning but there are also drills that are entirely Jim Wagner Conflict Drills. When the Israeli Army first saw them they immediately wanted to incorporate some of them in their Basic Combat Training.

Trainees demonstrate the British SAS situp

Just like in the Defensive Tactics course where one learns how to block, even in low light or no light situations, you will get better at blocking incoming knife attacks with the Jim Wagner Kinetic Sensation Response Level 2.

With a partner you will have the opportunity to participate in many drills that will build your self-confidence in fighting with drill like: Spin and Fight, Clench Escape, Mind Over Pain, and the Two Person Rescue Seat Carry, just to name a few.

Group Exercises and Drills are next, which will be both challenging and fun.  You’ll get to see how the German counter-terrorist team GSG9 does push-ups and abdominal strengthening. You’ll get to experience the French Foreign Legion Crawl, Climbers Trust Fall, Brazilian Circle Hop, the Israeli YAMAM Boiler Pressure Drill, SWAT Three Person Wall Climb, and even bodyguard drills like Guard the Box or Walking the Gauntlet.

When I first began my firearms training, gun violence in Ireland was not an issue. However in recent years gun violence has sadly escalated, with gang shooting and drive by shootings on the increase. In 2006 I first trained members of an Garda Siochana in the realities of surviving gun violence. We have sadly come along way since then, with the establishment of armed response units.  

Many criminals and terrorists use guns to intimidate or injure their victims. Even in countries with strict gun control laws such as ours, the laws can do nothing to prevent a determined criminal or terrorist from using firearms to commit acts of violence. This “reality” is precisely why I sought our comprehensive firearms training and why the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection system is inundated with firearm survival techniques, tactics, and scenarios in every course. 

Whether you are for gun control or against it, own guns or not, love them or hate them, everybody should know how to properly use a handgun and the tactics associated with them. Nobody knows when they may have to deal with a handgun, such a disarming a criminal, a terrorist goes down and drops his weapon, home defense, or you have to teach a child about gun safety. Handgun Survival is a hands-on, step-by-step introductory course for beginners that will safely familiarize you with this weapon, teach you tactics for a variety of common situations, and give you an opportunity to actually defend yourself in realistic scenarios against a suspect (Conflict Rehearsal). That’s right! Actually shoot somebody who is trying to attack you. 

In Ireland for this course, we use plastic or rubber replica handguns and gas blow-back, port-ejecting air guns that shoot a 6mm BB plastic projectile.  Thus we can teach teach you how to properly handle and use a handgun safely.  This weapon, that looks and functions just like the real thing, fires accurately up to 21 feet – the distance where most Close Quarters Battles (CQB) takes place. In other words, the distance you would actually be defending yourself at. For safety you’ll be supplied with wrap around eye protection, be given your own weapon to train with, and plenty of ammunition.

This course, taught entirely inside our facility, begins with standard Range Safety Rules. Then you will be taught weapon nomenclature, loading and unloading procedures, and general gun safety. Once you’re comfortable with the material you’ll move onto shooting stances and target acquisition firing against stationary targets. We’ll teach you how to hit center mass every time, because our instructors are firearms experts having both military and police backgrounds.

Dignitary/VIP Protection training and Terrorism Survival with members of the British Police

You’ll be surprised at just how fast you become comfortable with the basics, and be ready to advance to the next step - tactical movement. We’ll teach you the Conflict Glide, turns, the Hasty Retreat, all about cover and concealment, how to do a Quick Peek and Slice the Pie. You’ll have sufficient time to practice each technique.

Since this course is all about personal protection you’ll learn how to properly search a building for an intruder, how to avoid being shot by the police accidentally, how to use a tactical flashlight for low-light situations, and proper target identification. Instead of using static targets you’ll advance to Shoot-Don’t Shoot scenarios using real human targets (trainers). This is known as Conflict Rehearsal, and its here that your nerves will really be tested.

At the end of this course you may never pick up a handgun again, but at least you’ll know how to proficiently handle one if you ever had to. For those who own guns, this course is a good solid foundation from which to build upon. We'll also teach you how to conduct your own range proficiency tests at home to maintain your skills.

This course is designed to teach you all about using common objects that you would find in any given environment and using them in deadly force situations to protect yourself or loved ones. Not only will you learn how to use a variety of improvised weapons, but you will learn how to defend against them as well if someone is armed with them and uses them against you.

The first weapon system that you will learn in this unique course is Impact Weapons. An impact weapon can be anything from a crowbar to a hammer. You’ll start with a Weapon Warm-Up to get a feel the object and its capabilities. Then you will learn the proper Grip, Conflict Stance, and the Jim Wagner 10 Striking and Blocking Directions. Once you know the basics you’ll become better at handling the weapon with Conflict Drills.

You will then become an expert with improvised Staff Weapons. You may find yourself trying to save your life with a broom, a mop, or a painter’s pole; these are all staff weapons. In the process you’ll learn how ancient spears were used in warfare and how some of the techniques apply to today. Utilizing the same techniques and training methods you learned with the impact weapons you’ll also get new drills such as the Ground Staff Survival Drill and the Roman Legion Blocking Exercise. You'll also get an introduction to some of the more practical techniques found in traditional Japanese martial arts (O'Brien is a senior instructor for Ireland in Jodo, the Japanese Art of Short Staff Fighting and TanjoJutsu, the art of using a cane). 

The next weapons system is Flexible Weapons. This includes chains, cables, a jacket or even a belt. In addition to learning strikes and blocks a portion of your training will include how to survive the strangling weapon known as the Garrote. You’ll also get to participate in a historical exercise known as the Apache Indian Rope Fight. 

Throwing Weapons is the next discipline you’ll be exposed to, because it may be your last ditch effort to survive. Knowing the trajectory of various objects will prepare you for this possibility. In this course you will actually throw Objects, Powders, and Liquids. 

To understand the criminal mind better you’ll be given a variety of harmless objects that you would be able to get in a prison. Then you will take these items and form weapons out of them limited only by your creativity. This project is called Improvised Weapons Making.

At the end of this course you will be confident in using a variety of everyday objects to defend yourself, in the truest application of the maxim, "One Mind, Any Weapon". 

An assortment of Improvised Weapons that could be made by prisoners during joint training with members of the British Police & Irish Gardai

O'Brien demonstrating the traditional staff fighting art Jodo on the cover of Irish Fighter magazine

Women’s Survival, like insurance, is the best investment that you can ever make, whether for yourself or for a loved one. This course teaches you how to survive the entire spectrum of violence that you may possibly face as a woman: sexual harassment, dating violence, sexual battery, rape, or worse. 

From the start we make the assumption that you are not aggressive, have absolutely no fighting skills, and have never successfully defended yourself. We then use proven military and police techniques and training methods and bring out your natural self-preservation instincts step-by-step. 

You’ll learn how to properly walk, talk, and even how to “feel” so you will not be an easy target for criminals – or as we say in the business “a soft target.” You’ll learn concepts like Threat Assessment, Situational Awareness, how to lose someone who is following you, and not be frightened of weapons. You’ll learn how to strike and how to strike hard, using hit-and-run tactics, because you never want to go toe-to-toe with a man. You’ll learn what to do when a man is pinning you, lying on top of you, trying to choke you, attempting to tie you up - we’ll cover it all. Yes, its scary stuff, but we’ll take it at your own pace. If you’re not ready to try a particular training technique or you’re just too tired, don’t worry about it, this course is for your needs at the level you are comfortable with. You, and your fellow students, all working together make for a really strong support group.

This course is not just physical training, but there is lecture time and many eye opening demonstrations. We’ll discuss home security, vehicle security, traveling alone, plus school and workplace security. Throughout this course we’ll educate you on legal issues, current crime trends against women, and build your self-confidence up.

If your heart is beating faster just at the thought of attending this course, then this is a good indicator that you should take it, because you need it. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to defend yourself, now you can.

Public Transport Assault

RBPP Instructor Sharon demonstrating how to escape from a facedown choke from a stronger heavier opponent. 

This specialized course is prepared to for children at a variety of ages and levels with exact lesson plans and teaching techniques for each age group – from primary school students and up, from 5-years to 17-years old. We encourage parents, teachers, child minding staff etc to take part as well so they can better support this training and techniques should they ever be needed and will teach them specific bodyguarding and shielding techniques to better protect their children. 

Lessons covered include: 

The following are some recent clips from our seminars and public demonstrations. 

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