Last week, Varg announced he was intending "to bring training back with a new vigor due to the legitimate need brought about by the deterioration of our society and our safety, in the U.S."
This was surprising to me as he has communicated his desire to get out of the "firearm training"(my words not a direct quote, but used for lack of a better term) business/world. I have heard him state this first hand and have seen him post similar messages for awhile. This being said, I thought I would give an AAR report of a seminar I had the opportunity to be involved in where I heard him present. At that time, I decided against it mainly because of his messaging of exiting the field and pursuing other desires.
If you are not sure who Varg is or want to learn more, he can be found on social media as well as a book called Violence of Mind. His FB page is listed as Fitness and Strength Training, Defensive Weapons Training and Mindset Training. This followup will hopefully help you decide if seeking training from him is something you desire. I will go over a few of the topics he covered and a brief overview of his communication on them.
To be clear, this class involved no hands on skills and was a presentation. This was not a PowerPoint driven presentation. A computer and projector were used, but only for a google search to pull up a #OODA diagram and a couple of videos in the entire 7 hours. The presentation was very relaxed and conversational at times. It was opened up for questions at the end of each segment. The group was very interactive and provided for a good learning environment. He focuses on his experiences and what he has learned from those experiences. He has a strong desire to pass that on so others can learn from his experiences. He really focuses on staying within his experiences during these conversations. If something is outside his realm, he is straightforward about that. There were a few topics brought up that he made that clear.
Speaking of the OODA loop. If you have only heard instructors speak of the OODA loop in the sense of the four letters and breaking the loop, then the point is being missed. In recent years, Claude Werner(#TheTacticalProfessor), talked about this concept on #BallisticRadio. I'm going to include the link to this discussion because I believe this is highly misunderstood and taught. When you are done reading, click here to hear more:
Varg spent some time on the OODA loop that aligned closely to my limited interpretation of the concept along with what can be heard from Claude.
Varg is very adamant about his detest of the glorification of violence and particularly so within the gun community. There is a lot of toxicity of worshiping violence in regards to all of the hardships it brings. That is the reality. Criminals, military and law enforcement all see the after-effects of violence as well. There was quite a few conversations that we had showing the similarities between violence within these groups.
One of the best topics? Motivation comes through two methods: praise and shame. Having spent time in my life in trying to motivate people, I can attest that this is seemingly a very easy topic but is missed in most fields. If you are in a position that involves motivating others in any sense, dig further into this topic.
Another big topic was to not be using the sheepdog analogies. There are various reasons that I have heard people talk about for the lack of value or accuracy of these comparisons. He focused on the thought that this message is very demeaning. We are all in the same boat. All humans. Realize how you treat people.
What did I enjoy most about the class? This point- above all else, enjoy life. Love your spouse, your family, the environment around you. Feed your day with what your mission is. That is what brings you home at night and wakes you up in the morning. Okay, What is better than that? I can go learn all the Gun-fu I want, but at the end of day, I really want to be a better spouse, father and overall person to the people I interact with. I look forward to fitting some training in with him in the future.
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