TEOTWAWKI may leave you alone with nothing. Nothing but your knowledge of what is available to you as a means of survival and defending yourself. Hopeful you have enough skills to find essential items required to survive. Time is limited and for an active person foraging for food, protecting themselves and seeking safe shelter. Without these life essentials, this is (on average) how much time you have to survive: Air -3 minutes, Shelter at O degrees Celsius – 3 hours, water – 3 days, food – 30 days. Take care of these and half your battle of survival is won!
When I was a child I saw my father beaten until bloodied by a crazed man in a shopping mall parking lot. My dad went to aid a fellow patron and left with his glasses broken, bloody nose, and torn clothing. Being about 5 years old I could do little to help him. He didn’t even call the cops and we never spoke about it again. Humans can be absolutely ferocious and can inflict a lot of damage in a short amount of time.
I walk my dog daily in my suburban setting. About once a year we are confronted by loose dogs. Most all dogs attack my dog and not me. My dog and I have chosen to run most of the time, but on occasion they must be confronted. I have pepper sprayed dogs, kicked smaller ones and last month we out ran a 200 pound Rottweiler that (lucky for my dog and I) was very out of shape. Human and dogs are mammals and when they are desperate and fearful they can and will harm you.
Mammals have triggers that set in motion reactions to events and circumstances in which they encounter. An injured, cornered and fearful animal is one of those dangerous encounters. A desperate, hungry, fearful human can be one of those dangerous encounters. JWR’s emphasis on charity is a good and reminds us what it means to be human. The most important aspect of being human is being civil. Even in our fairly civilized world you can be still be taken advantage of or robbed of your belongings.
So what’s my point here…If all or most my prepared supplies were not on my person or near by (which could happen) what would I have to work with to survive. I may be hunted, I may be hungry, I may be tired and I may need to defend myself. TEOTWAWKI will bring out the best and worst in people. We need to see the good in all people, but be very aware of the evil in the world, especial a desperate world. And if people get desperate and are scared there is bound to be confrontation and unpleasant encounters.
I have thought about the simplest form of defense for a human. Presently and throughout history. No matter what weapons and situation you are confronted with, I believe there are 10 basic actions that can balance the scale of survival in your favor. Hopefully you are well stocked at home or your retreat as well as having properly equipped your vehicle and legally well weaponized your body. But if you are not… then lets get to the very basics and add on from that point. Naked is definitely a challenging place to start and I definitely do not want to start there.
I hope these ten promote discussion between you and yours.
1. To Trust- your inner power. If you feel that something doesn’t feel right…THEN IT ISN’T RIGHT! I believe humans have lost a sixth sense. A sense that was much more prevalent in the humans of pre-history. A time in history before we filled our minds with vanity, commerce and material values to survive. Get in touch with your inner power. Feel your way though a situation by opening your eyes and all your senses in order to take in the entire scene. Avoid confrontation at all cost in order to conserve energy and resources. Your may have minutes to change your path or maybe just a few seconds. If it feels right…act. Double check your approach if you have time, think through outcomes in your mind. Trust yourself and visualize a positive outcome.
2. To Run- run means escape, escape means freedom, freedom means survival. Yes you may be shot at, but you are a moving target. Set up your moment to run. Buy time if you can, look for opportunity set a goal for success. For example, If confronted straight on. “I have money in my sock!” Reach down to get the money out of your sock. You are now in a track and field starting position, turn and go! Run today for fun and good health and it may be your greatest weapon of all… free to fight another day.
3. To Hide- Chinese proverb “Better to hide then run”. Running gives you distance, but running can keep you visible. Hiding can make you invisible, because you may not be able to get distance. As Kids at night we would throw snowballs at cars just to get chased. I had adults walk right past me often as I crouched motionless in one of my well planned hiding spots. What hides you? The darkness, objects you can get under, an object you get on top of, you decide. A good hiding place is a short term solution to evade capture and move forward to a safer destination or double back to an original starting point.
4. Your Hands- hands can be trained to act as weapons. A finger held stiff applied to soft tissue of the adversary can slow or even stop the aggressor. Imagine the pain of a thumb in the eye. As a college student my brother was holding down someone in a large brawl when he was cold cocked in the nose. It was broken… end of fight for him. The hand to the nose is what I believe is the most import point of contact for self defense. Aim for the nose. It is the center of the face and makes a good target. Did you ever bump your nose? Eyes water, you can’t see a thing and it hurts! To train hit something often to get your hand quick and strong. If these hands get tied it’s game over. I would fight to the death before I would ever let someone tie my hands.
5. Legs – Stay in good shape so you can use them. If you are knocked off your feet all is not lost. Check out Native American Ground Fighting and you will see the advantage of good strong legs. Swift feet can gain great distance. Exercise those legs, because without good legs it’s more difficult to defend yourself.
6. A Stick – Smack it hard on the ground, then firmly against a tree. “Strong and light is good for a fight”. One end tapered and one end thicker to hit with force. A good walking stick is a good weapon as well. I work out with a 3 foot 1 inch thick round dowel. I stretch with it and practice defensive maneuvers many of which I learned while studying martial arts. I choose this size because it is much like a cane which is what I will be using in my elder years.
7. Stones – Humans have stoned each other to death as mentioned in the Bible. A stone the size of a golf ball can be hurled effectively. A pouch of stones is a pouch of weapons. Stone lashed to a stick is a club. It worked for our ancient ancestors! Throw snowball this winter and work on your aim.
8. Improvised weapons. I saw a girl in bar when I was in college wail a man in the head with her pocket book so hard he fell to the ground. What ever you can find, whatever you can make. Improvise! Be creative in anyway possible to destroy your foe. Think of what could be done with the following objects: sand, tightly rolled magazine, keys, your thumb, a water bottle, belt with buckle, stick, stone, rock, hairbrush, etc. I always try to have something on me that can work as a weapon. Year round my 18 inch ice scraper is right next to the driver seat in my van. Better to have something within reach, then nothing. Legally I like fold out utility pliers with an assortment of small tools embedded in them including a knife. Leatherman is the best brand in my opinion. Non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray and Tasers are often legal depending on the city or state.
9. Knife – The glint and shine of a sharp object can be a strong deterrent. Never ever does anyone or anything ever get that knife out of your hands. I am not a knife expert but I do practice what I have been taught. A knife to me is synonymous with survival. Leading up to # 10 I can’t resist this old saying: “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”.
10. A Gun – The equalizer. The ability to hold several people at bay while you get to a safer environment. Try not to shoot anyone here in New York. The bad guy’s lawyer will have a field day. It is your God given and constitutional right to protect family and friends from those evil doers who have threatened you in your home or on your land. It can even protect the evil foe from doing harm to others and himself. The only way to accomplish that is to have the ultimate equalizer in your well trained hands. Practice often and enjoy the terrific sport of riflery. The NRA offers wonderful programs for the beginner.
Our objective is to work together with like minded people to strengthen ourselves against anything that may do us harm on the way to achieving our goals.