The world we live in is a dangerous place. It sucks, but that's the reality. When I first started my path to becoming a survivalist many of my friends must have thought I was off-my-rocker. In addition to securing my home with upgrades like impact resistant doors, motion-triggered lighting and our trusty guard dogs, I started getting back in shape and learning how to defend myself. I became a regular at my local shooting range, and got proficient with a number of different firearms. Over time, and as my friends and family realized that society is one disaster away from total chaos, nearly all of my close friends are now following my lead. They too could see the writing between the lines, as violence on the news has become all too common. Shootings are a regular thing, and it's pretty much expected that after a big sporting event, a controversial court verdict, or even a natural disaster that riots and mobs will follow. This is happening all over the world, making it imperative you know how to defend yourself and your family, no matter where you live. Today, we're going to cover the three levels of self defense, giving you a working knowledge of what you need to learn and use when you're facing a dangerous situation. Let's get right into it.
What is self defense?
It's a basic human right that we should be able to protect ourselves when we're being attacked. In my opinion, no one has the right to take my life, or the life of any of my family. Self defense is merely the act of self preservation, as you take an appropriate level of force to diffuse a life-threatening situation you find yourself in. Here's the three levels you need to master. Level 1: Talking your way out
This one is often used in Hollywood because it makes for a good scene, as the hero talks the criminal down and regains control of a bad situation. With the right approach you may be able to shame, or talk your way out of a confrontation, but this is too dependent on the attacker for my liking to rely on this step alone. By all means try it, talking your way out of an incident is by far your best option, but have a backup plan just in case. When it comes to the life of me or my family, I want the skills and tools on hand to deal with a threat immediately, Level 2: Fighting your way out
Ok, so you tried talking your way out of it but it hasn't helped. Now you've still got a few options, perhaps you could run and try to escape, or you're confident in your ability to fight and overpower your attacker. Again, neither of these are fantastic options, as you may discover your opponent is armed with a blade, or you greatly underestimated your ability to overpower them. But it pays to be prepared none the less. As part of an overall survivalist mentality, it's good practice to be in shape, and have formal training in hand-to-hand combat and self defense. I spent 6 months in a Muay Thai camp in Thailand, before coming home with a confidence and speed in brawling I never thought possible. But, and this is a big but, confronting an attacker with my bare hands would never, ever not be my first choice. Real life gives you one chance, just one chance. Of course - if I had no other means to defend myself I would resort to fists, but in reality you're not going to want a bad guy anywhere near you. There's just too much risk you'll get seriously injured yourself. Level 3: Taking charge with a firearm
Of the three choices, you're going to have to make a decision very quickly as to whether drawing your gun is the best choice. In my opinion this approach is far superior to the first two. Weapons equalize a fight, and my 120 pound wife could easily hold off a couple of 250 pound thugs with her pistol, whereas going full ninja and trying to fight them off could have a potentially disastrous result. With the right instruction and training, a firearm is the best way to defend yourself. Of course, not every situation gives you the ability to carry a firearm with you, which is why it pays to have a working knowledge of the first two levels of self defense. Perhaps you can talk the person down, handing over your wallet instead of resorting to violence, or use the time you spent getting fit as you chased your dog on the beach as an advantage to outrun an attacker. The best time to start learning self defense is right now. The more training, practice and effort you put in before you need it, the better prepared you will be should the SHTF. You can't wait for something bad to happen, by then it's going to simply be too late. Read a book on hostage negotiations and learn techniques that may just save your life. Take a self-defense class and learn how to throw a punch. Purchase a firearm now, so you can train at the range and get proficient before you need it. All of these skills will help you prepare yourself to not only defend yourself, but to step up and defend your family, should you ever need to.
