The Fallout From Aurora

It is such a tragedy what a madman can do to ruin so many lives. This horrific thing will once again fuel the gun control debate. Like the saying goes....

"When you take all the guns from the criminals you can have mine". The fact is criminals will always have guns even if there were gun control.

I'm sorry but I can't help thinking if there were one person in that theatre that had a Concealed Permit the loss of life would have been less. I hate to get on my soapbox here but

"Why does it take something like this for people to think about their safety?

And then a sadder thing is in a month, life will be consumed with the next tragedy and this will fade to the back. People need to say "you know what? I am not going to be a victim, I need to take charge of my life and well being.

Many Years ago I was married to a very physically abusive husband. When I decided I had had enough and was seeking a divorce he stalked, harassed, and terrorized me. Back then they didn' have domestic abuse laws, women's shelters, or help lines. They issued you a personal protection order and unless they caught him in the act there was nothing they could do. After he had slashed my tires for the 2nd time and of course was gone before the police arrived a officer said to me "Well your ok you have a PPO." I looked at him and said "What am I supposed to do with a piece of paper, beat him with it?"

I realized that this was never going to quit until I was dead unless I took charge of my own safety.

So I decided that I was going out without a fight and made a plan. First thing was my dad brought me a rifle from his huge stockpile of weapons. I had been raised hunting and shooting so I was lucky that I was comfortable in handling it. But he would harass me at work, follow me shopping, etc, so I knew I may not have a weapon with me if he attacked me in public. I enrolled in a self defense class. I knew I didn't have time to learn something that would take years to master, I needed something NOW. So I found a class that was run by a former green beret and he taught us a combination of Krav Mago (self defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces) and down and dirty street fighting.

The combination of the rifle and the classes saved my life.

First was the rifle. He came to my home one night with a huge Rambo knife but he brought a knife to a gun fight. Once he was staring down a loaded weapon he left never to return to my home because I stated "the next time he would be leaving in a body bag". The next was when he tried to jump me in the parking lot of my work. I dropped him with a broken nose and believe me once I had him on the ground I nearly kicked him to death. He moved out of state 3 months later and I haven't had to deal with him since. Violence is going to increase with high unemployment and skyrocketing food prices and women tend to be the first and easiest targets....

Don't be a victim...take a proactive role for your own safety.

Take classes, both hand to hand combat and gun safety glasses. Get comfortable with both so if you are faced with being in danger it comes second nature to you..you react automatically. Always be aware of your surroundings. I remember my instructor starting every class saying that. When your walking thru a parking lot who is around you, when you go into a movie theater were is the closest exit, walking down the sidewalk is there someone sitting in a parked car? He even went as far as to say "when you board a airplane count the seats to the nearest exit because if you go down there will be panic and thick smoke so you may have to feel your way out". My point is better safe than sorry and also taking responsibility for your own safety will give a that sense of empowerment that you will need when SHTF.

Be prepared, not sorry.

The Physical Toll When SHTF Part 2

THE BIGGEST PREPPER CHALLENGE

As we discussed in the first part of this series when SHTF the physical demands of daily life are going to increase and if that day were to come today are you physically ready? If your answer like mine is "no" then I want you to participate in this challenge with me. It doesn't matter how much ammo or food we have stocked if we physically can't meet the demands to survive. Can you physically carry your BOB for miles? What about chopping wood for days on end?

Growing up on a farm and participating in high school sports, 4-H, and FFA I was in great shape. I continued to work out and up until a year ago I was running 5-7 miles 4 times a week with strength training 2 times a week. But like many people I had a injury and my workouts stopped, I gained weight, and started the mind games with myself saying "Oh I will start working out again next week" and next week comes and I justify not working out by telling myself I have too much work to do around the house or working overtime at work.

Excuses stop now

I love to run and used to run half marathons. It's funny how you can love to do something but sabotage yourself from doing it! One of the best marathoners in history (the penguin) when asked what is the hardest part of training for a marathon answered "getting out the door". He's totally right because once those shoes are on and your out the door the excuses stop and the hard part is over.

In training for half marathons I learned these guidelines which you will need to apply to this challenge.

1. Start slow and gradually work up - Starting any new physical regiment go to your doctor first and get a checkup to make sure your healthy enough to start your challenge. When you start your challenge start slow and work your way up. If you overdo it and are sore or injure yourself you are setting yourself up for excuses and failure.

2. Schedule your workout time - This is a must to ensure that you have that time for your workouts and also cuts down on the excuses. I work nights so I like to run in the morning after work. It's cooler at that time and it also helps me unwind and sleep better during the day.

3. Find a activity you enjoy - This an important component to your challenge. Find something you love to do. I love running, a friend of mine loves her Zumba classes. Let's face it if you don't like doing the activity it will seem like work and a chore and you will find excuses not to do it.

4. Set a goal and reward yourself - When I decided to take up running I set my ultimate goal of doing a half marathon but I had small goals all the way in my training. My first was a 5k and upon completing that I rewarded myself with a fleece running vest I had been wanting. The next goal was a 10k which I rewarded myself with a Columbia ski jacket that I wanted. Then the half marathon was actually the reward. I signed up for the Pacific Shoreline Half Marathon which is held at Huntington Beach California. It was a great weekend trip with 30,000 other runners, a beautiful hotel room that overlooked the ocean, a health expo, and the run was breath taking along the beach with bands every mile. Goals and rewards will keep your motivation up.

5. Make your workout social time - Most of my running time is done on my own but when I was living in Dallas every Saturday morning I would meet my girlfriends at White Rock Lake and we would run the lake (9.2 miles). It didn't even feel like a workout because we were too busy talking about our week, dating, etc. then on Sunday we would meet for yoga with brunch afterwards. Believe me workouts are way less painful when sharing with friends.

The Physical Prepper Challenge - Foundation

The three basics we want in this challenge are

Endurance 

Strength

Flexability 

When SHTF you will need all three of these elements so setup your Prepper challenge to include these.

My challenge will be structured this way.

Endurance - Running 4x's per week
Strength - Weight and resistance training 3x's per week
Flexability - Yoga 2x's per week

I will be making a Prepper Challenge page where we can share our workouts, goals, and experience. Keep in mind that these will apply to the physical demands of the WROL like carrying your BOB, gathering firewood, building shelter, etc.

Will you be the Biggest Prepper?

Be prepared, not sorry

 

Addition To Women And Self Defense

Just to add to this article by MonsterMash I believe every woman should take a Krav Maga course.

Krav Maga is the official self defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces, and has been taught to hundreds of law enforcement agencies and thousands of civilians in the United States.

Krav Maga is a simple, effective self defense system that emphasizes instinctive movements, practical techniques, and realistic training scenarios.

It goes on the same principle of "Keep your friends close but enemies closer". By this I mean in most forms of self defense your keeping your enemy at a distance. With Krav Maga you want your enemy close to inflict more damage. This is something that is hard for women to do because when attacked by a man a women's first reaction is to try to get away and escape.

You are also taught that in an attack situation for women "you don't stop attacking until your enemy is dead". This is something else women have a hard time overcoming because their instinct is once the man is down, is to flee not attack.