Welcome to another edition of Craft of a Warrior Newsletter
With the rioting and protests around the United States and even some areas of the world my thinking has turned toward the idea of freedom.
Freedom is something many of us take for granted unless you were unfortunate enough to be born into a restrictive nationality (ie China, Iran, etc).
We are seeing mass protests and rioting which are putting many of us in difficult situations. If we have to defend ourselves or property, what are the repercussions, legally? Could we go to jail because we defended ourselves and caused harm onto another. Even the police have to question there every move because one mistake can result in career ruin and jail.
We live in a hyper-sensitive society of millennial and other groups who want equal rights and freedoms but instantly react negatively with shaming, degrading, arresting, casting out, etc other individuals.
This is a topic I can go on and on about so instead I’ll point you to some great resources to help us get through this.
Topic of the week: Freedom
So, in the process of crafting ourselves as warriors one can’t help but think of Freedom. Freedom is empowering. To go anywhere, to be anyone, to do as you like with your life.
Lets start with this Premise: All individuals are free to do and act is they will,
as long as they are not infringing on the freedoms of others. A perfect world right?
As we proceed in life our freedoms tend to lessen. The walls get higher until we are boxed in. Whether its a job, family, government any other number of traps we find ourselves in.
Believe it or not you can walk away from most of those traps. In his book “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: a Handbook for Personal Liberty“, Harry Browne discusses the concepts of escaping from the traps of life. Most of these traps are mental. Mental gymnastics are needed to break free. Get the book, its a life changer to the extreme. BUY IT
Levels of the trap:
Scenario 1: Life
You are lost, maybe stuck in a dead end job. Just unhappy with what you are doing. Your trap is probably the opinions of your family and friends.
This is the easiest trap to escape. Walk away. Easy as that. Move and start over without anyone’s opinions telling you what you should do. BE YOU.
Scenario 2: Something has to give
You are stuck in a situation. You put yourself there but its difficult to get out. The problem could be a job or a relationship. Wife or kids. People count on you. Maybe your tied down financially or controlled by wife or boss.
Difficult for sure, but escape is simple as walking away. People are resilient, they usually move on…or not, don’t worry about them, but be aware that can happen they will have an adjustment period. This is your life remember. Sometimes its okay to be selfish if it involves your happiness. WALK AWAY
Scenario 3: Most difficult
You are visiting a country. A revolution or war ignites! Government locks down and there are checkpoints everywhere. Worst of all, the government is anti-(nationality or race or color here). You would be arrested the minute you are identified.
This trap is an Escape and Evasion scenario. You will do whatever you have to, to survive. We are beyond simple scenarios here. This is life and death…
Read the training section below.
Scenario 4: Extreme circumstances
You are in prison, falsely imprisoned. This would be the worst and I have no answers. I would like to believe this boils down to mental control, to survive and get through it. This is the trap that you can’t get out of.
Training – Escape and Evasion
In this Training segment we are going to focus on Escape and Evasion, the “Most difficult” scenario as the first two scenarios can be handled with mental gymnastics to escape the traps. What we are speaking of here is a situation beyond your control. They require physical, mental, field craft skills.
Spy Craft:
Disclaimer: I’m not saying you are a spy, but you must think and act like a spy, ninja, warrior to survive. Studying the methodology and techniques of a spy is key and could save your life.
Adapt –
Know your surrounding. If in a foreign city, get a map. Information is key here. You must learn how to escape, sometimes this takes time. You many need to keep a low profile until the right time and needed information has been collected.
You Have to Adapt. This relates to your ability to create new tools or new ways of looking at problems with whatever you have on hand. In order to be adaptable you have to have some basic skills and understanding. For instance if you understand knots and levers, you can make a primitive winch with two logs and a rope.
You can make a weapon out of items in your environment. You can build diversionary devices. Adaptability means knowing abstract and common-sense concepts and then applying them in a new and different way every time.
Mind Craft:
Attitude – The Will To Survive
It means developing the ability to let the negative experiences roll off your back like water on a duck, and focus on the positive. This can be everything from the attitude of survival in a life-or-death fight with someone who wants to hurt or kill you, to your ability to endure lack of water, food, sleep, basic comforts, etc.
Outside the box
The act of creativity by thinking “outside the box,” is something that you can get better at by being in a situation that forces you to do it over and over again. You learn new tricks and new ways of thinking that have not occurred to you before, which, once you learn, you’re not likely to forget.
Field Craft:
If captured…Physical Escape
Getting out of restraints is often not as difficult as it might seem. Ropes stretch and are very difficult to keep someone restrained with. Normal strength zip ties are broken easily, both in front and behind the body.
Breaking Zip Ties
You can do this within a few minutes of practice, regardless of their size or strength. There are extra-strength zip ties which are far more difficult to break, but can be cut through fairly easily with any rough edge or even with friction and a length of 550 paracord.
Handcuff/Lock-Pick Training
A paper clip, bobby pin or any comparable thickness and strength of wire will allow you to pick handcuffs both behind and in front of your back. Keep one secreted away is not a bad idea if you suspect that being captured and detained is a possibility. This requires some practice, but anyone can learn this in a matter of minutes, and with a few hours of practice can be moderately efficient at it. This requires having some type of metal that you carry with you, however. There are educational videos on YouTube to help you learn this. All it involves is some self-discipline and practice, as just watching the video is not enough.
Body Craft:
Evasion
You must evade those looking for you. This is made a lot easier by a number of skills and other concepts such as:
- Preparation and knowing which direction to run.
- Ability to find your way (map, orienteering skills, etc.)
- Counter tracking (eluding trackers)
- Self-defense (armed and unarmed)
- Stamina for long distance travel
- Primitive and urban survival skills while on the run
Practice Essential Survival Skills
Needless to say, skills that you need to survive on the run while evading are skills you should be working on now.
The time to learn survival skills like how to start a friction fire and how to cook using a Dakota Firepit (to allow you to avoid detection) is not once you are on the run. Learn the skills now and practice them in your own house and back yard.
Once you’ve practiced essential survival skills, even enough to have a moderate understanding, you will have at least given yourself a fighting chance to survive.
Gear Box:
New gear I’m playing with: This week playing with Knives. Tanto knives to be more specific from Cold Steel, one of my favorite knife company’s. They make top of the line blades. From low end to high end, these make phenomenal combat blades. From what I’ve heard the US Military is using them as well. I own both of these and they both do the job.
Low end: Cold Steel Recon Tanto
High end: Cold Steel Nightfall series.
I am currently reading:
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: a Handbook for Personal Liberty by Harry Browne – Quite frankly, the best book to gain freedom, from job, family, financial problems, to government. Learn how to walk away and start over. READ IT NOW.
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss – I’m a huge fan of Tim Ferriss and his approach to hacking life. The books subtitle says it all: “An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman”. Do yourself a favor and READ IT NOW.
That’s it for this week! Keep on crafting your art. Remember, being a warrior is a personal thing as each of us is unique. Pick and choose what makes you who you are, discard the rest as not everything is for everyone. – Collin
Training resources that I recommend:
Combat shooting program – Discover the simplest and most effective shooting system out there! It is so good that you will narrow your grouping of rounds from the size of a basketball to the width of a NICKEL in less than 20 minutes! Developed by an active-duty special operations soldier, this shooter system has been tested and refined so that it’s even more effective, more accurate, and easier to learn. Once you master this simple shooting system you will actually find it hard to miss your target even if you tried… no matter how much chaos storms around you! LEARN MORE
Hack the Flow – The flow state is the optimal performance state of mind, which is also known as the zone. Achieve a superhuman level of performance, fitness enthusiasts will unleash untapped potential, and even if you’re just training to manage your health, well this simple technique will give you the ability to overcome the obstacles in your way to a more healthy vibrant life. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
