Basic Training – Preparing to survive.
Filed under
Survival Skills, Survivalism
Most survival situations happen in one of two ways. First, you might find yourself thrust into a situation that was not of your own making. This could be anything from a plane crash to a terrorist attack or even a home invasion. While you can plan for them, they often come as a surprise and are often beyond your control in the initial stages of the event.
The second type of scenario are those that develop over time. They’re often preventable had you recognized the danger signs and acted before things started to spiral out of control. Unfortunately this second scenario is the most common. It often comes about because of either a lack of foresight and planning, or on the other side of the coin arrogance and over confidence in an ability that you may not have.
There is one thing that both scenarios often have in common and that is the basics. The basics are often what separate those that survive from those that perish.
Think of it this way… From the elite special forces to highly trained professional athletes there’s one thing that separates them from the guy sitting on the couch eating Doritos. It isn’t some super human power or even being born with a gift or talent because for the most part that’s crap.
IT’S THE BASICS.
When a professional basketball player hits the game winning free throw it’s not because he was born to play basketball. It’s because he spent hundreds maybe even thousands of hours shooting free throws. When the time came to make the shot, he made it because he made that same shot ten thousand times before.
When an elite sniper takes out a target from 1,000 yards it’s not because of some special secret training. It’s because he was drilled in the basics. He’s made that shot at the range thousands of times. When the moment came he was ready because he learned and drilled the basics.
Most survival situations can be prevented or survived by learning the basics and then doing them over and over again. Yes there are certain skills that go beyond the basics, but the basics are the foundation that everything else is built upon.
I’ve been stockpiling firearms & ammunition and was wondering what i could do to get into shape w/o going to a gym,i spend alot of time in the outdoors how can i use this to my advantage in training…Thanks i hope to hear from you.
1. Make sure you are constantly shooting and not just stockpiling the ammo. There are a lot of people who stockpile ammo and maybe hit the range once a year.
2. As far as getting in shape If you’re an outdoors person you’re probably better off than most of the country. Walking and just being active outdoors can be a huge benefit to your overall fitness.
If you walk a lot adding weight to a backpack can be another good way to make that walking work harder.
Personally I don’t spend money on a gym membership. I hike, hit the punching bag do some martial arts training and stretching etc… I did p90x a while back and incorporate a lot of that into my daily exercise.
I don’t waste my money on a gym membership either. The thing is working out in a gym doesn’t really prepare you physically for a survival situation. I live in farm country. Alot of the farmers here are in better shape than those who work out in a gym because they work hard, which involves moving bales of hay, fertilizer bags, and so forth ALL DAY, all of which build up endurance. The key is endurance. A suggestion to getting in shape physically for a survival situation is do what some soldiers do, paratroopers,: either fill backpacks with bricks and run with those packs (going a little farther each day) or doing a quick paced walk with all your equipment on or the equivalent in weight. That’s what I try to do and I’m a small guy.Roman gladiators used to prepare for the arena by hitting posts with dull swords while wearing lead weights on their wrists. It hurt like the devil at first working out, but they gradually became used to the weight. With the weights off, the sword or gladias felt like a feather.
thats right ,,, my grand daddy was in better shape then alot of these mirror watching, pretty muscle boys, ever will be and he was 90 and still working.
research “body weight exercises”
body weight culture dot com has a lot of exercises and DIY training
I enjoy your blog, I have become more and more aware of our need to be prepared for what seems to be inevitable. We are going to have to fend for ourselves and protect what is ours, to survive the events to come. Plan on coming back often. Thank you, and keep it coming.
Larry, there is so much to do aside from the usual prepping acquisitions:
Get in shape by walking, jogging, running and strength training as much as your body allows.
Shooting practice over & over with various firearms and including drawing a pistol to get muscle memory.
Building other skills – canning, gardening, household repairs, etc.
Go camping regularly.
Reading to learn and preparing yourself mentally.
This fabulous website is one of several you can learn from.
Totally agree that stockpiling ammo is only part of it. I’ve been trying to get myself to the range more often. Next step is to get the wife there as well.
Agree that P90X is just as effective as a gym.
Great site by the way.
I do pack hikes and I go to the range once a week but I also do 24 Hour Fitness, its cheap but the money I spent makes me go since I am too cheap not to use what I pay for. I do military reenacting (Civil War and WW2), not real military training (I was once a paratrooper) but it is good training both physical and mental. The logistics and the weapons training/familiarization as well as the real time, full sized tactical with real people is good training and invigorating. And the reenacting is a good way to provide a cover for my preparations and a tax deduction! Also you find alot of like minded people in the hobby. I’d also recommend looking into ZombieSquad.
I’d like to add I think working on a farm would be the best thing anyone could do. I did that as a kid and I miss it, wish I could get back to the woods but I am stil stuck in the suburbs.
I feel I need to add something here.. yes,going to the range often wil help your skills..at the range. Try going to the range when you are out of breath from running through the bush and havent slept or ate for a couple of days. THAT wil help your shooting skills for when it counts!I am not saying you have to do this every time you go shooting, but do throw it in there.
Do not train for the worst case scenario in the best of circumstances.
Start with the basics,then advance.
What is the best way to store drinking water?I’m told to add a small amount of bleach.(1/8 tsp per gal.)Is this safe?
Most city tap water has a higher concentration than that.
I like my new pellet pistol, we got roof rats around and me and dog play rat patrol several times a day. its a p23 by gamo, and spits them out at 450fps, looks like a makarov..now i conserve my ammo, stay in practice, and dont scare the neighbors..and the dog now patrols ad reports on his own now. He sees the gun come out and hes ready for action…
This is a good way to start, but each weapon is an individual, with its own characteristics. You need to practice with each weapon that you have access to.
Kathryn,
You’ve got it right. When I go to the range, I carry all my weapons, and use all of them while at the range. Pistols, carbines (for CQB), long rifles (long range), etc. I try to get to the range at least once a week, and it makes a major difference in skill levels.
Anyone who goes to the range only once as year or so is not going to be in the running for survival. Please think on this folks.
My husband and I are just in the learning stages with 5 young children and we are just getting started…how do we prepare and what are the “basics”?