Chapter 4 – Self-Defense and Securing Your Home

 

When calamity hits, people will frequently band together to help each other survive. That’s what we see as the best of humanity. It is however, only the immediate response. We perceive the threat as short-lived. And as the period of lack extends and out hunger worsens, we begin to lose touch to the civilizing forces we know as the social contract. At that point, people turn against people of other classes in the thought that the more economically advantageous have been oppressing them. And then, all bets related to the social contract are off.

 

Because we have prepared for the worst, we’re now targets of opportunity. To a man, desperate for food to feed himself and his family, those who have and are unwilling to share become an enemy. They block access to vital resources. As a result, scenarios such as economic collapse are the worst case scenario for any prepper, because it requires heavy preparation and a willingness to both go it alone and potentially take the lives of others to protect yourself and your family. Self-preservation extends from the family to your home, which in such a crisis will come under assault from those in need.

 

An extended crisis with no end in sight will produce a climate of anarchy. Laws may still exist, even governments, but once widespread rioting and looting take root, the police and governmental agencies will gradually cede control of dangerous areas until they can reassert their dominance. In that situation, individuals are on their own.

 

At that point your preparation to keep your home safe will be essential. Do you have adequate provisions? Do you have means of maintaining a perimeter? What kinds of weapons do you have and how willing are you to use them? More importantly, have you considered the use of force and to what degree you are prepared to use it to save yourself.

 

1) Firearms. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution ensures that American citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. This fundamental human right is the cornerstone of individual freedom and liberty. Our utilization of guns is not because we are violent folk. Quite the contrary, we know that the best way to keep the peace is to show those who would break it the consequences of their actions.

 

No one wants to use lethal force to defend themselves, their family or their property. This is the most important thing to remember. This is not what we want. It is something we must do because when the choice is this stark, there really is no choice at all is there.

 

Many people think in that moment, they will know what to do. To an extent, they are correct. Instincts will take over. Our survival instinct is amazingly strong. If an individual possesses the will to live, in a life or death situation, he or she will do anything they can to save themselves. But instinct can only carry us so far.

 

For the remainder of the journey, we rely on training. We train to use weapons so we are familiar with their actions and how to work them. We train scenarios so we have an idea of what to do when danger strikes. We train in realistic conditions so we know what a surge of adrenaline feels like and so we can calm ourselves and make a reasoned and informed choice in a moment that lacks reason. We train to take force, hoping we never need to, but knowing someday we might just have to, and if so, we better be able to.

 

2) Non-lethal weapons. After guns, we turn to preps like pepper spray, tasers and mantraps as a means of protecting ourselves and our homes. These items can be bought or in the case of pepper spray and mantraps, they can be constructed. The utility of building your own is that no one knows exactly how to overcome your defenses apart from you.

 

3) Self-defense. A prepper needs to have multiple options for self-defense. Of greatest importance one must arm oneself with knowledge. In particular, a prepper needs to have practiced martial arts and be well-trained in other means of protection.

 

Many crossfit gyms are using self-defense skills are part of their training regimes. If crossfit is not for you, you can work out arrangements through local self-defense studios to spend a session or two in observation of what the discipline entails. Many times these studios will have a package deal that gives you the opportunity to try it before you commit to an extended course of study.

 

Self-defense skills are very important in crisis situations, because they impart a sense of confidence and calmness in an otherwise heated moment. This is due to the effects of the human fight or flight mechanism. Adrenaline release creates a sense of panic to prepare us for conflict or cause us to flee from conflict. Self-defense training provides people with the ability to channel that adrenaline into a productive response, rather than become overwhelmed by it. The potential to be completely overwhelmed has led some behavioral scientists to conclude the mechanism has a third potential outcome – freeze – in addition to fight and flight.

 

 

4) Strength Training. When a disaster strikes your skills of self-defense will only be as good as your physical strength. So an essential prep that you need to stockpile is physical strength. Atrophy is your enemy. Use your muscles! They will wither and die if you don’t. Die sounds so dramatic that people disbelieve that reality. Think about the muscles you use at your job, day-to-day. Are they fast-twitch muscles? If they are, you probably feel stronger by doing your job. But if you are like most Americans and driving a desk for six to eight hours a day, your sedentary work schedule discourages muscle growth. Our first obstacle in training is to overcome the body’s misperception that it doesn’t actually need those muscles.

 

Your training regimen needs to be diversified to avoid allowing your body to adapt to the specific demands you are making on it. This form of adaptation is why endurance exercises won’t build strength and why strength building will not build endurance. Whatever you demand from your body it will give you, so demand everything.

 

5) Good fences make good neighbors. Creating a barrier on the perimeter of your home will be your first line of defense. Constructing a fence with concrete barriers in front of it, as well as placing barbed wire on both sides of the fence is ideal. Having motion sensor lights set up close to the fence as well as security cameras will allow you to see if any intruders are close to the property.  Having noisemakers rigged if someone cross the perimeter line is also recommended. You should also be prepared to make all entrance roads and paths onto the property as uncomfortable to navigate to marauders as possible, setting booby traps along the way.

 

 

6) There is safety in numbers. In these circumstances, our choices are less than ideal. It is best to work in a coordinated fashion with several like-minded individuals. By building a prepper network you can share resources to cover essential provisions as well as security concerns. Knowing someone has your back can make a significant difference in how you assess a situation and the steps you take to ensure your survival. If you alone cannot rig your home to survive disaster, with a team of people, focused on preventing the worst possible outcome, you can succeed.