Could always use your hair for starter, especially of you have a nice mane. But, I’d skip the fire and energy expenditure required and instead build a quick leanto of branches, floor with evergreen boughs, and stuff my clothes with moss for insulation.
If I have the time and ability to search for and gather enough dryish wood to matter for a night, I’d rather spend that energy and time getting myself the hell out of my situation.
Haha haven’t succumbed yet 
Good tip on fatboard. Didn’t know that was a thing having only really lived in the land of redwood and fir.
Thought for the day:
Yesterday’s work and skills:
sandbag throws, carries, tire throws, sledge hammer work, tennis ball drills, and punishment push ups.
Question of the day:
Going to stick with the above scenario for a couple of days:
Californiagrown has already brought up the question in his post
Can you build a simple lean-to shelter ? This can be practiced on almost any land. Almost all states have National Forest land, so, plan a day trip, walk out into the woods and practice.
Some information:
Hypothermia can and will kill people quickly, long before they feel the effects of lack of food or water. So the first thing a person must do is to build a shelter, that will allow your body heat to keep you warm and dry during the night. Some basic consideration for building a shelter are:
Location – (just like real estate, location, location, location is very important) Don’t build a shelter in a low-lying area next to a river or stream. A flash flood can happen quickly, pick higher ground and preferably a spot that is protected from the wind.
Insulation – the ground can sap the warmth right from your body, ensure that bed that you lie on has four to six inches minimum of pine straw, leaves etc, that will insulate from the ground. Double or triple that for the sides of the shelter
Heating – is the shelter just body heated or is there a fire?
The simplest design is a simple lean-to, building one isn’t particularly difficult. Just find a downed tree resting at an angle, or set a large branch securely against a standing tree. If you have cordage, you can secure it that way or use any vines in the area to lash it all together. Then stack smaller branches close together, weaving them together if possible. Then layer debris, like leaves, pine straw etc. until the walls are thick as well as wind and waterproof as you can make them.
Regarding the Disneyland fight you posted on July 12th. At no point would I intervene in that mess. Domestic disputes get more cops killed than anything.
Just look at the shifting nature of it. At one point the shorter, thinner woman is on red shirt man’s side. Then red shirt man goes ham on her.
As a private bystander in that situation my responsibilities are to get me and my family away from that situation ASAP, before the knives and guns come out (if present).
I was trying to think about the shifting nature of society and laws surrounding assault and lawsuits etc… if a man punched several women in his family (in public at least) in say 1950 it’d be open season on him and I doubt any cops would arrest the guy that stepped in unless he killed the abuser.
Just chiming in on the Jeff Cooper meme-
Ya gotta love the logic
@Basement_Gainz Well I’m not sure what it was like in the 50s, but one thing is certain. They didn’t have cellphone cameras that captured everything that happens and send it racing across the internet.
I’ve had a few of my bouncing encounters shared in local social media circles and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t do anything wrong in them, nor did I look incompetent. I just didn’t like video of me handing violence floating around. Too easy for people to draw the wrong conclusion about my conduct.
There are plenty of other reasons to avoid public violence, but it is always worthwhile to remember that you could become the next viral video. Explain that to your boss or the next person you interview with…
That’s a cogent observation. The one self defense instructor had a whole class on verbal de-escalation for cops and for civilians.
The one thing I remember is showing your palms with your hands in front of you (defensive posture but un-threatening) and saying loudly but calmly “I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU”. This is for de-escalation purposes and for the bystanders who might talk to the cops later. “That guy said he didn’t want to fight over and over.”
He taught the girls to say “I DON’T KNOW YOU!” So bystanders wouldn’t ignore an assault thinking it was a domestic abuse scenario.
Thought for the day:
Train like your life depends on it. One day your capabilities might be all you have.
In my experience, LEO compliance techniques only work on people who are only being passive aggressive or actually being compliant. (or, I am not any good with them) Individuals who are fighting to “escape” or fighting to kill you need to be handled with force from non-lethal to lethal. Now I am talking about arrest encounters, bouncers removing a drunk from the bar, or some predator trying to beat your ass for your wallet.
This is not a lethal force encounter until it becomes one. I will be the first to admit that somewhere along the path, I have lost my “thinking” about compliance moves. I now only think in terms of lethal response and that is something that I constantly have to keep in check. I am posting a random “takedown”. I have watched it several times and believe it will only work on a very willing person. I also believe that under stress, you will fuck up and slam that guy’s head into the pavement. In this era, can you say fired and prosecuted? Me? My first thought was that neck is in the perfect place to be snapped.
The second clip is an art that is dear to me, that I practice a lot, but, don’t be deceived, thou pretty and flowing in the clip, techniques delivered under the threat of lethal force never look that way. My point is train hard, learn to move, but realize shit has a tendency to go out the window during a violent fight.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1mTw90haPA/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pRaz8BYZf/
Yesterday’s work and skills:
heavy bag, speed bag, body weight circuit, tumbles and rolls on the mats.
Question of the day:
Last question on your northwest experience. You are now 12 hours in to your situation, you have managed to find tinder from inside a stump , under a blow down . You have a small fire and are going to cut green boughs for a signal fire. Its around 2100 hours, light, misty rain. Which is the problem now: Hyperthermia or Hypothermia?
I can think of a lot of takedowns I’d rather train than this. A few observations…
I’m sure I could do this to someone 100 lbs lighter than me. It’s almost all brute force. I don’t think it would work well on a similar sized or larger person, let alone anyone with good training and/or athleticism.
The guy already had his back on the feet. He was past the arm. The very reliable side clinch is right there too. Why fuck around with both hands on the head when you could be controlling the hips? You can choose a much more reliable takedown from a side or rear clinch. Rear naked choke is also an option after taking the back.
My last bouncing scrap involved only the most basic of moves. Arm drag > back take > takedown > side control > strikes from side control > lose side control > clinch back up > takedown > full mount > armlock > “I’m done”.
Nobody hurt. Nothing fancy just stuff I’ve done over and over and could apply confidently. Like running a computer program, but only the parts you’ve debugged.
Not sure you want to be starting a signal fire at dusk, but if you do, make sure you keep your warmth fire going over on the side.
Why would you consider hyperthermia an issue on a cold damp night?
Or do I not know how to tell time? Haha
HA, I would not, but based on teaching a few SERE classes, I am not sure most students even know the difference.
Thought for the day:
These are just a few of the skills that one should master if you ever find yourself in a survival type of situation. But the weapon you have at your disposal is your brain. To quote Tom Hanks, “that’s the lump three feet above your ass.” Keeping a positive mental outlook on things, keeping your wits about you at all times is imperative.
Yesterday’s work and skills: On the range all day.
Question of the day:
Do you have a good outdoor survival book?
There are numerous books on the market, however it seems that many are geared for military survival. They have their place and I think a lot of them get sold because being a bad ass is sexy to some people. When it comes to the outdoors, I think the majority of people will find themselves far removed from the Hindu Kush mountains.
Here is a good, practical, easy to read manual:
Field & Stream’s, The Total Outdoorsman Manuel, 374 skills you need.
IMO, something to keep in mind is that you aren’t really ever going to face a wilderness survival situation where you NEED to find food. However, pretty much every wilderness survival situation will require protection from the elements, and the need for water. Prioritize learning these skills accordingly. You don’t learn survival skills to be comfortable, you learn them to survive just long enough for a SAR team to extract you, or to find your way out.
I agree. I’m familiar with the arm bar and have drilled it quite a bit. Getting it, alone can be hard enough, but once gotten–Why give it up when you already have the leverage and momentum moving him toward the ground?
He threw an extra cool move (no, not really) in unnecessarily, and in doing so, gave up something that might have worked for something that probably won’t.
Edit: That kali was elegant and brutal though.
That’s another good option too if you actually have someone moving that way in a non-contrived situation.
I couldn’t understand the utility in giving all that up to grab someone by the skull for the purpose of a takedown. He was in a great position already!
Agreed. I know fuck all about knife and stick fighting, except that carrying a gun and a knife of your own helps to even the odds. Still cool to watch.
Yeah. When we’ve drilled it there is a lot of pushing and pulling to get it, and once gotten a lot of dragging, twisting and kicking to work it. All within the confines of both of us needing our shoulders when we’re done.
Me neither, other than beating the crap out of each other as kids after watching kung-fu theater.
Thought for the day:
Why do you keep these tactics so simple?”
There is a moment in life where you realize that all those paths you created in that dense forest of problems in your head might not be accessible when you venture into the dark. Whether it be tactical performance, gunfighting or hand to hand combat (or really, any human endeavor), keeping the concept stupid simple and as linear as possible without compromising survivability and mission performance is crucial. Sure, it might not be such a good business model but in terms of performance too many transitions, too much manipulation and too many scripted procedures to a slew of different problems will not help and often, instead, end up hindering your performance.
Keep things simple and consistent. Less is more.
Yesterday’s work and skill training:
Landmine presses, double and single arm
Dumbbell snatches
Trap bar farmers walks
Tomahawk practice
Question of the day:
You are back in the Bob Marshal Wilderness, but, this time with all the gear for a 5 day backpack trip. You just finished using your little take down fly rod and caught three trout for dinner. Do you know how to clean a trout and cook it over a open fire?
Several delicious ways!
On the subject of outdoor survival there are a lot of interesting YouTube rabbit holes you can explore. One of my favorites isn’t a survival channel per se, but a channel that focuses on 18th century life.
Much of it centers around food storage and prep, obviously using what was available in the 18th century. They also do cool stuff like make earthen ovens and dugout canoes. Lots of fun.
Thanks for the information, I will certainly check it out. If you need a good cookbook for fish and game let me suggest 
The Meateater Fish and Game Cookbook by Steven Rinella. Lots of information on butchering your game, filleting fish, and recipes.
I don’t have any idea how that Emoji got there, just disregard.