Seeking Weakness

If you read my book, Survivalist Family or you read enough of my blog posts you will know that I am "all about planning".

There is a lot to "planning" and there are multiple variations but I'd like to talk about something I heard Tony Blauer say (caution - language alert for the link): "Great warriors seek weakness."

But first, who is Tony Blauer? Tony Blauer is one of three Warrior Trainers out there who I really respect for their “thinking outside the box”. The other two are Gabe Suarez and Southnarc.

I came across Tony Blauer (whom I have never met) on the Crossfit site. My wife and I have been Crossfitting for a bit over two months now and it has made a WORLD of difference. This post is not about that – but I recommend you check them out. Do not be intimidated by the studs and studettes on the site – Crossfit is for normal people too. Maybe I’ll do a blog post on it someday.

Anyway, Blauer said , "Great warriors seek weakness" and that struck a chord with me.

This weakness is not the weakness in the enemy but weakness in oneself.
Constantly striving to improve is one major part of achieving greatness.

Blauer said, "If you had to beat you, where would you attack you? What would you do psychologically, emotionally, physically, to attack yourself?"

See? We cannot improve if we do not identify deficiencies.
We cannot identify deficiencies if we don't admit (at least to ourselves) that we have them.

And we don't like to DO that.
We like to stress the positive.
We like to DO what we are GOOD at.
Most don't like looking, feeling, BEING awkward - so we don't train on those things we are not good at (poor English, I know - those things at which we are bad).
And if we fail to train at/for the things we are not good at - we won't get better.

I think the same thing could apply to survival/preparedness in general, right?

This is why we have to imagine the unimaginable.
This is why - to TRULY prepare, we cannot default to "well, that would never happen to me so I won't think about that.”

Take some time.
Examine yourself. EVALUATE yourself and your true level of preparedness.

Seek your weaknesses

Then address them.

For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
- 2 Corinthians 13:4 – 5
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If you have any comments I’d love to hear them.
If they really interest me, I may even post them.
You can reach me at Joe
You can also join us to discuss this and other issues at Viking Preparedness Forums

Attempted Burglary

I spoke with a friend the other day.
Like most of my friends, he lives in the country/sticks/boonies.
His house is set well back from the road with lots of trees/woods.

Last week for several days they kept getting phone calls at all times of the day. When they would answer, the other party would hang up.

Then one day his son was on the Internet. When that happens at their house, if you call, the phone on your end just rings and rings - but on their end, nothing.

The guy's wife says, "Richard - there is a car parked in our driveway".
Their driveway is long - probably 100 yards and the car was about 20 yards in.
Two dudes sitting in the car.
Richard arms himself with a 1911 and goes outside and starts walking up the drive - the pistol is in his hand.

The car reverses, spews gravel and pulls out to the road and then goes down the road about 50 yards.
Richard is focused on the car trying to get a description. All he got was "white males"
The guys in the car start hollering - "HEY! HEY! Over HERE!".

DOH!
That's when Richard realized what happened and beat a careful retreat to his home whereupon he called the Sherriff.

These guys had his phone number. Probably opened his mail box one day - saw who lived there, looked him up in the phone book.

They would periodically be out looking for trouble (burglary) and call his home - when there was an answer, they knew someone was home and would just hang up and look for easier pickings.

Then they called and "no one was home".
There were at least THREE of them (I suspect four)
The car pulls in off the road so passersby don't see it.
One (or more) guys get out and go to scope to the place out - dogs? cameras? alarms? People actually home?
If all is clear they likely hit the place and then call in the car/lookout to grab the goods and off they go.
If the coast is not clear - they beat a retreat.

There was at least one other person in the woods/behind the house when Richard went out - that's who the car occupants were hollering to.

There were at least 3 (and I think four so the recon guy didn't have to be alone) dudes.
And a 1911 with 7 shots (mine carried 9 on board but his had 7 - I asked).
Richard's eyes aren't that good.
I've seen him shoot - he's "okay".
That's not enough rounds if those guys decided to fight.

Lessons Learned:
o Be alert to pre-operational surveillance. Most crooks plan at least to some degree their attack. These guys had been "reconning by phone" for a few days.

o Consider how easy (or hard) your place is to hit when you are not home - fix deficiencies.

o The threat you see is not the only threat - to not get "target fixated". Richard could have been killed by the guy(s) in the bushes.

o Plan for the real threat - not your fantasy. You will rarely have a single opponent.

o Carry more ammo.

o When you have a choice - a pistol is not the choice. As Clint Smith said - "A pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should have never laid down in the first place".

o Criminals tend to prey on their own. Criminals operate in and amongst their own socio-economic class and race.

o It CAN happen to you - have a plan.

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. – Luke 11:21 – 22
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If you have any comments I’d love to hear them.
If they really interest me, I may even post them.
You can reach me at Joe

You can also join us to discuss this and other issues at Viking Preparedness Forums