Читать книгу Defend Yourself (In A Zombie Apocalypse) - Sean Ramey - Страница 4

I know what you’re thinking.

“Sean, you can’t be serious. Zombies?”

Let me explain my reasoning of this book. When you consider the end of the world, you imagine the collapse of our financial system, social uprising, and the spread of contagion. This is not a far cry from the society in which we’ve lived for at least the last decade.

Mention zombies, and people start imagining dead bodies rising from the ground moaning “Brains! Brains!” This sounds crazy to me, too.

It does get your attention, though.

Let me begin by saying I know the difference between the fictitious worlds of “The Walking Dead” and “Zombieland”, and the one in which we actually reside. But I do think it provides a backdrop that conveys the urgency with which we all need to greet self-defense.

Consider these alarming statistics:

 According to City of Hope, one in every three women across the world has been subjected to rape or sexual assault. One-third of American women say they have experienced this sort of attack during their lifetimes.

 In the United States, someone known to the victim commits 89 percent of sexual crimes.

 Around 44 percent of rape victims in the United States are under the age of 18, while 30 percent are under 30.

 According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a violent crime occurs once every five seconds in the United States. A rape or violent assault occurs once every two minutes. A murder occurs once every 34 minutes.

As you can see, awareness and self-defense needs to be a priority for all of us.

If the techniques presented in this book appear overly elementary, then I have achieved my goal. I will be providing you with strategies that are both easy to learn and battle-tested. It baffles me when I see self-defense instructors teaching men and women, most of whom will never step onto a mat ever again, an array of complicated holds, joint locks and blocking-striking combinations. If people don’t feel comfortable and understand a move completely, they will not use it in a dynamic situation. That which is simple is easily repeated, and therefore of the greatest use in a crisis. No less than Bruce Lee said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Nothing you will read in this book is biased toward those with flexibility or muscularity. Previous experience in self-defense is not needed here. You do not need to be an athlete, nor must you be particularly agile or flexible. You simply must be a willing-and-able human being who is ready to take control of his or her situation. You only need the conviction to be the victor, and not the victim.

So starting now, please consider the term “Zombie Apocalypse” to be a general stand-in for any situation of upheaval, be it personal or societal. We must all be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

The truth is, most of us will become someone else’s prey at some point in our lives, in which case we must be prepared. There will be many tips and techniques that could potentially save your life regardless of the situation. The only way to ensure victory in any fight is to never get in one to begin with.

Now onto the apocalypse in question:

Let’s say a highly contagious infection has spread so rapidly that cures and antibodies have no chance of being developed. This has left most of the world infected; meanwhile, the living commit unthinkable acts of violence out of self-preservation. This book will focus on how to fight the living dead, better known as “walkers.” There will also be fighting techniques that will be useful in the case of looters, burglars, marauders, and flat-out psychopaths, all of whom know that the prime time to attack is during a disaster when their prey is distracted and vulnerable. When normal people are looking for answers and help, these predators are on the hunt for easy targets. Sadly enough, it is these people who will survive and actually thrive in a lawless, back stabbing, anarchist society. It will be those that are waiting for help, those that believe and trust anyone they come in contact with, who will meet an early demise.

Thus, you have a choice: You can either be a weapon or a target. If you have a family or loved ones who depend on you to keep them safe, your choice should be a simple one.

I also refer to a “group” quite often throughout the book. Your group is the circle of individuals you’ve met along the way, as well as friends and family that have survived and stuck by your side throughout this tragedy. These are trusted individuals in whose hands you would put your life. Your group is now your family. They may not be your blood, but they would shed theirs in order to save yours. You are all responsible to one another.

Many pundits and so-called apocalyptic experts suggest that after an apocalypse, the group should set about putting back an arsenal of weapons, plenty of ammunition, and other items needed for survival. But the reality is that in a scenario like this one, it’s too late. Supplies are gone. All a survivor can do is scavenge. And while an arsenal would be optimal, a person can only truly depend upon his or her instincts and bare hands for defense.

Silent weapons will be of the greatest importance when the apocalypse is upon us. These include crossbows and compound bows, in which case there will be a premium placed on arrows. By using these weapons, you can defend yourself without being heard or drawing attention. Another advantage of these weapons is that unlike bullets, your ammunition is not finite, but rather reusable. A gun is only dangerous when there is ammo to feed it. Many things will be limited in quantity if the world is faced with a disaster, and you can bet ammunition will be at the top of that list.

While it is always best to have the option to use long-range weapons, there will come a time when you need close quarter weapons as well. These include (but are not limited to) bats, axes, knives and machetes, all of which will help you in close quarters. The unfortunate fact is that in order to use these weapons, you have to be close to your target. The closer you are to your attacker, the less reaction time you have. This brings us back to the absolute need for hand-to-hand combat skills in order to survive an upheaval. There will be times we will have to set our weapons down (if we have them to begin with).

This guide will give you details on creating a fighting style that will be both effective and efficient.

As I said before, my goal is not to impress you with exotic moves, nor is it to provide you with an array of attacks befitting a sixth-degree black belt. I want to keep things simple, because things that are easy, are easily repeated. And those things that are repeated become habit over time.

But you must practice. Please don’t think you will immediately know how to defend yourself by simply reading a book. The next Kobe Bryant won’t become so simply by reading a Kobe Bryant book. The greatest athletes have become great because of their hard work and practice in making their style simple for them.