As we have often argued on this site, we really do hope and pray for peace. Yet, as we have also pointed out, it does not appear that peace is what awaits us, at least in the short term. Rather, tough times approach, and unless something changes, it could be a time of violence and bloodshed. Again, that is not what we want, but it would be idiotic to pretend like it cannot happen.
I have long prayed that if such times must come, that they would come during my generation, so that my children could be spared that pain, and be able to reap the benefits. I would much rather pay that price and keep them safe from it.
Unfortunately, my generation is entering middle age. Oh, we are still quite capable of inflicting damage and will be able to do so for some time, but like all generations, that period is limited. We all get old. Now, I do believe that if such dangerous times erupt around us, it will be sooner, rather than later, but already I have sons old enough to be involved. At present, we live in an overlap era, where fathers and sons are both of an age to be engaged in action.
Now, I realize that at ANY time, there are fathers and sons that can fit that bill, but for the time being, it is me and my sons that find ourselves in this predicament, which really drives this home to me. This is why we must be vigilant of our surroundings, able to protect and defend our families, as well as defeat the enemy. But this is not a one-off event. It will take some time. So we must be training our sons to take over.
I don’t like it. I wish my sons could live a luxurious life, but God has seen fit to give them something else, it seems. Most likely, as my generation passes out of effective fighting age, we will transition into leadership roles, while our sons step up to the fight.
In earlier articles, we have addressed this topic, at least obliquely. Back in January 2017, I wrote about raising Manly Men. That advice still stands. However, we need to go even further. We need to teach our sons about fighting, strategy, tactics, and how to win the war.
If you are not knowledgeable about such things, then you need to get on it right now. Learn about 4G warfare. If you do not understand that, you will lose. Read Bill Lind’s book on it. Once you ingest those principles, pass them along to your sons.
Then you should read about battle. Read the works by great leaders. Read about strategies that worked, and those that did not work. Figure out why one worked and the other did not. It is important to understand strategy, but also to know tactics. Lind’s book will help with that.
Can you fight? I don’t mean that slap happy crap that people do when they are mad. I am talking about being able to defend yourself and take down your enemy. Can you do that? We have had a few posts by honest-to-God deadly men on this topic. Read them here and here. If you do not know how to fight, then you need to learn. You might engage in Martial Arts, Boxing, MMA, or some other form of self-defense, but you and your sons need to know how to do this.
Knives. Can you use them? I am not talking about some esoteric nonsense like throwing blades at balloons. I am talking about having competency in wielding a knife, if the situation dictates. If not, learn. You might pick some of this up in your martial arts training. Or you might find someone to give you instruction. Here is a video of a guy I know who offers such teaching (and more):
You might be able to find someone in your area.
How about firearms? Can you use them? Maybe you will never be a sniper, but you need to know how to fire a rifle. You need to be proficient. Having a variety of calibers is not a bad idea, in order to use the proper tool for the job. At my house, we have several different rifles, from a .22 up to a .30-06. Different rifles for different purposes.
Pistols? Yes. You need a heavy duty pistol, as well as a concealed carry weapon. I will leave the arguments over caliber for another time, but while my preference is for a .45ACP, a good 9mm in your hand is better than a .45ACP down at the gun store, because you never bought it. Again, at my house, we have quite a few, from .22short, to .380, up to .45ACP.
Shotguns? Absolutely. I actually prefer this for home defense. They are also great for other purposes, including bird hunting and such.
Look, like it or not, our boys are going to need to be ready. Even if, by some miracle we are able to miss out on the violence I fear is coming (or if we complete the task while we still can, before our sons are drawn into it), at least they will be ready to defend their culture.
If your boys have been spending their lives sitting on their butts, get them up. Get them moving. I won’t get into eating properly and exercising, but you can search for the Beast Life articles on this site for the latter.
If we do not prepare them, we are failures. Watch this scene from The Patriot. It is one of my favorite scenes in the history of movies. Here, we see a Father, who has already trained his sons, and now puts them to work doing what must be done. We should do no less.
With all due respect please do not waste your time on knife combatives. “fighting knives” lack the length and mass needed to inflict fight stoping injuries.
the K-bar and knives like it are just long enough to be use to take out sentries by surprise attack.
you will find the human body under stress is far tougher than you would think.
I have personally killed a deer with a knife and it was very messy and took a lot longer for the animal to expire than was comfortable.
It is very close and personal. Not at all what hollywood makes it out to be.
Teaching some one to “dance” with a blade is a colossal waste of your time and energy. A knife in a fight is an absolute last ditch kill or be killed event that will border on mental self rape and will stick with you for the rest of your days.
If you have never killed an animal and held it while its life passed through your hands you have no idea what you are talking about, even worse magnify that by a human trying to kill you and not die at the same time.
Keep your knives sharp and in good repair for use as a tool.
become proficient in the care and use of firearms for the dirty work. and pray you are never faced with a blade as your only choice
As an old man… I can look back and cringe at every memory of an encounter with nothing left but a blade.. both of them. I take ‘defensive knife’ class now and again to see if I can still move fast enough to stay …. away …. from the other guys blade. Each time I am reminded of the old adage “The .. winner .. of a knife fight is the one who goes to the hospital” Lot of nice moves in the video. Reality is you are going to be cut no matter your skill level or… the quality of your BullShit.
I’ve heard a similar variant, “How can you tell who is the winner and loser of a knife fight? The loser dies at the scene, and the winner dies in the ambulance.”
Either way, a knife fight is something I’d never want to be a part of…
Dear Theophrastus,
I’ve trained with Mike Blackgrave and am in some of the video clips above with him.
Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in realistic self defense training.
See y’all. This is how things get done. You have a skill, you offer to share it with others. Networking like this is important.
I have not trained with Mike, but I know quite a few people who have and they have all been very pleased.
Excellent.
4.5
I am in the same boat: middle aged guy with fighting aged sons. It can be tough to pique their interest for warrior skills when school, girlfriends and work compete for their thoughts and time. I can get mine to go to the range occasionally, but buddy pair fire and maneuver drills? Not so much. Still, I believe they would rise to the occasion.
You make a great point about training ourselves to become eventual leaders. The warrior spirit resides in some young men even if they don’t know it. You may one day train men that are not your sons.
FMs, tactical books and training videos are good knowledge, but stopping there is like reading a cookbook without ever baking the cake. If you are serious about getting solid team tactical training, get yourselves to Max Velocity Tactical in WV. He’s a combat veteran British paratrooper that teaches live fire and sim Small Unit Tactics. You will find out what it means to be proficient with small arms in a team. There aren’t many others offering that type of training to civvies.
Good advice. There are a few other men and/or organizations that teach such things. Locally, we have a guy who does varying trainings, from how to clear your home (home protection) to military maneuvers.
This has been my fear since Obama’s second term.
I have four sons and one foster. I’ve been a firearms instructor for 7 years, and my second oldest is now one as well. All of my children (girls too) have been trained, and still train, with firearms. I enjoy MMA training with my older ones (same class) and my youngest enjoys the youth courses. I train in knife and stick in kali, and share what I learn at home because they cannot legally take the training (knives of all sorts are extremely effective, btw, and blunt objects are everywhere).
All of this is just every day fun and part of raising men. However, I hope that I pay the price for their future, and it does not fall to them. I don’t see another 10 years of peace . You hit a bullseye with this post, and the only thing I would add is the need to teach them to develop community and trust with others. Standing alone will be suicide. Myself and all my sons are largely loners outside the family. We need to build a base beyond our walls. It’s my failing so far, with some factors of environment coming into play.
Thanks, T.
Oh, and never underestimate airsoft!
Kyle, you are right on. Building a Network is important, and hopefully, we can help foster that here on this site. We have already put a few people in touch with others in their area.
Point me to folks in mind!
Depends on what you are looking for. I know your general area. I do know some folks in your state, but not sure how close.
4.5
We have all daughters- 6 of ’em.
All 6 are proficient with handguns, rifles and shotguns, and know how to defend themselves with fists and feet.
We have some young guys in our group- early to mid 20’s who actually get out and train. Others just want to go to the range and nothing else.
Hard to motivate some people.
5
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