Survival Tactics for the Home Owner

Survival in the home is not a new concept. However, we are increasingly at threat in our homes from outside intruders.

Anyone can easily arm themselves with a vast array of weapons as they enter your home. They might carry a baseball bat, knife from the cupboard, hammer from the garage. Anything that comes to hand in fact.

The real question is, ‘How do I protect my family and myself as well as my possessions in one of the nightmare scenarios?’

Your only real defence is to wait your opportunity to overcome the attacker, this is not as easy as one might think. A good grasp of self-defence techniques is a good start to surviving these situations.

I personally trained for years in martial arts , I would strongly advise that you learn some basic unarmed combat techniques, as well as providing you with extra self confidence the fitness gained is worth you investing time and energy into.

I am the kind of person to have a go. The fact is though, I no longer practice and am well out of condition. I can’t envisage an assailant waiting for me to revise from my ‘Hong kong book of ‘Kung Fuey’ before he strikes back. The problem with all self defence methodology is they require constant practice. Even then your opponent may not do what you hope they might.

It’s a bit embarrassing to aim your ’round house kick’ to their head, only to find they’ve just stooped over to pick up a bullet they’ve just dropped. Fluid, is the best way to describe armed struggle. These situations are nothing like you see at the movies.

You should probably try to evaluate the situation, weighing the risks up before throwing your self onto someone bristling with guns and knives.

This is not as silly as it might sound. It may well save your life.

A tactic I learned from my old instructor, which sounds far fetched but is effective, is as follows:

Try blowing hard into the face of your attacker [ or someone you know, tell them you are going to do it first, other wise you may get a battering for it! ] The reaction will be to close their eyes. this is an inbuilt protection mechanism for the eyes. This gives you a brief interlude in which you can launch your own attack.

Please note: this will not work if they are 20 feet away ( unless you have lungs like Superman). They need to be near enough for the air to cause them to shut their eyes.

On a more serious note, what is the best method for defence in these situations? The best defence in this instance of urban attack, is to fit and maintain, a high quality intruder alarm system. Most burglars won’t bother (even if your out) to force an entry. Even when armed with a fearsome ‘Bush Survival Knife.

Please note: This is not a guarantee of survival or endorsement of the above actions. Try them at your own discretion. We accept no liability for your use of the above tactics.