keep America Strong!

Please enjoy this edition of the Prepared Patriot Afternoon Alert. Over 200,000 Patriots and together we will keep America Strong! It doesn't take a genius to understand why self-defense is an important survival skill. You have to be able to protect yourself and your family, as well as your property. Should a cataclysmic event occur, people will be thrust into an all-out war for survival, and there will be plenty of hostiles trying to invade your space to steal anything of value. Recently I have been writing a lot about self-defense. Based on some of the feedback I received from readers (and my wife), I wanted to take a moment to remember the ladies. As a husband I take women’s self-defense very seriously because during times of civil unrest, women unfortunately are prime targets. There are many reasons for this, but I personally think women are easy targets because a) they’re generally smaller than men and b) they’re also generally sympathetic, sometimes to a fault and overly trusting due to maternal instincts. As survivalists, we simply cannot afford to view ourselves as victims. In all honesty, the first step in self-defense is confidence. We must start viewing ourselves instead as conscious, knowledgeable and able human beings. With this mindset and some basic training on self-defense tactics, a woman can certainly defend herself, her family and her property. I will share with you some basic women's self-defense tactics that are even peaceful (for the most part). First, try to avoid the threat of violence. Keep a low profile, and keep your preps private. Don't go running your mouth all over town about how many guns or how much food and ammo you've got stashed in your house. Gossip spreads fast. Should times become desperate, you will be first on the looting list. And it's not enough to just be discreet. You must also practice hiding and disguising for your preps and yourself.  For your preps, you may want to hide them in a camouflaged bunker, or hide your supplies behind a false wall, just as an example. As part of your bug-out plan, disguising yourself as a street bum will help you blend into the chaos and avoid interest, therefore avoiding potential threats. When a threat is unavoidable and you simply must confront an enemy, your first line of peaceable defense is talking. This may sound stupid, but trust me, it is totally possible to diffuse some situations with words. When cornered by an attacker, you may have an opportunity to extend a helping hand, a charitable contribution of food, water or medical help. After all, in a survivalist situation, your attacker is in need of help. Most of the time your attacker won't stick to the honor system here, but if nothing else, this approach could buy you some time to get your family out of danger, or grab your gun. If you're able to diffuse a violent situation completely with communication this is ideal. No one gets hurt. If communication fails to diffuse an attacker, you have to get physical. Your best bet is utilizing the element of surprise. There are many tricks for arming yourself against a hostile in ways the typical attacker won't expect. Wearing steel-toed shoes, for example; a swift kick to the groin by a solid steel toe is sure to drop a full-grown man to his knees, incapacitating him long enough for your to escape. Other discreet self-defense weapons include heavy leather slap gloves, self-defense key chains, and of course, good ol' mace or pepper spray. Last but not least, retreat. Sometimes your best option is simply to flee the violence. Don't be foolish about this. Assess your situation rationally. Just as we have bug-out plans and bug-in plans, we can choose to retreat or not retreat, depending on what is actually happening. Self-defense is not about the weapon you carry. It's more about mindset. Self-confidence is what equips you to deal with the matters at hand. In a survival situation you need to take immediate action, and to do this, you have to believe in yourself. Remember, we're all in this together, Derek Paulson Prepared Patriot P.S. If you are concerned about protecting yourself from violent criminals, I recently received and reviewed a fun and fascinating book written by an ex-CIA agent full of super-cool, super-secret tips for self-defense that anyone can learn. You can see it here.