America 2020: Learning to Live with Violence

Ferfal, Been watching your interviews with Matt Bracken; there is really nothing else like them on the internet right now. Very timely.

I'm wondering if you can talk more about your experience in Argentina living day-to-day with increased violence; was the transition from "normal" sudden or gradual, when did you know it was different, how did you adjust? I'm finding right now, most people I know think they are going to be walking around with their ARs and plate-carriers all the time. Others don't think the violence (or hunger) will affect them.

I've been reading your blog since 2011 and your descriptions of the type of violence really made an impression on me. I remember one story in particular about a lady at a party stuffing food into her purse talking about how nice all the food was because she was starving. I also bought my first Glock 19 and box of Gold Dot several years ago based on your recommendation. So thanks. Look forward to the next interview.

Hope to hear you tell some stories about how things deteriorated and how you adjusted to daily life with violence. Best,

Pete

 

Hello Pete, thank you for your email.

First, allow me to apologize to everyone for not keeping up with the website as usual. The reality is that youtube, Instagram and facebook have been taking up most of my time. Those are where I reach the most people and that keeps me busy, especially since I’m also doing Spanish content too, which is fortunately doing very well. The Spanish translation of “Street Survival Skills” called “Manual de Supervivencia Urbana” is the #1 selling survival book in Spanish and just reached 100 reviews in amazon.es. I also finished a French version which will be available soon after the translator checks the proof copy. As you can imagine, this plus family including a baby and a teen about to start college keep me pretty busy. 

I do want to take the opportunity to plug my latest book though, “Street Survival Skill”, which is a practical survival manual for the kind of thing you are seeing currently in America and my first book “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” that is about to reach 500 reviews in Amazon, very relevant too.

I’m glad you are enjoying our podcasts with Matt Bracken. Guys, check it out this Saturday 3PM live. You can also watch the previous ones as well.

Living with violence… man, I’ve been writing about that for over a decade now, where to start? Best way to describe it is yes, some things happen fast and catch you by surprise. For example the kind of violence you are seen in the streets right now, you can see people get attacked in roadblocks, shot at, and it’s just stuff people didn’t expect to ever see in their country, certainly not in their own community. So that sort of thing tends to catch you by surprise. Then again, a lot has also been going on for quite some time. It’s just that now it’s more visible, more 3^rd world-like so as to put it some way. I bet most Americans never thought they’d see this kind of barbaric, primitive behaviour. When you see those images of “peaceful protesters” tearing down statues and monuments, attacking the police, its looks like straight out of a third world country.

Many of these things you end up adapting to. You mention your Glock 19, something I always insisted on. Now, more and more people see that their low capacity 380ACP pocket gun is… inadequate to say the least given the mobs of “peaceful protestors” rioting and attacking innocent people.

I don’t know how you get used to it. Truth be told you still have a long way to go until levels of crime dictate the kind of security that is mandatory for most of the 3^rd world, but you still have to start watching your back more and be more careful. Some of these things I describe quite in detail in “Street Survival Skills”, especially in regards to the grey man approach, keeping your opinions to yourself and avoiding confrontation. Doesn’t make much of a political statement but it’s the best way to stay out of trouble. These days, people are getting fired for even posting that all lives matter online, something that was rather obvious until not that long ago.

I will say though, although you CAN learn to live with violence, it’s not fun and it drains you mentally, physically and emotionally. These are times in which you really want to look around you and ask yourself if this specific place is where you want to be when things get considerably worse, as they most likely will.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Texas Hero: 357 SIG, Tactics and other Thoughts

Joe Wolek replies to post: "American tourist stabbed 10 times in La Boca, Buenos Aires"

Police officer Luis Chocobar

Joe Wolek, the American tourist stabbed in Buenos Aires replied to my post "American tourist stabbed 10 times in La Boca, Buenos Aires"

Message from Joe Wolek:

I just came across this upon looking for info on the event that changed my life as I prepare to head back to Argentina for the court case against my surviving attacker and the officer who came to my rescue. I am Frank Joe Wolek who was stabbed in La Boca. I just want to clarify a few things. Yes, La Boca can be dangerous, but so can any place. This could have happened to me in just about any city in the world if I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is still many great places and people in La Boca. Second, and most important, it really angers me that immediately people think that I was threatened. That is not the case. I was attacked, immediately. There was not threat with the knife as in saying, “Give us your stuff or we’ll stab you!” It was immediate and from behind. In that situation there is nothing to do but try and fight back. It is instinctual. All of this happened in 10 seconds or less. It was only when I actually saw the blade coming out of my body and blood spurting did I totally realize what was happening, and at that point the shock made me freeze and release. For some reason people always think there is an initial threat at a robbery. Even the police and the courts in Argentina still fall back on this belief in my case as if that is how a robbery always takes place. I am certain if there had been an initial threat, and therefore a decision to be made, I would have done the correct thing. Here there was not, and when one is surprised attacked from behind there is nothing else to do but fight back, it is the bodies instinct pure and simple and takes a moment for logic to come into play…
-

Hello Joe,

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

I’m sorry you had to go through such a terrible situation. I remember reading about it when it happened, how the doctors miraculously saved your life. As you may probably be aware of, Matthew Gibbard, a British tourist, was recently killed in Puerto Madero during a robbery attempt outside his hotel. In January this year Swedish tourist Christoffer Persson was shot in the leg during another robbery. He survived thanks to a woman that was passing by that applied a tourniquet using her tshirt but due to the severity of the wound his right leg was amputated below his knee.

About my post regarding your attack, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way. I’ve seen similar situations happen right in front of me several times in Buenos Aires. As you well explain, there’s no warning, no interaction of any kind, they just snatch and if they don’t get it in their first attempt they simply attack the victim. Sometimes even if they do, they attack you still out of pure cruelty.
I’m sorry to hear that that the police and courts in Argentina are acting this way but unfortunately I am not surprised. They always try to blame the victim, or at least imply it partially. “He resisted…” is one of their tricks so as to make it sound that way. In reality its people being attacked and caught completely by surprise, as you well say, not resisting but “freezing” due to the complete shock and surprise of the attack.

Things are not looking good at all in Argentina, especially now with the “new” old people back in power who are well known for being “garantistas”, always blaming the victim. I’m sure you’re aware of the ordeal and persecution suffered by the police officer that shot your attacker, Luis Chocobar, accused of murder, for shooting the man that stabbed you. In any other normal country Chocobar would receive a medal and considered a hero, but Argentina is just hopeless and keeps embarrassing us.

Again, I’m sorry for what you had to go through and please accept my apologies if anything I said sounded in any way offensive, it certainly wasn’t my intention. In this website we try to learn from these situations, see what could have been done better or at least try to learn to avoid these situations to some extent, but we also know very well that its easy to look at these cases from the comfort of our homes while sipping tea and not caught by surprise by a vicious criminal in the middle of the day.
Kind regards,

-Fernando

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

“Street Survival Skills” Book Review

Loup over at Full Spectrum Preparedness did a pretty in-depth review of my latest book, “Street Survival Skills”.

This is a fully objective review, I didn’t send a copy for him to review, he procured one himself so shout out to you Loup and thanks for supporting my work! (Link to the review in his website).

“Street Survival Skills” is available in Amazon and covers a number of practical skills, focusing mostly on safety and self defense but also covers more general practical preparedness concepts, from power outages to cooking and water purification. Lots of drawings and sketches throughout the book explain skills and tips in detail.

If you have the book already and liked it, please take a minute and leave a review in Amazon, it would be greatly appreciated.
Take care folks!

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Mexico Massacre, 9 Dead Americans: 7 Things you should Always Remember

Terrible massacre in Mexico, close to the US border.

A group of Mormons, members of the LeBaron, Miller, and Langford families, were ambushed resulting in 9 dead, 3 women, the rest of them young children. The three women were driving three vehicles when they got attacked. At least one of the vehicles is shown shot full of holes and completely burned. Some reports claim some of the children were burned alive in the vehicles and the women raped. Some 6 children managed to escape, some of them wounded.

This terrible incident should remind everyone of some VERY important lessons:

1) Don’t live in 3^rd world hell holes. No offense, but if a country is controlled by drug cartels that’s exactly what it is.
2) You can’t win against overwhelming forces. You simply can’t. No matter how many guys with guns you have, they will eventually get you, or your family.
3) You can’t be on guard 24/7, 365 days a year, every year.
4) If your country TURNS into a 3^rd world hell hole, then be honest about it and LEAVE.
5) You cant take back a bullet. Once your wife and children and dead, that can’t be undone.
6) Only in movies and childish fairy tales do a bunch of brave gun nuts living in a homestead beat thousands of cartel foot soldiers.Certainly dont plan on that working when SHTF. It does not.
7) Rambo Last Blood is not a documentary.
FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

London Trip: Thoughts, Brexit, and Tips on Security while Traveling

5 Tips to Prepare for the coming 2020 Argentine Crisis

This is the English version of a video I did for my Spanish Channel in youtube.

People in Argentina are worried because Cristina Kirchner is, against all odds, likely to regain power in 2020. She leads in the primaries by 20 points and people are already talking about her return. And many are worried.

These are the five tips I go over in the video.

1)Arm yourself and get training. Most people reading this blog are already well armed but in South America it’s not as common as in USA. Buy a good, reliable weapon and get the training you need to use it properly. My advice is to go with a good old boring Glock 17. The thing just works. For those that don’t fancy firearms much, go with a 357 magnum revolver with a 4” barrel. Load it with 38 at first, 357 once you are used to it. Its just 6 shots but for people with more limited training it’s the kind of handgun that is far less likely to suffer user-caused malfunctions. An AR rifle is an affordable and well known platform to complete the battery, especially for those living in the country or in larger residences.

2)Food and water. You don’t need to go with fancy prepper food. Rice, beans, dry pasta, canned vegetables and tuna. Have at least a week worth of water, a gallon per person per day.

3) Emergency funds. Start with cash for a rainy day. Build that up until you have a months’ worth of expenses. Cash is still very much king when SHTF, even during financial downturns. Expand and procure some precious metals. Look into Bitcoin, it has several advantages for economic collapses and people in Venezuela, Argentina and African countries have used bitcoin as their local currencies failed.If you want to give it a try, Coinbase is by far the largest and safest company to get some bitcoin from. Using my affiliate link ( https://www.coinbase.com/join/fernan_t2 ) for a first time buyer if you buy 100 USD you get 10% more, meaning 110USD worth of bitcoin and I get a 10 USD commission as well (thanks!). You also get a bitcoin wallet which you can safely use from your phone to buy and sell bitcoin and other currencies, send and receive crypto currency safely. Don’t put anything you can’t afford to lose into crypto but definitely give it a try.

4) Batteries, solar chargers and good flashlights. Rolling blackouts are very likely to return with the new government.

5) Passports, second citizenships and a plan to get the hell out of there if all hell breaks loose. I’ve talked about second citizenships a lot and cant emphasize the importance of having it. Look into your family tree and if you can get one through any means, by God do it! It is probably the best advice I could ever give you. Even if you never plan on using it, you just never know what could happen five, ten, let alone twenty years from now or more and citizenship is something you can pass down to your kids.

Take care folks.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Using a Belt as a Self-Defense Weapon

63 year old man stabs 220 pound mountain lion to death while falling off a cliff.

“I wasn’t scared” said Vicente Navarrete, from Rio Negro, Argentina. “It was him or me”.

After stabbing the puma with his knife a few times to save his dog Pico, Vicente improvised a spear and went after the big cat, chased it to a cave. He stabbed the wild animal and hit it with his iron boleadoras (bolas). The animal went down but as VIcente got closer it jumped back up and attacked him. As he kept fighting the animal they both fell off a cliff. Vicente was severely wounded, bleeding in several places and his wrist was broken where the mountain lion bit him.

When the puma final bled out, he asked the animal “are you dead yet?”. Then proceeded to apply a tourniquet using his boleadoras. About 10 hours later he was finally found and rescued.

This is the picture the rescue crew took of Vicente, holding his knife. That's a big, well used knife people! No 3" wood carving neck knife? Obviously he knows nothing about bushcrafting and real survival. Some youtube expert needs to explain to this man that you dont need a big Rambo knife for real survival tasks such as making feather sticks and carving fancy bowls and spoons. 


And the dead puma.


That’s one tough 63 year old folks. Vicente said he usually carries a gun but this time he went to check things out without it.
It’s always the day you leave your tools behind that you end up needing them.

FerFAL
Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” available in Amazon!

(Video) Killed because of his Wedding Ring

This right here is the reason why we left Argentina.

I was just talking with my wife this morning, about how we miss those get togethers with people just showing up, maybe stopping by a bakery before to grab something to have along with tea, coffee or mate. We’d stay chatting all afternoon and then why not, order a few pizzas, have dinner and stay talking with friends some more up to 2 AM. No music, no booze, just talking with friends over coffee or mate. And just as you’re saying good bye to your friends at 2AM someone says “hey, lets do an asado tomorrow” and before you know it next morning you’re driving to someone’s house or place out in the country, starting a fire and preparing an asado…which extends over to 4PM with some more coffee, tea or mate and the cycle repeats itself. That’s basically every weekend. Just hang out with friends and family.

I don’t think you have that anywhere else, that comfortable informality.

But then you have these events that are also a very real part of what life is like over there. You go pick a couple pizzas for dinner with your friends and you may as well get shot.
In this case it was Adrián Albanese, the owner of the pizza shop.  40 year old, shot in the head, leaving behind a wife and 4 month old son that will never know his father, a son they spent years trying to conceive and it finally happened for them. One day he gets robbed in his store. He gives up the money in the cash register, gives them everything, and just because he couldn’t manage to pull out his wedding ring because he was so nervous he gets shot in the head.

Ask yourself:
Will you be carrying concealed?
Are you sure about that little comfortable pocket gun you like so much?
How many rounds do you want to have for dealing with three very violent attackers?
You’re still going to carry with an empty chamber?
Take care folks.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” available in Amazon!

This is what REAL SHTF looks like in a Farm or Homestead

The genocide of white farmers in South Africa continues and it seems that the main stream media cant be bothered to cover it. What those people have gone through and still go through today is unbelievable. Still, it is a lesson on what happens when a government is no longer providing security for the population or in the case of South Africa, when the government officially declares open season on white people.

For those that think you’ll be able to remain safe in an isolated homestead while surrounded by vicious animals, think again:

South African farmer's wife, 45, relives the horrific moment a gunman raped her in front of her children after shooting his way into their home, molesting her daughter and forcing her into sex by threatening to kill her son

A South African mother was put through a 'living nightmare' by a rapist who held a gun to her children's head to force her into sex.
Nicky, 45, was raped in front of her children by 32-year-old Sebenzile Simane - who also sexually molested his victim's daughter after shooting his way into the farm house.
Simane, who also tied the family up and stole their money, was handed two life sentences and a total of 173 years in prison after he was found guilty of the string of violent crimes in South Africa's Eastern Cape.
The white-washed £1.3million farmhouse - set in nearly 1,000 acres of land - had belonged to the family for a century and Nicky's two sons, aged nine and 15, and her 13-year-old daughter had been brought up there.
But Simane apparently felt he had been wronged by Nicky's farmer husband and came seeking deadly revenge on the family.
The family home was so remote that their nearest neighbour was a mile away and did not hear the gunshots at the home.
After surviving the horrific ordeal the family is now planning to move to Australia to set up a new farm there.
Campaign group AfriForum says that Afrikaner and European farmers are under daily attack in the country.
Sebenzile Simane, pictured has been given two life sentences for the string of violent crimes in March last year.
Describing what happened on March 23, 2018, Nicky said a stream of bullets came blasting through the patio door, narrowly missing her 15-year-old son's head.
Nicky said: 'With the bullets smashing through the windows I can only describe our feeling as being hunted like wild animals.
He shot his way through a sliding patio door to get in. 'What followed I can only describe as four hours of pure hell – just sick torture and depravity,' Nicky said.
'He held the gun to my nine-year-old son's head and threatened to shoot him unless I complied.
'I told my little one to be quiet or else this man would kill us. All I saw were his silent tears rolling down his little cheeks for the next four hours. The sight of that will be with me forever.
'He tied us all up with fencing wire so tight that our hands lost their circulation and turned grey.
'He shouted at my children that he was there to kill their father and that he would chop him up in front of them. He said that when he came through the door they would watch him butchered. He then repeatedly threatened to shoot my eldest son's feet off if he didn't obey him and then ordered him to rape me. I had never heard such a sick thing before and was totally mortified.
All I could do was beg him not to make my son do that. He just kept pointing the gun at my son's feet and saying he would shoot them unless he raped his mum in front of his brother and sister.
The white-washed £1.3million farmhouse - set in nearly 1,000 acres of land - had belonged to the family for a century
'I begged and pleaded with him not to do this and to take me to another room and take me instead.'
Explaining what happened next, she said: 'He grabbed me and forced me to my bedroom and raped me there. There was blood everywhere as I had already been badly shot. I could do nothing as my hands were tied behind my back.
'He then brought my 13-year-old daughter to the bedroom, undressed her and attempted to rape her. He was sexually molesting her and all I could do was beg for mercy and to take me again.
'So instead of raping her he forced my beautiful innocent daughter to watch as he raped me again.
'I cannot describe the anger this man displayed toward us and I knew as he raped me that if my children had any chance of survival I had to get this man away from them and the farm house.
'You don't care about yourself - you just don't want your children to die and you do all you can.'
Describing how she finally shook the man off, she said: 'He had tried to start our car outside but couldn't get it going so in a bid to buy my family time I told him to take my bank cards and pin numbers and to let me drive him to town to the ATM.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7147287/South-African-mother-45-raped-children.html)

People, enjoy life, live where you want and how you want but don’t kid yourself about what a worst case scenario would be like.

FerAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Dogs vs Armed Attackers

This one is in Spanish but check it out, the images speak for themselves.

Pretty amazing how the animals react and save the owner. Goes to show how valuable dogs are for self defense.

Oh, don’t worry, none of the shots hit the puppies!

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Video: Learning From a Shooting in Brazil

Take a look at how this goes down.
The criminal has a 38 revolver, the woman a 380ACP pistol.
She does well at staying calm and actually aiming, hits him in the back and he goes down, dies on the way to the hospital later on. The husband reacts very well and takes the bad guy's revolver.
In spite of staying calm (important) and a bit of luck on her side (criminal just ignoring her completely) she does have a poor grip on the gun and likely gets hit on the thumb with the slide. She jerks the gun back after that one shot she fires. Lucky for her, she didnt need another shot to stop the
threat.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Cellphone stops bullet, saves woman’s life (for real!)

This happened in Tucumán, Argentina a couple days ago.

A women was mugged and the bastard shot her while fighting over her cellphone.
In what I can only assume is a typical instinctive reaction of bringing your hands up to defend yourself, the phone was shot and the bullet didnt have enough strength to seriously wound her, only suffering minor cuts along her arm and abdomen.

The hole looks small, most likely 22LR. Even if just a 22, that’s some serious luck. Must have been with the phone at an angle, the round further losing velocity along the arm (maybe clothes) and then hitting her abdomen with low enough velocity. Or maybe the bullet just fragmeneted a lot when hitting the battery, Gorilla glass backed by a screen protector.

Its very interesting. Look at how big that exit hole is. The phone did a far better job than I'd think.
Anyway, she should try getting a few lottery tickets as well!

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Felons painting real guns to look like toys

Seems the practice has been going on for a while.

 

Police raid felon’s hotel room, catch him painting shotgun to look like a toy

This last time it happened in Spokane.  A felon was caught painting a real sawed-off shotgun with bright yellow and green to look like a nerf gun. He also painted the end of the barrel with  bright orange, typical of toys.

Very dangerous. This would no doubt stop a police officer from shooting and give a criminal all the time he needs to land his own fatal shot.

Its important to know about these tricks used by criminals so as to not immediately ignore the threat just because of how the gun looks.

Rather than being distracted by colours, ask yourself why this shady looking guy is prowling with a “toy” gun that should be in the hands of an actual child. It may not be a “toy” gun at all.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

ReadyMan Interview and some thoughts on defense when SHTF

Three things to buy before they Get Banned

For some, the recent Bump Stock Ban was a big wake up call. Like a cold shower, it made folks realize that gun rights are always at risk and the minute you blink you lose yet another bit. The argument was made by some apologists that it’s not a ban on guns, but a ban on a certain gun “part”. Think of it like not banning cars, but banning car tyres instead… Oh! You can still own cars, you just have to keep them on four cinder blocks.

What many don’t realize is that there are a few critical items that are not protected by the second Amendment at all and they can easily be banned any minute. Yes, I will include Amazon links to some and I do appreciate when you guys use them. But that’s not the point. Either get them here, ask Santa for them or just keep an eye out for them on your next garage sale (yes, body armor does pop up on them on occasions). The point is, these are not protected by the Bill of Rights. Read on and if you believe they are important for your preparedness find a way to procure them before its too late.

Body Armor

Body armor is one of those items people in the firearms community don’t appreciate as much as they should yet they save lives every day. A gunfight is not a one way range and getting hit is a very real possibility. Whenever possible, putting on body armor before potentially facing danger is highly advisable. Of the three items listed here, bang per buck in terms of true life insurance, it the one I feel strongly everyone should have.

Notice that Amazon is no longer selling "body armor". It used to do so some time ago but not anymore. What they do sell is body armor kevlar panels, similar to the ones used in vests but intended for backpacks, mostly marketed for active shooter emergencies. You can still buy the kevlar soft panels  (about 100 bucks each, front and back) and fit them to a plate carrier vest. These are real NIJ Rated IIIA Kevlar panels, will stop 9mm FMJ, 357 magnum and so on up to 44 magnum. Having one for a backpack isnt a bad idea either if you frequent one of those "gun free zones".


Safety Shield Insert level NIJ IIIA

Sounds Suppressors

Just like bump stocks, these can be banned any minute. While I don’t put them on the same category of importance as body armor, they do have their use, from silent (or at least, less noisy) hunting to self-defense, sound suppressors are indeed a valuable addition. They are very much appreciated by those that got to use them in their line of work, well worth the extra money and waiting period.

Night Vision Goggles

Someone once told me that using NVG in combat against those that didn’t have it almost felt like cheating. Almost... .Combined with PEQ IR laser and light on your rifle makes shooting targets at night like fishing in barrel.

Night vision is expensive (over two grand for NVG-16 Gen 2+ to nearly four for PVS-14 Generation 3) but for combat it is a force multiplier like few others. It is also one of the most controlled warfare tech items and its amazing that you can still get them online.

PVS-14 Night Vision Monocular, Generation 3 Auto-Gated White Phosphor Image Intensifier Tube

 

When it comes to NVG, you pay for what you get and many people spend some time saving up to eventually invest in it. , It’s safe to say that most of them feel it’s well worth the investment once they get to try it out.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Learning from gunfights (Graphic)

 Five criminals dressed as employees break into a chicken meat packing factory in San Martin, Buenos Aires. They go straight to the accountant’s office. After taking a large quantity of money, they make their exit. At this moment the accountant picks a gun and chases after them shooting.

Then this happens.

The accountant bled to death, shot in the groin area, you can see him bleeding out right after getting shot, probably hit in the femoral artery.

Several important lessons here people:

1)Don’t chase after criminals once they left. It really isn’t worth it. Its not worth the risk and it may be downright illegal in your area to shoot someone in the back, on the street when you no longer fear for your life. Know your laws and follow them, even when seeing red after being robbed.

2)Its not about the gun, its about the training as well. He shouldn’t have chased after them, and if he did, he should have taken cover while doing so.

3)Criminals often point shoot in a very instinctive manner. At times, point shooting can be surprisingly accurate.

4)Celox could have saved this mans live. I keep Celox gauze in my range bag and in my first aid kit both in my home and vehicle. I carried it religiously in my EDC bag in Argentina as well.
Celox RAPID Z-Folded Gauze $38.72

5) Also, know how to use a tourniquet. You can see him trying to use his belt as a tourniquet. He takes a least 20 seconds before getting shot and trying to use his belt. By then he’s losing consciousness and clearly the workers didn’t manage to stop the bleeding in time. For this, its better to have a real tourniquet to put a LOT of pressure to make sure the bleeding stops.

6)Gunfights don’t always go as we hope. There’s a very real chance of getting killed in spite of your best efforts. Avoid them as much as possible and don’t let your emotions take over you in the heat of the fight.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Bad Self Defense and False sense of Security

I’ve talked about this before but these guys do a great job explaining why certain feel-good, yoga studio self-defense just doesn’t work. Let me say this. I have nothing against the yoga pant lady in the video. She looks very fit, in great shape.

I’m not being sarcastic. Being fit is far more likely to improve her health and long term quality of life, so there’s that to be said.

The key is this: If you can’t get it to work against a partner that is the least bit non-cooperative, then it wont work in the streets. In the street you won’t have a partner, you’ll have an enemy, and he will be VERY non-cooperative. He will be downright combative.
Stay safe.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Krav Maga for Preparedness & Self Defense

Hi Ferfal,
I just wanted to add my two cents, I have read your first book and have acted on alot of your advice its good stuff. I have a background in Taekwando from years ago and had since got older and heavier, basically about 40 lbs overweight. I started a Krav class about eight months ago and until then had no idea how out of of shape I was, we train hand to hand, weapons and do a lot of ground work. Its just three times a week but we usually are so sore and beat up from it that is about all we can stand.

I am lucky to have some great instructors, one is currently in federal law enforcement with a 20 year background in judo and Bjj, the other is former military and owns an executive protection company, these guys are the real deal. So far I like the training, it is fairly intense and injuries are common, I like that the instructors train us in what works best, be it krav, bjj or judo.

We spar occasionally, and just like anything in life results may vary, you will get out of it what you put into it, its all about getting to your personal best. At this point I am stronger, faster and better trained than at any point in my life, I have no illusions about my capabilities at this point, still about ten pounds to go and another year or two of training, but I am already so far ahead of where I started. Thanks for the advice, no doubt it will help myself and family in the future.
A-
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Hello A, thanks for sharing your experience.

I’m actually about to start in a new gym and take some Krav Maga. As I said before it really depends on how lucky you are with the instructor and school you come across. In general I’ve seen a lot of feel good commercial nonsense, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed this time!

Sounds like you landed in a great place with serious people. Keep in mind the idea isnt to get hurt, but I do want to have at last a bit of non-cooperative training and sparring to keep it real.
Also, as you well explain, it’s a reality check regarding our fitness level, which is also very important, for lots of people a wakeup call.

At the end of the day people, go out there and try stuff. At the very least you can say you didn’t like it, and also remember that doing something is FAR better than doing nothing and having NO training or self defense training whatsoever.
Take care!
FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”