|
|
Survival Staff, Spear, Knife and Ax
Just walk into the woods barehanded and you'll
soon encounter the first tool. A knife takes a little
more evolution to create, but there's always a
stick at hand. Even a crude broken branch has a
myriad of potential uses, from brushing aside the
webs of spiders to keeping enemies at a distance.
Ever since humans learned to walk upright
they've compensated for the loss of those two
other feet with sticks.
Go onto a modern hiking trail today, however, and the staff is a rare item. People are almost embarrassed to carry them. Is it a sign of weakness? a mark of age? a fashion miss statement? Unless it's a high tech trekking pole, the staff has fallen out of favor.
I recommend them to everyone. I carry extras in my car. Since I began hiking in the Cascade Mountains back in the 70's, a wooden staff has gone everywhere along with me--except for the one summer I yielded to common opinion. Seven miles into the back country, on one of the toughest trails I've ever climbed, I took an awkward step that a staff would have easily countered, and I ripped a groin muscle that still hasn't quite healed. I very quickly cut a rough staff and limped home on it.
Go onto a modern hiking trail today, however, and the staff is a rare item. People are almost embarrassed to carry them. Is it a sign of weakness? a mark of age? a fashion miss statement? Unless it's a high tech trekking pole, the staff has fallen out of favor.
I recommend them to everyone. I carry extras in my car. Since I began hiking in the Cascade Mountains back in the 70's, a wooden staff has gone everywhere along with me--except for the one summer I yielded to common opinion. Seven miles into the back country, on one of the toughest trails I've ever climbed, I took an awkward step that a staff would have easily countered, and I ripped a groin muscle that still hasn't quite healed. I very quickly cut a rough staff and limped home on it.
My array of hardwood bo's for every occasion. From
left to right, my red oak kung fu staff; short bo ash
model; and my gentleman's juniper walking stick.
(Photo courtesy of AliceOne)
(Photo courtesy of AliceOne)
This assortment of Native American weapons is
dominated, not surprisingly, by spears. Pointy
sticks are even more efficient than blunt staves.
Historically, stick weapons
are the mainstay of cultures
where people travel isolated
and wild pathways yet do
not wish to present a violent
or threatening appearance.
If you want a fundamental
level of defensive ability
without looking like a
paranoid invader, the staff
is the perfect choice.
Although we think of today's
world, especially here in the
West, as tame and civilized,
the reality we face in the
backwoods isn't so different
from that of older and
tougher days. Animals of all
kinds share the world with
us and get cranky about it.
A good poking stick can
serve to restore the peace
without causing serious
injury.
In recent times this society's reaction to any form of animal violence has been to eliminate both
species and ecosystem. I think we've grown beyond that, but not far beyond that. In modern
instances of predation against humans, the individual animals pay the price--as well as any suspect
animals who just happen to be in the area. Our fellow beasts are intelligent as well as cautious--if
they test one of us, and learn that we are pointy and belligerent, they probably will not try us out
again. That's good for everybody. The guy with the stick is not dangerous to the balance; the guy
without one is.
Sadly, I have seldom had any reason to apply this aspect of the art of Stick. The most common encounters I' ve had are with feral domestic dogs and pigs who probably already had a low opinion of humans. The only potentially deadly confrontation in my collection was with a stag deer with a very nice set of pointy antlers, who showed up in a bad mood as I was trying to unwind my dog from one of his offspring (both of them unhurt). No real carnivores have ever attacked me, and they probably won't. I carry a big stick.
Sadly, I have seldom had any reason to apply this aspect of the art of Stick. The most common encounters I' ve had are with feral domestic dogs and pigs who probably already had a low opinion of humans. The only potentially deadly confrontation in my collection was with a stag deer with a very nice set of pointy antlers, who showed up in a bad mood as I was trying to unwind my dog from one of his offspring (both of them unhurt). No real carnivores have ever attacked me, and they probably won't. I carry a big stick.
The hiking staff is much more than
a self defense device. It will be
used most often for very ordinary
things like keeping your footing. I
can think of any number of
reasons to have one. To part
underbrush on a trail, to give
reptiles a chance to move along
before you put down a foot, to
take some weight and balance
before you shift from this boulder
to that ledge, to prop yourself
against a current on a swift water
crossing--the needs and the uses
are endless. Yes, you could make
a staff on the spot, when you
happen to need one--no, if you
choose that last minute response,
you won't have anything
dependable. A good staff will save
your life. A rotten branch won't.
Getting back to lion defense--the thing that is probably the least likely situation I'll ever face--the common wisdom is this: pick up a rock and throw it at the cat; pick up a stick and brandish it. Lucky you if you happen to be within reach of a rock, or a stick good enough to pack a punch.
Get a good staff and keep it at hand. Here's how.
Getting back to lion defense--the thing that is probably the least likely situation I'll ever face--the common wisdom is this: pick up a rock and throw it at the cat; pick up a stick and brandish it. Lucky you if you happen to be within reach of a rock, or a stick good enough to pack a punch.
Get a good staff and keep it at hand. Here's how.
Native Americans favored shorter weapons
like clubs and tomahawks in woodland
country.
I take an approach I learned from an old
Buddhist martial arts philosophy. It applies
to any sort of wild beast, human or not. If
there is a way to settle a problem without
violence, I take it. If there isn't, I don't roll
over and play dead; I take an active part in
my own defense. A good bluff and maybe a
bop on the nose is usually enough to turn
the tide. If what receives that lesson is a
mountain lion--the kind of encounter that
has become more common in recent years
as populations shift and territories
change--it's to the animal's benefit. One that
successfully attacks a human will often try
again, and the result inevitably is the death
of the animal.
Photo by Somadjinn
Crawford Survival
Staff:
Hiking staff, sword, spear and blowgun all in one practical package!
Big Survival Stik: Carbon fiber hiking staff with concealed survival spear.
Highland Hiking & Survival Staff: Mountaineering crook staff and survival kit.
Reviews at the Staff Market here on JBP.
Hiking staff, sword, spear and blowgun all in one practical package!
Big Survival Stik: Carbon fiber hiking staff with concealed survival spear.
Highland Hiking & Survival Staff: Mountaineering crook staff and survival kit.
Reviews at the Staff Market here on JBP.
Legal Information
Copyright: All original material on this site is the sole property of the author and cannot legally be copied or used in any form without his permission. That would be me.
Data Collection of Non-Personally Identifying Information:
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.
Copyright: All original material on this site is the sole property of the author and cannot legally be copied or used in any form without his permission. That would be me.
Data Collection of Non-Personally Identifying Information:
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.