PRIMITIVE WEAPON NUMBER 1 – THE CLUB
Ever since man picked up the first fallen tree branch and used it to strike his fellow man, the club was born as an offensive and defensive weapon. Consider that even today, the club is alive and well and on the hip of just about every police officer in the country in the form of a baton. The club is an inherently powerful weapon even in unskilled hands. Even in police work, a baton strike to the head is considered to be using “deadly force” – the reason being that even a modest strike to the head with a police baton is easily capable of killing or causing brain damage.
So why is the club still used in this day of modern super weapons? The answer is pretty simple – for short range combat where your opponent is either unarmed or armed with a knife, a baton is the perfect complimentary weapon. It’s easily able to put down a grown man with joint strikes, and has a longer reach than most knives, meaning you don’t need to get very close to your opponent. A club doesn’t need to look like a police baton at all you can make your own out of a piece of hardwood dowel, or simply use a baseball or even t-ball bat. Clubs are excellent primitive weapons for facing:
- Unarmed threats
- Evening the score between yourself and larger opponents.
- Facing wild animals like dogs or coyotes
- A show of force, which many times results in not having to do battle at all.
A baton in some form or another belongs in everyone’s survival arsenal. Even a collapsible ASP style baton is a perfect complimentary weapon to have on your person during a survival situation.
