100,000 plus views

Folks, i just noticed that there is now 100,000 plus views on this blog. thanks for the support.

Ill continue to post when i find something interesting.

Tomahawk - scouts out!

My friend Jeff in the Huachucas

Im a little jealous of my friend Jeff, He is currently Hiking,Camping and vagabonding in Arizona. I received some pics of his hammock camp in the Huachuca Mountains. Jeff has been hanging around my old stomping grounds and, from what He has said, the weather has been wet and chilly. Tonight there is 8" to 18" of snow expected above 6000 feet. Im glad that Im not currently there!

Here are 3 pick of Jeff and his hammock for you to check out.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Tomahawk One year Later

Pickings for a blog post are kind of slim here in the sudan. If I were in the south I would have a thing or two to write about but here in Khartoum, there is absolutely nothing to do.

I look forward to getting back to a place where I can get a Bacon sandwich, shot of whiskey and a piece of ass on a regular basis but....I digress.

Exactly 1 year ago today I was hiking my way up price canyon in the Chiricahua mountains of south eastern Arizona. I doubt that anyone recalls it but I broke my ankle and had to self rescue.

What a difference a year makes. I have been many places in the past year and have enjoyed the travel very much. Not much to say right now as I am suffering from a relapse of Malaria and do not feel too well. I just wanted to post a few pics of my past 1 year sojourn.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Tomahawk - scouts out!

I Wanna Be In The Cavalry - Corb Lund

Winston Churchill and the Last Cavalry Charge

It is difficult to find a more varied and important life than that lived by Winston Churchill. "Winny" as "Half American and all british" has been a favorite of mine to read about . His exploits in the Boer war of south africa, the sudan conflict and his leadership in WW2 were exemplary. To me he was the epitome of a leader.I Even remember as a boy in the 60's when Sir Winston Churchill died.Later on, I read about him in Life magazine then also in a book about war correspondents. Some folks say that Clint Eastwood is the one who coined the phrase "A mans got to do what a mans got to do", But, If Clint said it he got it from "Winny".

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

While he is most famously remembered as the great wartime leader of Britain during the Second World War, his reign of service in British politics spanned from 1900 when he was first elected to Parliament through 1955 when resigned after his third time as Prime Minister. Born during the heyday of Victorian England, he lived long enough to see the dawn of the nuclear age and to witness the first men venture into Space. By most accounts, he is remembered as having the greatest singular impact on shaping the events of the 20th century.
Churchill's Early Life

What most people don’t know, however, is that Churchill first gained notoriety and fame as a soldier/journalist during the British Colonial period of the late 19th century when he served in India and then the Sudan. It was in the Sudan that Churchill was a participant in what has been remembered as the last great cavalry charge in British military history, when he served with the 21st Lancers in the British campaign to retake the Sudan.

From his earliest age, Churchill desired a career in the military, and after graduating from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1894, he joined the British cavalry’s 4th Hussars. From there he was stationed in British India. Churchill, however, always wanted to be where the action was, a trait that would mark his whole adult life, and the action in 1898 was in the Sudan. Pulling every string he could, he was transferred to the 21st Lancers and set sail for Cairo to join the British Army in its campaign to retake the Sudan.

The Sudan:
Since 1885 when British General Charles Gordon was killed by the Mahdists in the siege of Khartoum, Britain had been debating for years when and if to send troops back in to retake the Sudan. Finally, in 1898 British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury’s Conservative government decided to create a “Cape-to-Cairo” chain of colonies to prevent foreign powers, most notably the French, from entering into the Sudan. The order was given for a British & Egyptian army under the command of General Herbert Kitchener to go to the Sudan and defeat the Sudanese Mahdist forces and retake the city of Khartoum.

Kitchener’s force consisted of 8,700 British and 17,600 Egyptian and Sudanese troops. In April 1898 they first encountered Mahdist forces under the command of Abdullah al-Taashi, where in a pitched battle, they defeated the Mahdists, killing 3,000 enemy troops in the process. Al-Taashi then moved his beaten troops south to the Mahdist capital of Omdurman to rest and regroup. There he raised his army to 52,000 men. Kitchener soon followed him south, and it was during that time, Winston Churchill, upon his arrival from India, joined Kitchener’s army on August 2, 1898.

On September 2, 1898, Kitchener’s army engaged the Mahdist forces at Omdurman. Although vastly outnumbered, the British & Egyptian forces, with the latest European rifles, artillery, and Maxim machine guns, heavily outgunned the Mahdists, who were mostly equipped with spears and a limited number of antique riles. It was at this battle that Winston Churchill joined in the last great cavalry charge in British history.

The Charge:
In the afternoon of September 2, 1898, the 21st Lancers were on a reconnaissance patrol between the main battle and the city of Khartoum, when they spotted 150 spear carrying Mahdists. As the cavalrymen charged toward the enemy, they became aware they had ridden into a trap, as they found over 2,000 Mahdists hidden in a shallow ravine. It began what Churchill had described as the two most dangerous minutes of his life.

What followed was fierce hand-to-hand combat. Churchill later said he owed his luck to not being injured or killed because he was on the side of the line with the fewest enemy and was carrying an automatic pistol and not a sword. After two minutes of brutal fighting, the Mahdists were routed, but the British, with 340 officers and men in the charge, lost 28 men killed, 50 wounded, as well as 119 horses killed. Three soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross. The fighting was so brutal that Churchill wrote afterwards, “The shoddiness of war. You can not gild it. The raw comes through."

The Aftermath:
Kitchener’s Army soundly defeated the Mahdist forces at the battle of Omdurman in what was described as a battle won by the superiority of technology over manpower. The heavily outgunned Mahdists were no match for the British & Egyptian troops. They lost 9,700 killed, 13,000 wounded, and 5,000 captured. Kitchener’s own losses were minimal, with 47 killed, twenty-eight of whom were from the charge of the 21st Lancers, and 340 wounded. With the Mahdist army destroyed, the road was open to retake Omdurman and eventually Khartoum, which ended the Sudanese war.

For Winston Churchill significance of the battle of Omdurman was never lost on him. He came to understand that technology, discipline and firepower could overwhelm any enemy, a belief he espoused in his later years when describing the fight in World War II against Nazi Germany, and which he put into words shortly after the battle when he wrote, “Thus ended the Battle of Omdurman—the most signal triumph ever gained by the arms of science over barbarians. Within the space of five hours the strongest and best-armed savage army yet arrayed against a modern European Power had been destroyed and dispersed, with hardly any difficulty, comparatively small risk, and insignificant loss to the victors.” For Churchill, it was also just one more remarkable personal event in a life that would in ensuing years overflow with them.

Source:
Manchester, William. The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874 – 1932. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1983.

Adapt, overcome, and Improvise

I have always admired the ingenuity of the native peoples around the world and especially my Negrito friends among the Aeta and Batak peoples. I have seen them construct many useful things from cast off junk.

Jungle Wil has Asked me to post this bit and pictures of one of our Batak friends Romlin, who jury rigged this flash light out of bamboo.This is truly thinking outside of the box! and using available materials to construct or RE-construct a necessary item.

Below is Jungle Wil's Email text.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

JW
"adapt and overcome" from my Batak sourjon.....Batak Romlin, used a split bamboo to reconstruct his flashlight by placing the batteries into the bamboo, and using a coupler rubber bands to secure the contraption together, then placing the terminals to each end of the bamboo, no academic schooling, but F--K!, worldly hahaha!. Now, as you and I know, survival is born out of necessity and not, environmental PC. I enjoyed watching him put this together, with a big smile.Truly Thinking out of the box.

Rattler aka Jungle Wil

A splendid array... from the Lance zedric blog

Lance Zedric has posted yet another bit of info about a real American hero from WW2 - Bill Nellist. Being a former Airborne Infantryman, Pathfinder and Cavalry scout who has served in hostile areas, I am always pleased to read about those who served before me, especially in my favorite unit , The Alamo Scouts!If you find the time check out lance's blog for more info on other Heroes in ww2, and take a look at the books he has to offer.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

http://www.lancezedric.com/2010/12/splendid-array.html?spref=fb
A splendid array...

As the historian for the Alamo Scouts Association I've met some colorful characters. One of the most unforgettable was team leader Bill Nellist, who was one of the finest shots in the army and a man whose crosshairs one would want to avoid. Nellist led eight known missions with the Alamo Scouts, including POW rescues at Cabanatuan and at Cape Oransbari, Dutch New Guinea. Below is the medal array which appears on his uniform.

Top: Parachutist wings, Combat Infantry Badge. Ribbons top row l-r: Silver Star w/Oak Leaf Cluster; Bronze Star; Purple Heart w/Oak Leaf Cluster. Bottom row l-r: American Defense Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/4 stars, and Philippine Liberation Medal w/2 stars.

Above is the Dutch Cross awarded to Nellist for his role in the liberation of 66 Dutch and Javanese at Cape Oransbari, Dutch New Guinea in 1944. Below is the citation.

Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver

I have always been enamored to the Webley - Fosbery automatic revolver. To me the thought of an auto revolver is pretty cool. I can remember the first time I had ever heard of this pistol. It was when I was watching the movie "The Maltese Falcon " with Humphrey Bogart.

The Webley-Fosbery makes an appearance in this classic film when the pistol is linked to the killing of Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer. Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart, erroneously identifies the gun by saying, "It's a Webley-Fosbery, .45 automatic, eight shot. They don't make 'em anymore." While the .38 caliber did have an eight-round capacity, the .455 (not .45) did not.

Be that as it may, as a Kid, I thought it was pretty cool, and scoured the local library to try to find out any or all info that I could on this type of fire arm. As luck would have it, in my home town I had the greatest Librarian to ever walk the earth. Her Name is Mrs. Joanne Johnson and she seemed to be able to locate anything I was looking for through the inter library loan system.

I cannot recall what book finally showed up but I do remember the pictures of the WF pistol. I would love to locate one of these great old guns and fire a few rounds through it. Id be like that kid with the new BB gun at christmas.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

The Webley-Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver was an unusual, recoil-operated, automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery, VC and produced by the Webley and Scott company from 1901 to 1915. The weapon is easily recognisable by the zig-zag grooves on the cylinder.

History:
Semi-automatic pistols were just beginning to appear when Colonel Fosbery (1832 - 1907) devised a revolver that cocked the hammer and rotated the cylinder by sliding the action, cylinder, and barrel assembly back on the frame. The prototype was a modified Colt Single Action Army revolver. Fosbery patented his invention August 16, 1895 and further improvements were patented in June and October 1896.

Fosbery took his design to P. Webley & Son of Birmingham. P. Webley & Son, which merged with W.C. Scott & Sons and Richard Ellis & Son in 1897 to form the Webley & Scott Revolver and Arms Co., was the primary manufacturer of service pistols for the British Army as well as producing firearms for civilian use. Webley further developed the design and the Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver was introduced at the matches at Bisley of July 1900.
.455in SAA Ball ammunition

The revolver was initially made in .455 calibre for the British service cartridge, and later in .38 ACP. While the .455 version had a standard 6-round cylinder, the .38 high velocity (.38 Colt ACP) version had eight chambers and could be loaded by a circular full-moon clip. The .38 version had a shorter cylinder, and thus shorter recoil stroke. Some were made with the short frame in .455 caliber. A variety of modifications led to the production of 6 different models, Marks I through VI.

The Webley-Fosbery quickly proved popular among target-shooters. Because the trigger mechanism did not rotate the cylinder, shots were smooth and consistent, permitting rapid and accurate shooting. Walter Winans, a famous contemporary target shooter, preferred the Webley-Fosbery and in 1902 he used it to place six shots in a two inch bull's-eye at 12 paces in seven seconds. Using a Prideaux speedloader he was able to fire twelve shots into a three inch bull's-eye in approximately 15 seconds. Recent research using a .455 short frame Model in Switzerland has achieved a five-shot 8" group at 10 meters in 1.27 seconds.

Webley-Fosbery was available in several standard configurations with barrel lengths of 7.5 inches, 6 in., and 4 in., and was also made to order. They could also be ordered with Metford rifling. The pistol could also be purchased with a single-shot .22 adapter for competitive target shooting; the cylinder was removed and it was inserted into the barrel.

Though Webley viewed this weapon as an ideal sidearm for cavalry troops, the Webley-Fosbery was never adopted as an official government sidearm. Though, many were privately purchased by British officers prior to and during World War I, it being chambered for the .455 service cartridge. Reports suggested that it was more susceptible to jamming in wartime conditions than the Service Webleys. Furthermore it was commonly believed that the Webley-Fosbery required an absolutely rigid arm in order to function since when fired while held loosely the cylinder may not cycle properly, although in fact it cycles properly even when held very loosely and with a bent and relaxed arm. The revolver may be recocked manually but this requires pulling the entire action-cylinder-barrel assembly back across the frame, a two-handed operation that makes the Webley-Fosbery an awkward single-action revolver. For the first shot, it is necessary to use the free hand to cock the Fosbery. This can be done by either cocking the hammer, or to pull the whole assembly rearwards to cock the hammer and rotate the first round in front of the hammer. This two-handed manual cocking can be seen many times in the motion picture Zardoz, where the revolver is used by Sean Connery's character "Zed". This was done because, as a movie prop and so firing blanks and not live ammunition, the absence of adequate recoil meant it wouldn't cock automatically when fired in the film.

The Webley-Fosbery makes an appearance in the classic film The Maltese Falcon. It is the gun linked to the killing of Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer. Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart, erroneously identifies the gun by saying, "It's a Webley-Fosbery, .45 automatic, eight shot. They don't make 'em anymore." While the .38 caliber did have an eight-round capacity, the .455 (not .45) did not. And though some .455 Webleys were modified to fire the more common .45 ACP cartridge by use of half-moon clips, unless specially modified on an individual basis, there was never a .45 caliber eight-shot Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver. In the original Dashiell Hammett novel the gun is correctly identified as a "Thirty-eight, eight shot"

Production of the Webley-Fosbery ceased between 1915 and 1918, with a total production of less than 5000. However the pistol could be found in Webley's catalogues until 1939.

Operation:
The Webley-Fosbery is a recoil operated revolver. It has three functional sections: the barrel and cylinder section, the lock and hammer action, and the frame which houses the trigger, recoil spring, grip, and safety.

The process of opening, emptying, and loading the Webley-Fosbery is identical to all other contemporary Webley revolvers. A pivoting lever on the side of the upper receiver is pressed to release the cylinder-barrel section, which tilts up and forward ("breaks") on a bottom-front pivot, simultaneously ejecting the contents of the cylinder chambers. Once loaded the section is tilted back to lock closed.

Once loaded the Webley-Fosbery is cocked by pressing the entire action-cylinder-barrel assembly as far back as it will go. An internal spring then brings the assembly to ready position.

When the action-cylinder-barrel assembly moves back, either by hand-cocking or recoil, a pivoting lever connected to the frame cocks the hammer while a stud on the frame rides in the zig-zag grooves on the outer cylinder, revolving the next chamber part-way to ready position. When the internal spring brings the assembly forward the stud revolves the cylinder completely, and the chamber lines up with the barrel. Neither pulling the trigger nor manually cocking the hammer alone rotates the gun's cylinder; the entire assembly must be cocked to ensure that a chamber is properly lined up with the barrel.

The Webley-Fosbery is intended to be carried at full cock, ready to fire. The revolver therefore has the unusual feature of a safety catch, which is found on the left side of the frame at the top of the grip. When disengaged the safety lies horizontally along the frame; it is set by pressing it down, disconnecting the hammer from the sear. It can only be set when the pistol is cocked.

In early models, one-directional cylinder rotation was ensured by using a spring loaded operating stud which rode cylinder grooves of varying depths. This design was found to be needlessly complex and in the later models a fixed stud rode grooves of a uniform depth, with overshoot grooves set at the angle of the zig-zag to prevent the stud from permitting the cylinder to turn backwards.

Additional improvements included removing the cylinder retaining latch from the side of the action. The latch was replaced with a spring-loaded stud in the cylinder's top strap.

The final version of the Webley-Fosbery was released in 1914. It had a shorter cylinder than on earlier models and the trigger spring and recoil lever were strengthened.

More Jungle Wil Pictures

Folks, I just got a few more pictures from Jungle Wil in the Philippines. JW is and Ugly SOB but Im posting his picture along with all of the others just incase you happen to run into him.

The picture of the gear is of the "Kit" he carried into the forest on this particular trip. Like me JW subscribes to the "Travel light,Freeze at night" way of thinking. The only things I would have added to this pile of gear are a bed sheet and my hennessey hammock.

In the picture of JW's guide I noticed that he is carrying a smallish bolo knife, the Aeta around subic bay all carry a fairly large knife. I suppose it is a regional thing.

The bamboo hut is typical of the type you see all over the PI, I personally like them because they are off the ground and the air can circulate under the sleeping platform.

I will post more pics from JW as I get them.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Jungle Wil, Baboy and the Batak Village

Folks, I received a short note from Jungle Wil today with these pictures attached. I just wanted to share them with you. JW, will be posting more pictures and info about his latest trek into the wildes of Palawan, PI on his website at: http://www.bushcraftasia.com/bushcraft-blog

From the looks of the pics and from what JW has told me, he had a good time with the Batak and plans to return soon for more adventures in the Jungle.

His latest adventure makes me green with envy because I love the Philippines and especially enjoy exploring the deep jungles of those islands.

I hope you like and enjoy these pictures , if so dont forget to check out JW's post on http://www.bushcraftasia.com/bushcraft-blog for more info .

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Fairbairn, Sykes,and Applegate. Knives and Point shooting

Fairbair,Sykes and Applegate are names which I have been hearing all of my life. Especially when I was serving in the Military.These guys were/are inspirational to many young soldiers because of their knife fighting and shooting skills, which they taught to forces all over the world. As with Pat O'neill, I would have enjoyed meeting and training under these 3 guys. I have in fact received their training indirectly over the years from various knife fighters, judo experts, combat pistol shooters and the like while a member of the U.S. Army, while working as a mercenary or, military contractor in various 3rd world shit holes.I have attached below some decent info on these cats and I believe that anyone interested in this type of history,i.e., knives,shooting or hand to hand fighting will find it enjoyable.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!


William E. Fairbairn
Born 28 February 1885 Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.Died 20 June 1960,Occupation Royal Marines, Shanghai Municipal Police, Combatives Instructor

William Ewart Fairbairn (1885–1960) was a British soldier, police officer, and exponent of hand-to-hand combat method, the Close combat, for the Shanghai police between the World Wars, and allied special forces in World War II. He developed his own fighting system known as Defendu, as well as other weapons tactics. Notably, this included innovative pistol shooting techniques and the development of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

The television series Secrets of War suggested him as a possible inspiration for James Bond.

Military career;

He served with the Royal Marine Light Infantry starting in 1901, and joined the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) in 1907.

During World War II, he was recruited by the British Secret Service as an Army officer; together with Sykes he was commissioned on the General List in 1941. He trained UK, US and Canadian Commando forces, along with Ranger candidates in close-combat, pistol-shooting, and knife-fighting techniques.

Fairbairn eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by the end of World War II, and received the U.S. Legion of Merit (Officer grade) at the specific request of "Wild Bill" Donovan, founder of the U.S. O.S.S.
Martial arts;
After joining the SMP, he studied jujutsu and then Chinese martial arts, developed his own fighting system—Defendu—and taught it to members of that police force in order to reduce officer fatalities. He described this system as primarily based on his personal experience, which according to police records included some 600 non-training fights, by his retirement at age 55 from the position of Assistant Commissioner in 1940.


Weapons innovations;
Together with Eric A. Sykes he developed innovative pistol shooting techniques and handgun specifications for the SMP which were later disseminated through their book Shooting To Live With The One-Hand Gun (1942), along with various other police innovations such as riot batons, armored 'Mauser-proof' vests, and other equipment.

He is perhaps best known for designing the famous Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, or 'Commando' knife which was used by British Special Forces in World War II, and featured in his textbook Scientific Self-Defence. The Smatchet and Shanghai fighting knife (Which influenced the greater known Fairbairn-Skyes Fighting Knife) are lesser known knives designed or co-designed by him.


Eric Anthony Sykes (5 February 1883–12 May 1945), born Eric Anthony Schwabe, is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and modern British Close Quarters Battle (CQB) martial arts during World War II. Originally working for an import/export company selling weapons in East Asia, he claimed he volunteered for, and served in, the British Army as a sharpshooter on the Western Front during the Great War. Returning to China in 1917, he joined the volunteer branch of the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) Specials with the rank of Inspector in 1926.

Reputedly born in Barton on Irwell, the reasons for his name change in 1917 were said to be because he found it "too Germanic". A shikari hunter, he was an avid rifleman and an expert with the pistol. In the early-1920s Sykes met Fairbairn, beginning their famous professional association, though it was not until 1926 that Sykes officially joined the SMP as an unpaid, part-time volunteer officer. Later, his experience in sharpshooting and his personal friendship with Fairbairn led him to form and oversee a team of civilian and police snipers for SMP service, which he retired from in 1939. In 1940, Fairbairn resigned from the Shanghai Police and returned to Britain, Sykes following (the pair had apparently planned this, since they shipped crates full of illegal weapons from lax Shanghai into Britain on their boat). After training special forces units throughout 1940, the two were finally commissioned into the British Army on the General List of 1941. Their 1942 book Shooting to Live is considered by many to be the classic text of combat pistols, and one of the best codifications of the high-stress point shooting method. Nevertheless, it was the last time the pair worked together in any capacity; by mid-1942 the pair's friendship had split, with Sykes claiming that Fairbairn treated him as an inferior. Soon thereafter, Sykes travelled to Canada to teach armed and unarmed combat to commandos and covert agents of the Americas. Attaining the rank of Major, he died at Bexhill-on-Sea, England.

Rex Applegate - No picture available;
Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998) worked in the Office of Strategic Services where he trained allied special forces in close-quarter combat during World War II. He held the rank of Colonel.

In 1943 he wrote Kill or Get Killed, still considered the classic textbook of Western-style hand-to-hand combat. The updated 1976 edition of Kill or Get Killed was published by the US Marine Corps as Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication 12-80. From the foreword:

"Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication (FMFRP) 12-80, Kill or Get Killed, is published to ensure the retention and dissemination of useful information which is not intended to become doctrine or to be published in Fleet Marine Force manuals."
"This reference publication was written in 1976 by Lieutenant Colonel Rex Applegate, USA (Ret), with the help of the Combat Section, Military Intelligence Training Center, Camp Ritchie, Maryland. At last there is one volume which speaks to the subjects of unarmed combat (offensive and defensive), combat use of weapons, disarming the enemy, handling of prisoners, the handle of mob/crowd disobedience, the use of chemicals in such situations, and how to establish a professional riot control unit."

Applegate developed the techniques outlined in the book during his work with William E. Fairbairn, who had previously developed his techniques while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police from 1907 to 1940. Fairbairn drew heavily on Chinese martial arts, which he simplified and tailored to the needs of training police in one of the most crime ridden cities in the world, with its history of opium trade, rebellion, and Triad gangsters. The result of this was the development of what is widely considered the first scientifically based martial art, Defendu. Applegate's techniques are heavily based on Fairbairn's Defendu, and enhanced with feedback from the OSS operatives who put his techniques into action in World War II.

Applegate was the proponent for a system of combat pistol shooting that is outlined in Kill or Get Killed, based on point shooting and stressing training for close range, fast response shooting. This system is somewhat at odds with the other prominent system developed and promoted by Jeff Cooper, called the "Modern Technique". Both systems have many supporters, with variants of Cooper's system being the more common currently. Supporters of Cooper's methods point to the nearly universal use of Cooper's methods in IPSC and other forms of action shooting, while Applegate's supporters point to police incidents where officers trained in Cooper's methods discharge vast numbers of rounds at very close range, most measured in tens of feet (3 m) or less, with few if any disabling hits. The last years of Applegate's life were spent actively promoting his combat pistol shooting methods to the police.

Applegate co-wrote The Close-Combat Files of Colonel Rex Applegate with Chuck Melson.

In the early 1980s Applegate released the Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife, an improved version of the famous World War II Fairbairn-Sykes knife. The design for the new knife was a collaborative effort of Applegate and Fairbairn during World War II that eliminated the major weaknesses of the F-S knife (e.g., weak blade point, inability to determine orientation of blade merely by grip). Boker Knives offers various versions of the A-F knife. There is a line of folding knives produced by Gerber Legendary Blades, that he and William Harsey Jr. based on the Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife.

In the late 1980s, Applegate released an improved version of Fairbairn's Smatchet, which had been used by the SAS and OSS during World War II. This began as a collaborative effort between Applegate and Fairbairn during that war. Applegate named his 10" bladed knife the "Applegate-Fairbairn Combat Smatchet" and it was initially offered only as a hand-made knife. Later it was produced by Al Mar Knives, and then after Mr. Mar's death, Boker Knives was licensed to produce it. Applegate later had Harsey design a "Mini-Smatchet" with a 4.75" long blade that was produced by Boker.

Applegate was a founding member of the International Close Combat Instructors Association. He was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1994 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia in recognition for the impact that his designs have made upon the cutlery industry as well as his writings on knife fighting.

Applegate was a direct descendant of Charles Applegate who blazed the Oregon Trail in 1843 along with his brothers, Jesse Applegate and Lindsay Applegate. When not traveling to promote his pistol shooting methods, he spent his last years in Yoncalla, Oregon, where Charles Applegate's house still stands. Applegate's daughter, historian Shannon Applegate, lives in the house and writes and lectures on Oregon and Applegate family history.


Point Shooting In military doctrine;
Point shooting is often included in military tactical training, alongside such other topics such as combatives and urban warfare. A variety of point shooting methods have entered military doctrine at various times and places.


Fairbairn, Sykes, and Applegate;
Front view of handgun point shooting position, taken from FMFRP 12-80 p. 116

Soon after the creation of the Office of Strategic Services in 1942, then 2nd Lt. Rex Applegate was tasked with adapting the training being given to British Commando forces for use by OSS agents. Applegate's methodology was published in his book, "Kill or Get Killed" which was first printed in 1943, and based on his training program for the OSS developed with W. E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes. This method is often referred to as the Fairbairn, Sykes, and Applegate method, or FSA (though sometimes the order is altered to FAS).

By 1976, it was into its 5th edition, which was re-published in 1991 as Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication (FMFRP) 12-80. This book covers a wide range of topics, from armed and unarmed combat to prisoner control and riot control techniques. Chapter 5, "Combat Use of the Hand Gun", covers the basic use of a handgun in a combat situation, while chapter 6, "Combat Firing with Shoulder Weapons", covers techniques for submachine guns, rifles and shotguns. While aimed fire techniques are covered in both chapters, along with topics such as use of cover and different firing positions, the point shooting techniques generally attract the most attention. Much of Applegate's instruction on point shooting involves developing a firm, consistent shooting position that allows the student to consistently hit where he is looking.

While Applegate did cover firing handguns from the hip—from a position he called the "1/2 hip" position—he was careful to point out that this method only worked on targets at the same level as the shooter, and only at very close range. The preferred method was to bring the handgun up to just below eye level. With the proper grip and a locked elbow and wrist, this will bring the gun to bear on the target. To reduce error in the stance, targets not directly in front of the shooter are engaged by turning the upper body at the hips; turning the arm at the shoulder, elbow or wrist will result in a loss of control and a miss, while turning at the waist keeps everything aligned correctly.
Side view of shoulder weapon point shooting position, taken from FMFRP 12-80 p. 183

Another of Applegate's training innovations was the use of particularly intense combat firing ranges, which he called the "House of Horrors". A cross between an obstacle course, a haunted house, and a shooting range, it used a three dimensional layout with stairs and tunnels, pop-up targets, deliberately poor lighting, psychologically disturbing sounds, simulated cobwebs and bodies, and blank cartridges being fired towards the shooter. The range was designed to have the greatest possible psychological impact on the shooter, to simulate the stress of combat as much as possible, and no targets were presented at distances of greater than 10 feet from the shooter. Applegate also used his "House of Horrors" as a test of the point shooting training. 500 men were run through the House of Horrors after standard target pistol training, and then again (with modifications in the layout) after training in point shooting. The average number of hits in the first group was 4 out of 12 targets hit (with two shots per target). After point shooting, the average jumped to 10 of 12 targets hit. Further shooters trained only in point shooting, including those who had never fired a handgun before receiving point shooting training, maintained the high average established by the first group (FMFRP 12-80, p. 286). Similar methods were in use as early as the 1920s, and continue to this day—see Hogan's Alley for more information.

Quick Kill;
Another method of point shooting, developed by Lucky McDaniel and taught by the US Army beginning in 1967, was the "Quick Kill" method. It was taught using an air rifle, although the same techniques apply to handguns or shotguns. The Quick Kill method was outlined in "Principles of Quick Kill", TT 23-71-1, and was taught starting with a special Daisy BB gun that had no sights. The slow moving steel BB was visible in flight on sunny days, making it an inexpensive tracer round. The students began by firing at 3.5" diameter metal disks thrown in the air slightly in front of the student and 2–4 meters above the student's head. After an 80% hit rate is attained firing at 3.5" disks, the student is then presented with 2.5" diameter disks. Once proficiency is attained with the aerial targets, it shows the student has mastered the fundamentals, and training moves on to stationary targets on the ground, first with the BB gun and then with a service rifle having its front and rear sights taped over.

The reason the Quick Kill method works is that the shooter learns to sight above the barrel, rather than along the barrel. While focusing on the target, the muzzle is placed about 2 inches below the target (the 2 inches being measured at the muzzle), which places the barrel nearly parallel to the line of sight of the shooter. To hit the aerial targets, or other targets above eye level, the shooter focuses on the top edge of the target; When shooting at targets on the ground or below eye level shooter focuses on the bottom of the target. One of the points emphasized in Quick kill is that it is essential to focus on a single spot on the target, such as the top edge of a thrown disc, or the bottom edge of a can on the ground.

The Daisy company commercially sold sightless BB guns and target throwers for a number of years under the name "Quick Skill", along with an instruction book that was a "de-militarized" version of aerial target portion of the "Quick Kill" course.

Quick Fire;
Quick Fire is a method previously used by the US Army for teaching pointshooting. It is described in the following excerpt from US Army Field Manual FM 23-9:

For pistol:
"Quick-Fire point shooting. This is for engaging an enemy at less than 5 yards. The weapon should be held in a two hand grip. It is brought up close to the body until it reaches chin level and is then thrust forward until both arms are straight. The arms and body form a triangle, which can be aimed as a unit. In thrusting the weapon forward, the firer can imagine that there is a box between him and the enemy, and he is thrusting the weapon into the box. The trigger is smoothly squeezed to the rear as the elbows straighten out."

For rifle:
"Aimed quick fire:
"When presented with a target, the soldier brings the rifle up to his shoulder and quickly fires a single shot. His firing eye looks through or just over the rear sight aperture. And he uses the front post to aim at the target. Using this technique, a target at 25 meters or less may be accurately engaged in one second or less.

"Pointer quick fire:
"When presented with a target, the soldier keeps the rifle at his side and quickly fires a single shot or burst. He keeps both eyes open and uses his instinct and peripheral vision to line up the rifle with the target. Using this technique, a target at 15 meters or less may be engaged in less than one second.

"Pointed and aimed quick fire should be used only when a target cannot be engaged fast enough using the sights in a normal manner. These techniques should be limited to targets appearing at 25 meters or less."

Reflexive Fire;

Reflexive Fire is a method currently used by the US Army to teach point shooting with a rifle. It is described in US Army Field Manual FM 3-06.11 (Combined Arms Operations in Urban Terrain).

Israeli Method;
The "Israeli Method" is a point shooting system devised by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) for use in training personnel to use rifles, submachineguns, and handguns.

In its initial stages of training, it closely resembles the FSA method. In later stages, training in the rapid acquisition of the sights is taught, as well as a more advanced method of point shooting.

In the United States and Canada, the term "Israeli Method" is generally believed to refer to the carrying of a semiautomatic pistol with its chamber empty. However, the carrying of the chamber empty served a safety consideration, rather than a tactical consideration. In past decades, due to severe budget constraints, IDF purchased and issued large quantities of antiquated sidearms, the mechanical safety of which was questionable. In recent decades, as budget concerns are increasingly alleviated and more modern, standardized sidearms are issued, this mode of carry is increasingly being phased out. It should also be noted that specialized personnel, such as police and special forces units, have typically carried newer and safer firearms, and have rarely used this mode of carry.

Fairbairn and Sykes mentioned and suggested this form of carry in their book referenced above.

Dermot Michael (Pat) O'Neill

Pat O'neill is another one of those rascals from history I would have loved to met and Known. His fighting style and travels around the world were always inspirational to me and I'm sure to many others. Being a Military History buff in general and about the 1st Special Service Force in particular, I thought is was pretty cool that pat trained the soldiers in his own kick and poke form of hand to hand fighting.The Knife(or knives) that pat used to train the 1SSF were the standard M1 Garand Bayonet and(my favorite) the V-42 fighting knife, designed by Colonel Frederick himself specifically for the 1SSF.

I own a V-42 myself and so does my good friend Jager in Montana, whenever I am there we do a bit of practicing with these knives to keep flexible and to stay sharp (pun intended).

I cant seem to locate a picture of pat anywhere on the internet to post here. So, if there is anyone out there with a picture of Pat to share I would greatly appreciate it. I have a film about Pat training the 1st SSF and it shows several good clips of Pat in action, But alas! no pictures.

I have attached below the only info I could locate on Pat from the internet. Im sure there is a lot more out there but right now, Im too lazy to look for it.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

http://www.gutterfighting.org/ONeil.html


by Carl Cestari & Ralph Grasso

Dermot O'Neill was born in 1905 in County Cork, Ireland. As a teenager he traveled to China, and settled in Shanghai. In 1925, at the age of twenty he joined the Shanghai Municipal Police. This police force comprising of 9000 active and reserve officers was task with bringing law and order to the International Settlement.

While in Shanghai, O'Neill immersed himself in the study of Asian martial-arts. He was a devoted practitioner of japanese judo, as well as several forms of "Chinese Boxing",
these included Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing Yi, and Pa Kua.

O'Neill rose through the ranks of the SMP and was promoted to Detective Sergeant and served as a member and instructor of the famed "Shock and Riot Police" task force of
the SMP. He was also considered by many to be the protégé of William Ewart Fairbairn.

In 1938, O'Neill left Shanghai, and traveled to Tokyo, Japan as head of security for the British Embassy Legation there. During this period O'Neill was awarded the Godan, fifth degree black belt by the kodokan, as well as increasing his martial-arts skills by practicing japanese style "kempo". He left Japan shortly before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and made his way to Australia.

O'Neill came to the United States at the behest and recommendation of WE Fairbairn who was at this time involved with the OSS. O'Neill was slated to work for the OSS, but was sent instead to serve as an instructor with the First Special Service Force, a joint Canadian-US commando unit known as the "Devil's Brigade." When the 1st SSF was sent into action, O'Neill refused to stay behind and declared that since he trained these boys he would damn well fight beside them. He held the rank of Captain and one of his duties included the assignment of being the bodyguard to General Frederick. After the war in Europe was over, O'Neill was tasked with the position of Provost Marshal over Monte Carlo.

As the war with Japan ended O'Neill was sent to Okinawa as a liaison officer. After the war O'Neill served as a consultant on police and security for various Federal agencies, including the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. In the mid-1960s O'Neill located in the Washington, DC area and began work with the International Police Academy there. This organization was funded by the Agency for International Development and was a cover for para-military operations and training run by the CIA. The Church Committee Hearings on Intelligence Activties brought the close of this academy in the early 1970s.

O'Neill was considered a very tough man in his day and had a reputation for not backing down from anyone. His skill in judo was highly praised even at the kodokan. O'Neill had studied under Uchijima, renowned old time kodokan judo instructor. O'Neill was especially known for his grappling skill. The methods of hand-to-hand combat he devised and taught were greatly effective and such was proven in actual battle numerous times. O'Neill greatly influenced military close-combat for both the US Army and Marine Corps.

Dermot O'Neill had been married briefly and had a daughter. He died on August 11, 1985.

The Sun compass - Viking and LRDG

The Sun Compass has always been one of my favorite navigation devices. This type of compass has been around for a very long time and is believed to have been used by the Vikings to navigate back and forth across the Atlantic about 1000 years ago. pretty cool stuff. The best use of this in history (to me) , was when it was used as a navigation device with the Long Range Desert Group(LRDG)in ww2. The use of this type of compass was a wise choice due to the fact that it is not effected by electronics, or metals from the vehicles and weapons of the LRDG operators.

I have attached below some info on both the viking type and the type used by the LRDG. I hope you find this info as interesting and useful as I do.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Sun Compass;

http://suncompass.fandom.tv/odds_and_ends.htm

The Sun Compass has been around for a very long time - the Vikings may well have used them - but in the context of this website, it is their use in the Second World War by those who navigated in the featureless deserts of North Africa that is of interest.

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), upon which the Rat Patrol is loosely based, was most proficient in the use of the sun compass. The device was ideally suited to the LRDG because of certain advantages it has over the magnetic compass. Unlike the magnetic compass, a sun compass is not influenced by electrical fields generated by engines or by the proximity of a vehicle's metal chassis. The founder of the LRDG, Major Ralph Bagnold, perfected the device to suit the rigors of the LRDG, and a sun compass was often bolted to the hoods or dashboards of the LRDG vehicles to facilitate readings as they navigated through the desert. To see a picture of a LRDG sun compass click here.

It appears somehow magical that the Rat Patrol managed so well so often without a sun compass - or without any other compass for that matter. Only twice was a compass ever seen by Sun compass, and both times it was a magnetic one. (see The Hourglass Raid for one instance. To be fair, that time was a good time not to use a sun compass, for sun compasses aren't all that helpful in the middle of a blinding sandstorm)

To read more about the LRDG and how they used the sun compass.
http://www.lrdg.org/lrdg_history_information.htm

Here's a place where you can learn more about the sun compass and even how to use one.
http://www.sundial.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/scomp2.htm

How to build your own sun compass (Link below is drawn from the internet archives so may be slow to appear. Patience please.)
http://web.archive.org/web/20051215150244/http://131.230.57.1/sun_const.htm

The Viking Sun Compass

or How the Vikings Found their Way Back from New York 1000 Years Ago

Franck Pettersen; http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/viking.html
Northern Lights Planetarium
Tromsø, Norway

[illustrations follow at the end of the article]

The saga is the literature and history that tells about the Nordic people-how they lived, where they traveled, and who they killed. The sagas are always written as true stories.

In Grønnlendingesaga, the saga of the Greenlanders, we can read about Eric the Red. He killed a man in Norway, became an outlaw, and fled with his family to Iceland. But he killed another man and became an outlaw there too. He set out west with his ship hoping to find new land, and he did! He was the first European to visit Greenland. He named the place Greenland to entice people follow him. They settled at Brattalid, which translates into "the steep hills;" it was not far from where Julianehåb is today.

The Vikings were the first known people to use the keel, which was necessary to keep a stable course when they crossed the oceans. Their sailing route was between the 61st and 62nd degree north on a due western course from Norway to Greenland. We can read their sailing instructions in one of the sagas. In the saga Landnåmabok it says: "From Hernam (near Bergen) in Norway you must hold on to a due western course, and that will take you to Hvarf in Greenland. On your way you will come so close to the Shetland Islands that you can just see them in clear weather. And you will sail so far from the Faroe Islands that you will see half of the hills in the water. And you will be so close to Iceland that you will see whales and birds from there."

Viking Navigation

Navigation before the Vikings was coastal, so how did the Vikings manage to keep their straight course across this great distance? One of the theories is that they used Icelandic feldspar to find the general direction. You can use it as a polarization filter to find the area of the sky 90 degrees from the sun. This theory only holds water if you can accept a navigation with an error of plus or minus 30 degrees from the set course. Another theory is that the Vikings knew the magnetic compass. They might have, but even that is a problem because the deviation ever changes during the voyage.

What about the stars? Didn't the Vikings know about star navigation? North of the Arctic Circle there is continuous daylight for months in the summer. And even at 62 degrees north, there are very few stars in the middle of the summer. And the Vikings voyaged as a summer occupation.


Did They Reach New York?

Were they there, at the North American continent? There is absolutely no doubt that they were, but the only place where archeological evidence is found is at L´Anse aux Meadows at northern Newfoundland, Canada.

When I look at the question "how far south did they go?", I approach this from three different angles.

1. Compare with the other adventurous Viking voyages, and the social pressure on the Viking captain.

2. What are the geographical descriptions in the saga.

3. What are the important pieces of astronomical information from the Vinland Saga.

Vikings before Lief Eriksson went from Norway through Gibraltar and all the way to the eastern Mediterranean. Vikings had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled at Iceland and Greenland. We also know that they crossed the much shorter distance over to the American continent. The Vikings in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland knew about these voyages. There is no reason to believe that they stopped at Newfoundland, but rather that they went much further south. The distance from Newfoundland to New York is only one fifth of the distance they sailed in Europe. Having reached Newfoundland, there was a pressure on the next Viking captain or Viking chief to go further south to explore new lands to prove that he was a man, and that he was a skilled navigator and explorer. In the saga we read that Bjarne Herjulfsson in the year 986, on his way to Greenland, went into fog and lost his direction. They turned south, sailing for two weeks with land on the port side of the ship before reaching the latitude of southern Greenland. Years later in Norway, Bjarne had to suffer a lot of teasing for being a coward because he did not go ashore in this new land. But in the year 999 Leif Eriksson was the one to continue. And he wanted to be sure that he went further south than Bjarne did. Quite a few things surprised Leif and his men in this new land. The most important to us are:

· The whole winter went by without temperatures below the freezing point, and without snow.

· They found wild grain.

· There was hardly no brown grass, even in the middle of the winter.

· They found wild grapes.

One of Leif's men was originally from Germany. One day he was missing, and when they found him again, his face was red, they did not understand him when he talked, his eyes were rolling, and he did funny things with his face as he talked. The explanation was that he had found grapes, and he knew from Germany how to make wine of them. Leif named the land Vinland the Good.

Astronomical Observations

The astronomical observation mentioned in the Vinland saga is as follows. At skamdagr, the shortest day of the year, Leif observed the sun to be in Eyktarstad and Dagmålsstad. Eykt, or in modern Norwegian økt, means a period of work. Eyktarstad means that Leif had seen the sun in the direction on the horizon where work was to finish in the afternoon according to the tradition in Norway. In modern language he observed the sun above the horizon 60° west of south at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Eykt at sea is still today 4 o'clock. The saga does not say set in eyktarstad, so it is to be understood "had not set in eyktarstad." The most radical interpretation of the information from the saga gives us a northernmost possible latitude of 37° north for Leif´s winter camp. Chesapeake Bay in Virginia is in this area. The distance from Greenland to Chesapeake Bay is the same as from Bergen in Norway to Gibraltar.

The calculations can be done in spherical astronomy, and they are not very complicated, but it is very well suited for presentation with a planetarium projector as a part of a program. If we instead of the most radical interpretation of the observation use the most conservative, we will still find Leif´s camp at 42° north.

Other captains followed: Leif's brother Torvald, a captain called Torfinn Karlsevne and Leif´s sister, Frøydis, who was the leader of the last of these expeditions. We know this about the last expedition: Because of the favorable winds, they had such a fast journey back to Greenland that it is specially mentioned in the saga. Early in the spring the ships were made ready, and they were back already early in the summer. These ships made 6 - 8 knots under good conditions.

How did they find their way back from New York? We have to keep in mind that most of their navigation was coastal navigation. It took place in the summer, and preferably around summer solstice. In the case of ocean navigation, they sailed on a course due west or due east along latitude 62° north. To manage this, they did navigate by star, the star-the sun. Two simple but amazingly accurate devices helped them with that. The first one was a "solskuggefjøl" - a sun shadow board. This was a circular board with a tip in the middle, and the board was allowed to float in a bucket of water. Concentric circles represented different dates. When the shadow of the tip was observed around noon it was supposed to reach the circumference of the right circle, and they knew they were on the right latitude. Another possibility was to move the tip in the middle up and down according to different dates.

The Sun Compass

The other instrument was the real amazing one: The sun compass. This instrument draws on the fact that the sun´s shadow from the tip in the middle of a disk describes different hyperbolas at different times of the year. When you have the hyperbola representing 62° and the four weeks around summer solstice, you don´t have to know the time of the day in order to find the general directions. All you have to do is rotate the disk until the shadow of the tip falls on the hyperbola, and the general directions are given with an accuracy of a few degrees. One of the ingenious things about navigating with this instrument is that if you should choose the wrong gnomon curve and get a course that is a little too much north in the morning, this will be corrected in the afternoon by a slightly south bound course-and your average direction will be correct.

The only archeological evidence for this Viking compass was found in Greenland by the archeologist C. L. Vebæk of Denmark. Later it was interpreted by Captain Sølver and by Søren Thirslund at the Nautical Museum at Kronborg Castle and by professor Curt Roslund at the University of Gøteborg. The Viking compass that was found had different hyperbolas or gnomon curves, and the north direction is clearly marked with 16 small cuts crossing a long line. If we count the spikes from north and to the right we have 90° or due west, at spike number 8. This also indicates that dividing the compass into 32 directions was done already by the Vikings, before the magnetic compass was in use in Europe.


References:

Almar Næss: Hvor lå Vinland, Dreyers Forlag, Oslo 1954.

S. Thirslund & C. L. Vebæk: The Viking Compass, Handels og Søfartsmuseet på Kronborg 1992, ISBN 87-981869-8-1.

Kåre Prydtz: Lykkelige Vinland, Aschehoug, Oslo 1975. ISBN 82-03-06540-6.

Saga: Flateyabok

Saga: Landnámabok

The Viking Compass can be ordered from the Danish Maritime Museum, Kronborg Castle, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark.

This article was originally presented as a paper at the IPS Conference in Utah in 1992.

The bearing-dial from Uunartoq Fjord placed in a compass-card of today, divided into both compass points and 360 degrees. The straight line passing through 82 degrees and 278 derees in the modern compass card is the line followed by the sun's shadow at the equinoxes, also marked on the find. If the notch number 13A was removed deliberately, the division of the bearing-dial is correct within 15 degrees.

Compass card with accessories which was sent with the yachtsmen competing in the two great races Round Zealand and Round Fynen. They were made to be placed on top of a beer bottle, which should be held with two fingers near the top.

The solskuggerfjol (sun shadow board) mentioned in the History of the Faroe Islands, was used for determining latitude. It was a circular wooden board about 250 to 300 millimeters in diameter. In the center was a gnomon, the height of which could be set to the time of the year. To keep it level, the board was placed in a bowl of water. The shadow of the noon sun was observed. A circle on the board gave the line the shadow should reach if the ship was on the desired latitude. If the shadow was beyond the line the ship was north of this latitude; if inside, the ship was south of it.

Reproduced from the Planetarian, Vol. 22, #1, March 1993. Copyright 1993 International Planetarium Society. For permission to reproduce please contact Executive Editor, Sharon Shank.

Sudanese arm Dagger

Yesterday,I picked up a Sudanese arm dagger for around 3 dollars in the Libya market. It is typical of the sub Saharan African type of blades you find around here. cheap, small and crudely made but it is a very effective defensive tool in the right hands. A cheap blade like this will kill you just as dead as an expensive knife , AND as my friend Matt is fond of saying " Knives don't click on empty".

This one is a little bit heavy and reminds me of the OSS daggers of ww2. It has a full tang and a decent leather wrapped handle for a good grip. While working in Darfur I saw a lot of the locals wearing this type of knife(Only bigger)tied to their upper arms. I might give that style a try in the future. Right now tho, Im just carrying it in an ankle rig.

I have seen some very nice Daggers like this one with well forged blades and either hard wood or horn handles. If I get lucky and find another, Ill buy it and post some pics here.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Jungle Wil and the Batak in the Philippines

If you have been following this blog you will know that my good friend Jungle Wil AKA "Hell boy" is currently in the Philippines on the Island of Palawan exploring the Jungle with the Batak people. These folks are pretty similar to the Aeta of the Subic bay area and are real world Jungle survival experts.

I have posted a little info below via Wikipedia about the Batak. I look forward to seeing "Hell boy's" pictures when he gets back from the woods. Ill post them here for sure.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

The Batak are one of about 70 indigenous peoples of the Philippines. They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, a relatively large island in the southwest of the archipelago. There are only about 500 Batak remaining. Also called Tinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists to be closely related to the Ayta of Central Luzon, another Negrito tribe. They tend to be small in stature, with dark skin and short curly or "kinky" hair, traits which originally garnered the "Negrito" groups their name. Still, there is some debate as to whether the Batak are related to the other Negrito groups of the Philippines or actually to other, physically similar groups in Indonesia or as far away as the Andaman islands.

Batak have for centuries combined a hunting-gathering lifestyle with seeding of useful food plants, kaingin, a slash and burn farming method, and trading. It is believed that they may have had trading relations with Chinese merchants as early as 500 AD.

As a result, during the mid to late-20th century the Batak were easily pushed out of their preferred gathering grounds by the sea into the mountains by emigrant farmers, mostly from Luzon. Living in less fertile areas, they have attempted to supplement their income by harvesting and selling various nontimber forest products, such as rattan, tree resins, and honey. This has been met with resistance by the government and commercial collectors, who assert that the Batak have no legal right to these resources. Conservationists, however, have taken an interest in the Batak's collection methods, which are much more sustainable than the techniques used by commercial concessionaires.

The Batak were once a nomadic people, but have since, at the behest of the government, settled in small villages. Still, they often go on gathering trips into the forest for a few days at a time, an activity which has both economic and spiritual value for them. Their belief system is that of animism, which is belief in spirits that reside in nature. Some, called "Panyeon", are generally suspicious of humans but are tolerant of them, as long as people don't abuse or waste the resources of the forest. Other spirits, called "Diwata" are generally benevolent. All are capricious. Batak make regular offerings to these spirits, and Shamans undergo spiritual possession in order to communicate with the spirits and heal the sick.

Rapid depopulation, restricted forest access, sedentary living, and incursion by immigrants has devastated the group culturally. Today, very few Batak marry other Batak but tend to marry from other neighboring groups. The pattern has been than the children of these marriages tend to not follow Batak cultural ways, and today "pure" Batak are rare. As a result Batak are being absorbed into a more diffuse group of upland indigenous peoples who are slowing losing their tribal identities, and with it their unique spirituality and culture; there is even some debate as to whether or not they still exist as a distinct ethnic entity.

Jungle Wil's new Website - Bushcraftasia

my good friend and fellow world traveler "Jungle Wil" AKA "Hell boy" has informed me that his new website is up and running. I will be posting some articles on there soon.

You can check out Wil's site at; http://www.bushcraftasia.com/

I look forward to seeing you on the forum there.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!