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General Training and Drills |
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NOTE: I triple checked all the site pages to make sure this wasn't a duplicate page, but if it is, please give me a heads up. I've noticed that there are several individual pages for PT training, medical training, weekend training, etc and thought it'd be simpler and easier to have them all under a common directory. I haven't moved them, so if the users who started the pages could move them under here? Instead of spamming the page, can any feedback go to the related thread?-John_234
No matter how expensive your gear is, or how much work you put into it, nothing is more important then knowing, and trusting your equipment. Remember however, that to train with your weapons and equipment, you need to have a good understanding of any universal safety rules and quirks. With that knowledge, this page is supposed to help develop the skills necessary to survive on Z-day.
Short drills, essentials and such will be posted on this page, specialized and lengthy ones will go in sub directory pages.
Handicap drills
No matter how good you are at what you do, at some point, you may be injured and/or disabled, and knowing how to function while handicapped is a very valuable skill.
Firearms
Generally speaking, it is much simpler to use a handgun with a single hand then any type of long gun, and switching to a sidearm when wounded may even be a better option.
Shooting with a single hand is fairly simple, but recoil may pose a problem. Tilting the sidearm at a slight angle (think of gangster-sideways but to a lesser extent) will spread the recoil down your arm and shoulders rather then just your wrist, and may help. Turn your body so your side is facing the target, and lean into the shots. This spreads the recoil further and gives a smaller target.
Reloading poses more of a problem. On an automatic pistol, drop the magazine, then holster the pistol, (or tuck it under your armpit, under your knee, in your pocket, etc)insert a fresh magazine, then drop the slide release. On some pistols this may only need a slight shifting of grip to release the slide, others may just be easier to rack. If the slide catch is inconvenient (some, like Glocks, have crappy slide releases, and some pocket pistols like the PPk have none at all), or the slide went forward during loading and holstering, place the sights against a suitable surface (belt, boot, whatever) and rack vigorously. Jams basically need the magazine stripped, and the slide racked several times, then proceed as with a normal reload.
Revolvers are much harder to reload, mainly due to the difficulty in loading rounds with one hand.
Ejecting the casings is also complicated when using your left hand.
Release the cylinder, pivot the gun in your hand so the muzzle is pointing skyward, then firmly punch the empties with your thumb. Cradle the revolver somehow (try to use your gear to hold it, possibly an open pouch or simply stick it in your belt) then reach for your spare rounds. Insert the rounds, grip the weapon again and close the cylinder. It may be a good idea to carry a revolver and small automatic backup, or vice versa for auto users.
In addition to general shooting, practice drawing while wounded. Practice all these strong hand first, then slowly, weak hand. Be especially careful on drawing with your weak hand, and use dummy rounds and Airsoft for the drills until you are comfortable with them. Using a flashlight and a pistol with a single hand is a bit of a challenge, and purchasing a gun-mounted light will help immeasurably. Know how to activate the light without a support hand, and buy a holster that can hold the sidearm with the light attached. Practice for accuracy, not speed, as even if you're going up against humans and/or rage zombies, you only have so many rounds before you have to go through that lengthy reloading process again.
Sometimes a bullpup layout may make single handed shooting doable, but the vast majority of rifles, shotguns and other long arms pose a serious challenge, especially with any kind of accessories.. If you absolutely must engage a close range threat, switching to a sidearm may be a better idea. At longer ranges, getting yourself patched up should come first.
First Aid
First aid is something that cannot be completely taught on the Internet. Many hospitals and some schools offer first aid courses, and knowing how to treat wounds is a skill that is useful in general. When traveling in a group, carry your wound dressings and materials in the same places, so your buddies don't have to fumble for it while you bleed out. There are several styles of dressing available, look for ones with the rolls of bandage attached to the sterile pad, so all you do is press the entire thing onto the wound and wrap the bandage.
Practice tying splints, dressing wounds, tourniquets, applying traction, and other techniques. As with firearms drills, try with both hands, strong hand only, weak hand only, on all your limbs and in various light conditions.
One way to practice wound treatment is described on the Airsoft sub page.
Honing your first and last weapon: the body
These exercises are supposed to condition your reactions, assist tactical movement, and give you a fighting chance when a Z grabs you.
Stalker Drill
The stalker drill is pretty much an audio version of sneaking past the guard with the flashlight.
Do this in an area with dry plant matter, or any place that creates a good amount of noise. One person sits in the middle of the area, blindfolded.
The others form a circle around him, roughly 50 meters away. Space them fairly evenly, and use a ratio of 10:1 or so when picking groups. The idea is to move up to the person in the middle and tap them. If the person in the middle hears something, they point in the direction of the sound and say "bang". For night drills, use a flashlight. If someone is in that direction, they go back to the boundary and can move forward immediately. For large groups of people, have several persons in the middle sitting back-to-back instead of an individual. Making it so everyone has to reset if someone gets caught may work better for this then the individual out, so try variations until you get a result that is challenging and forces teamwork.
For the people stalking, this drill forces noise discipline and silent movement. When you add more challenging elements, the "stalkers" need to utilize hand signals, distractions and timing to confuse the middle person. The listener's task requires focus and careful observation. He learns to track noise and distinguish what sounds are natural or not.
Sensitivity Exercise (Taken from ATTACK PROOF)
This is intended to enhance your reaction to an unexpected attacker. With some modification, it will work for Zs as well.
One person spins slowly with their eyes closed. A second person, with a kick shield and padded stick, randomly taps the spinning person.
At this point, attack proof says to viciously attack for soft targets; eyes, neck, groin then back away. For a zombie, risk of splatter and ineffectiveness of pain-based techniques make this dangerous. Use blows that throw the target off balance, shifting the center of balance and/or going for the legs.
A throw will be risky as it requires you to bring your body close to the target. A strong kick to the center mass may give you enough time to get away, but will be impossible at very close range. A low, sweeping kick will work for taking out legs; turn your body with the the kick and give it more force rather then speed. If you use blows with your fists, follow through on impact to give the most force, and retract quickly. Regardless of what you do, the idea is to get away, not to look cool and get bit. The most important part, however is to react quickly to contact.
No matter how expensive your gear is, or how much work you put into it, nothing is more important then knowing, and trusting your equipment. Remember however, that to train with your weapons and equipment, you need to have a good understanding of any universal safety rules and quirks. With that knowledge, this page is supposed to help develop the skills necessary to survive on Z-day.
Short drills, essentials and such will be posted on this page, specialized and lengthy ones will go in sub directory pages.
Handicap drills
No matter how good you are at what you do, at some point, you may be injured and/or disabled, and knowing how to function while handicapped is a very valuable skill.
Firearms
Generally speaking, it is much simpler to use a handgun with a single hand then any type of long gun, and switching to a sidearm when wounded may even be a better option.
Shooting with a single hand is fairly simple, but recoil may pose a problem. Tilting the sidearm at a slight angle (think of gangster-sideways but to a lesser extent) will spread the recoil down your arm and shoulders rather then just your wrist, and may help. Turn your body so your side is facing the target, and lean into the shots. This spreads the recoil further and gives a smaller target.
Reloading poses more of a problem. On an automatic pistol, drop the magazine, then holster the pistol, (or tuck it under your armpit, under your knee, in your pocket, etc)insert a fresh magazine, then drop the slide release. On some pistols this may only need a slight shifting of grip to release the slide, others may just be easier to rack. If the slide catch is inconvenient (some, like Glocks, have crappy slide releases, and some pocket pistols like the PPk have none at all), or the slide went forward during loading and holstering, place the sights against a suitable surface (belt, boot, whatever) and rack vigorously. Jams basically need the magazine stripped, and the slide racked several times, then proceed as with a normal reload.
Revolvers are much harder to reload, mainly due to the difficulty in loading rounds with one hand.
Ejecting the casings is also complicated when using your left hand.
Release the cylinder, pivot the gun in your hand so the muzzle is pointing skyward, then firmly punch the empties with your thumb. Cradle the revolver somehow (try to use your gear to hold it, possibly an open pouch or simply stick it in your belt) then reach for your spare rounds. Insert the rounds, grip the weapon again and close the cylinder. It may be a good idea to carry a revolver and small automatic backup, or vice versa for auto users.
In addition to general shooting, practice drawing while wounded. Practice all these strong hand first, then slowly, weak hand. Be especially careful on drawing with your weak hand, and use dummy rounds and Airsoft for the drills until you are comfortable with them. Using a flashlight and a pistol with a single hand is a bit of a challenge, and purchasing a gun-mounted light will help immeasurably. Know how to activate the light without a support hand, and buy a holster that can hold the sidearm with the light attached. Practice for accuracy, not speed, as even if you're going up against humans and/or rage zombies, you only have so many rounds before you have to go through that lengthy reloading process again.
Sometimes a bullpup layout may make single handed shooting doable, but the vast majority of rifles, shotguns and other long arms pose a serious challenge, especially with any kind of accessories.. If you absolutely must engage a close range threat, switching to a sidearm may be a better idea. At longer ranges, getting yourself patched up should come first.
First Aid
First aid is something that cannot be completely taught on the Internet. Many hospitals and some schools offer first aid courses, and knowing how to treat wounds is a skill that is useful in general. When traveling in a group, carry your wound dressings and materials in the same places, so your buddies don't have to fumble for it while you bleed out. There are several styles of dressing available, look for ones with the rolls of bandage attached to the sterile pad, so all you do is press the entire thing onto the wound and wrap the bandage.
Practice tying splints, dressing wounds, tourniquets, applying traction, and other techniques. As with firearms drills, try with both hands, strong hand only, weak hand only, on all your limbs and in various light conditions.
One way to practice wound treatment is described on the Airsoft sub page.
Honing your first and last weapon: the body
These exercises are supposed to condition your reactions, assist tactical movement, and give you a fighting chance when a Z grabs you.
Stalker Drill
The stalker drill is pretty much an audio version of sneaking past the guard with the flashlight.
Do this in an area with dry plant matter, or any place that creates a good amount of noise. One person sits in the middle of the area, blindfolded.
The others form a circle around him, roughly 50 meters away. Space them fairly evenly, and use a ratio of 10:1 or so when picking groups. The idea is to move up to the person in the middle and tap them. If the person in the middle hears something, they point in the direction of the sound and say "bang". For night drills, use a flashlight. If someone is in that direction, they go back to the boundary and can move forward immediately. For large groups of people, have several persons in the middle sitting back-to-back instead of an individual. Making it so everyone has to reset if someone gets caught may work better for this then the individual out, so try variations until you get a result that is challenging and forces teamwork.
For the people stalking, this drill forces noise discipline and silent movement. When you add more challenging elements, the "stalkers" need to utilize hand signals, distractions and timing to confuse the middle person. The listener's task requires focus and careful observation. He learns to track noise and distinguish what sounds are natural or not.
Sensitivity Exercise (Taken from ATTACK PROOF)
This is intended to enhance your reaction to an unexpected attacker. With some modification, it will work for Zs as well.
One person spins slowly with their eyes closed. A second person, with a kick shield and padded stick, randomly taps the spinning person.
At this point, attack proof says to viciously attack for soft targets; eyes, neck, groin then back away. For a zombie, risk of splatter and ineffectiveness of pain-based techniques make this dangerous. Use blows that throw the target off balance, shifting the center of balance and/or going for the legs.
A throw will be risky as it requires you to bring your body close to the target. A strong kick to the center mass may give you enough time to get away, but will be impossible at very close range. A low, sweeping kick will work for taking out legs; turn your body with the the kick and give it more force rather then speed. If you use blows with your fists, follow through on impact to give the most force, and retract quickly. Regardless of what you do, the idea is to get away, not to look cool and get bit. The most important part, however is to react quickly to contact.
