The term "martial arts" - specifically weaponless - can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  In this 2-part podcast, I would like to give an outline of what aspects of hand-to-hand combat are most important to me.  What it generally boils down to is a matter of utmost simplicity so that we don't over-saturate the body and mind with so many techniques that we don't really know how to respond under the pressure and adrenaline of a real physical threat.

In part one, I outline areas of fighting that I feel are simple to learn both mentally as well as physically - as we ingrain techniques into our muscle memory in order to make it as instinctive as possible.  This includes aspects of martial arts like Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and a general mixed martial arts street fighting attitude.  The key in all movement and fight attitude is simplicity.  I would much rather see students practice one simple move 10,000 times than practice 10,000 different moves one time.

A few highlights of the podcast to listen for:

•  Hick's Law ("The length of reaction time under severe adrenaline stress is directly proportional to the amount of techniques learned")  
• Fight Attitude ("I'm not good enough, nor will I ever have time to become good enough, to fight someone in a peaceful manner")  
• Simplicity in technique ("How does your body already want to move, naturally?")

**Part 2 to this podcast will be posted shortly.

Listen to an excerpt from the podcast here:

This podcast discusses a “top 10” list of the medicinal herbs I would choose to have with me if there was no further medicinal care beyond what I could provide for myself or others.  While only having 10 herbs to choose from is definitely a huge limitation for me, it also is a great exercise in learning the myriad of medicinal effects that a single plant can have.

1. Plantain (Plangato spp.)
2. Algerita (Mahonia trifoliolata) or Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
3. Echinacea (Echinacea spp.)
4. Elecampane (Inula helenium)
5. Pleurisy (Asclepius tuberosa)
6. Chaparral (Larrea spp.)
7. Horsetail (Equitesum arvense)
8. Lobelia (Lobelia inflata)
9. Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
10. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Herbology certification and classes are listed online at our website: www.thehumanpath.com

Click on the link below to listen to our most recent podcast here:
Podcast #4

In today's podcast, Sam discusses the specialty areas of his outdoor wilderness survival school, The Human Path.  The specialty areas help break down a massive amount of curriculum into digestible pieces.

Specialty Course Areas: 

• Primitive Engineer
• Combat Medic
• Hunter Gatherer
• Scout/Spy
• Leader

Listen to an excerpt here:

Herbs can be suspended in mediums like alcohol, vegetable oil, vinegar, etc., to allow their use later. This is a convenient way to keep and use herbal remedies such as an herbal salve. This is probably a familiar concept to most readers – “tinctures,” “salves,” etc. However, there is another way that is less convenient but almost always more effective. Namely working with fresh or raw plant material directly, and not suspended in any type of medium.<< MORE >>

Last Blog entry I talked about some different types of survival bows. One of those types of survival bows was a 1-piece or 2-piece survival bow. To move along that subject a little further, here is a video about my making a survival bow of this type from the local Ashe Juniper (aka mountain cedar) here in the hill country. It’s really a great survival bow wood if you work with it carefully. The biggest problems really are the excessive twisting (which is how this tree deals with drought) and the amount of cracking that happens when this wood dries.<< MORE >>

We’re doing a small series on primitive hunting weapons this winter, at The Human Path I would like to be a little better about posting blog entries, and have a lot to write about, so I think I’ll start with a short set of entries over the holidays on primitive projectiles. Mainly survival bows and atlatls...<< MORE >>

I decided to do a hand drill video that shows a little more technique and how it looks to actually start a hand-drill fire. My last blog on this subject was composed of photos and text, which don’t really get the point across as well...<< MORE >>

The hill country and San Antonio region has a huge variety of medicinal plants. However, there are some toxic ones out there too. One of the plants that is problem for a lot of people (about 90% of anyone who comes in contact with it more than once) is poison oak. There are several species of poison oak, but the two most common in the USA are commonly referred to as “western” and “eastern” poison oak...<< MORE >>

Every few months someone asks a question (especially during preparedness classes) about pets – usually dogs. Questions like: - How can I incorporate my pet into my preparedness/disaster plan? - What is a good breed of dog to take with me in a survival situation? - What kinds of things would a dog be good at in a survival (wilderness and/or post-disaster) situation?<< MORE >>