Jul

16

The current issue of Outside magazine has an article called "Could You Survive" with 27 tips on how to survive a shark attack, a cougar attack, an avalanche, falling through ice, and a forest fire. The tips seem very relevant to how to survive in markets. But I don't know enough about survival and Hobo is far away I believe in Ecuador or Blythe and not likely to have access to this issue, so I appeal to the survivalists here to relate the good and bad tips to our field.

Jim Sogi writes: 

Surviving specific threats is very specific. With a bear, one does not fight back, but plays dead after the attack. However, before the attack one must counter charge and wave hands, yell make noise because the first few charges are bluffs. With a cougar, one must fight back with all you have. Prevention, avoidance and awareness of bears and cougars before an attack are even more important.

It's important to know the context in which the threat occurs and the nature of the threat. In terms of markets, its foolish to fight back aggressively at the top of a rapidly falling market. Its a different story near lows after a big fall in a consolidating bottom. That's one of the problems with a list of general rules. While they can be good rules of thumb, they might not apply in a certain specific situation. Beginners or the inexperienced tend to rely on simple rules and get into trouble by applying the rules in the wrong context. When the "rule" doesn't work then panic sets in, multiple mistakes are made and death ensues. Experts use different and more specific sets of checklists and know the context.

Tom Printon writes:

Deep Survival by Gonzales and Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawade echo Jim's points, both make for good summer reads or re-reads.

Bo Keely writes: 

I ran this by bear, gator, snake & cougar wrestler naturalist Richard Fowler and he sent us this:

THE MAIN THING IS NEVER RUN FROM A WILD ANIMAL. THEY WAIT AND WANT THAT. UNLESS YOU HAVE A SHORT SPRINT TO A PLACE OF SAFETY, CAR, HOUSE, ETC. ALWAYS CARRY BEAR GAS. HOWEVER LONG DISTANCE WASP SPRAY IS BEST. BRING A GUN THAT STARTS WITH THE NUMBER 4 OR BIGGER, AND. ALWAYS SHOOT THE SHOULDER AREA OF AN ATTACK TO UPSET THEIR BALANCE IN THE CHARGE. THEN FINISH HIM OFF. 


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5 Comments so far

  1. bo keeley on July 16, 2012 9:49 am

    I sent my bear attack story.

  2. bo keeley on July 16, 2012 10:12 am

    My little encounter occurred five years ago in the New Mexico mountains at a streamside. hiking along the river, suddenly a black blur burst out the bushes and I knew in an instant that it could make two moves for every one of mine, that one may throw out everything he has read unless he has mentally or physically rehearsed it, and that I had better hurry up and react. The 350lb black bear looked up at me as it had been tracking, stood eight feet away on it hind legs, and peered into my eyes. The afternoon sun gleamed beautifully off its fur like a lover. She was about a foot shorter than me, so I raised my hands to the height of my ears. The bear raised its paws to the same height. Then I raised my hands six inches higher with the elbows at 90-degrees, and the bear stretched its paws overhead as high as it could to equal mine. I thought, what the heck, and shot my hands straight up in the air- as if in surrender or to make myself appear bigger… let the bear decide- and the bear dropped to the ground, dashed to a nearby tree, and leaped up leaving scratch marks that I would have to stand on tiptoes to reach. Then she dropped, looked at me with a bear grin, and scampered off into the bush. A peak experience at 3500´.

  3. steve leslie on July 16, 2012 12:30 pm

    a few thoughts :

    A marine is taught in basic training Adapt Improvise Overcome. Their greatest weapon is that which is between their ears.

    Never get emotional Courage is not the absence of fear it is the control of fear.

    Famous line from Apollo 13 Failure is not an option.

    Churchill never give up.

    Vince Lombardi The good lord gave you a body that can withstand almost anything. It is your mind you have to convince.

    You have a problem Good now deal with it.

    Manage the trade don’t let it manage you.

    Finally Louis Winthorpe III

    Think big, think positive, never show any sign of weakness. Always go for the throat. Buy low, sell high. Fear? That’s the other guy’s problem. Nothing you have ever experienced will prepare you for the absolute carnage you are about to witness. Super Bowl, World Series - they don’t know what pressure is. In this building, it’s either kill or be killed. You make no friends in the pits and you take no prisoners. One minute you’re up half a million in soybeans and the next, boom, your kids don’t go to college and they’ve repossessed your Bentley. Are you with me?

  4. steve leslie on July 16, 2012 12:36 pm

    Two great movies each unique and worthy of watching:

    The Edge
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119051/

    Deliverance
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/

    Honorable mention
    The Grey
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1601913/

  5. steve leslie on July 17, 2012 9:53 am

    This is interesting stuff. I am no outdoorsman. I could not catch a fish at a fish market. I do watch alot of movies and have seen Bear Grylls plus I stayed in holiday inn express last night( not true.) So I guess this makes me qualfied.

    An alligator can run up to 30 mph in short bursts. If it starts chasing you run in a zig zag motion. It only moves straight forward. Its mouth is the business end but beware its tail

    If a bear starts to chase you consider an avenue of escape. I understand that bears cannot run downhill so you have an advantage there. You cannot outrun a bear and if you do run they consider it a game. If they are to grab you cover your face and neck because instinctively this is where they will bite.

    A gorilla will charge you first to intimidate. If they grab you they will tear you apart. face them down and scream back at them. Otherwise get the hell out of the cage and leave them alone.

    A rattlesnake will shake the rattler before it strikes. If you hear the rattler do not move outlast it. RAttlesnakes rarely attack unless provoked or threatened.

    To avoid sting rays in the ocean or murky waters shuffle your feet along the bottom. They only sting you when they are stepped on.

    When scuba or skin diving remove all jewelry. Barracuda will be drawn to it and their teeth are like a saw. A shark will circle you first and then nudge you before it atatcks. Depending on the species push it away. Most attacks on humans are due to mistakes. It may think you are a turtle on the surface. Once it bites it usually lets go. However the damage can be severe due to the teeth. Stay out of schools of small fish. Once a shark opens its mouth it cannot see and just clamps down in a swoop. Never ever dive alone. always have a buddy. and stay close.

    When diving for lobster, be careful poking into holes this is where moray eels reside and their bites are painful.

    Only real idiots noodle. This is where you try to catch fish with only your hands. If you must learn to noodle, go to Louisiana or Arkansas and look for a man who has fingers missing . Chances are he knows how to noodle.

    Hippos are one of the most aggressive creatures in the world.
    Stay away from them they will attack without provocation.

    Badgers and wolverines are part of the weasel family. They are tenacious fearless and pound for pound formidable. Most people never see a wolverine. Naturalists rarely if ever see wolverines they are largely nocturnal, they eat dead and frozen animals. Badgers are just nasty things.

    Most of these things will never happen to you. Here is one last part that might.

    When camping be very fastidious. Do not leave food scraps around. Never leave your food in your tent. If possible tie it to a rope and hang it from a tree. When camping always insure that you have plenty of water or are near a water source. You can live for a long time without food but you can die quickly without water. Always be drinking water whether in hot weather or cold. It is the most important nutrient for the body. Always be hydrating. Once you are thirsty it is much too late. a rule of thumb is you should consume half your body weight in oz per day. eg. you weigh two hundred pounds, you should be drinking 100 ounces per day. Do not drink alcohol or anything that has caffeine in it. this takes water out of your system. BE aware of the warning signs of heat exhaustion.

    Always wear a light hat. Learn the best clothing to hike in in hot temperate and cold climate.

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