Indigenous Ability

[The following is extracted from our upcoming volume Move Like a Warrior: Recapturing Indigenous Movement .] Spend any time reading accounts of early contact between “civilized” folk and indigenous peoples, or those “civilized” ones who had “gone Injun’” such as early frontiersmen, scouts, the Coureur De Bois [“Runners of the Woods” or “woods runners”] of the North Woods and you find some commonalities. There is in many an admiration for the strength and grace of body and freedom of spirit. There are also more than a few disdainful accounts that still offer begrudging regard for “ stout and sturdy frames ” that “ can run like a deer ” or “ disappear into [the desert/mountain/forest] like the very wind itself.” Undoubtedly, much of these remarked upon characteristics were part and parcel of time, time spent in these very environments and gradually learning that to be a good hunter, one needed stealth and stamina to eat. One needed a general natural cultivated facile ...

In the early days of warfare tightly knitted formation was a martial ideal. From the strictly formed phalanxes of Sparta’s hoplites, to the triplex acies (triple battle order) of the Roman Army, to the rank and file formations of Continental Armies typical of the Napoleonic Wars—tight, coordinated movement en masse was often the semblance of “cover” and defense. When these war-hardened battle-tactics made their way to the early American Continent they encountered a guerrilla style of war in the tactics used by the indigenous peoples. A strategy of stealth, ambush, concealment, quick and seemingly trackless retreat. These tactics were disparagingly called “ the skulking way of war ” or more simply “ skulking. ” The term was not meant as a compliment. It was viewed as a cowardly way to engage. But…it was mighty effective. Here, we have a limited number of warriors without the “blessings of formal training” and in many cases using stone-age weaponry more than holding its o...

[The first in a series on Tactical Night-Vision that will take us from nautical warfare in WWII, thru optical anatomy and capabilities, and wind up with deliberate night-vision training from indigenous cultures.] Mark Opens with Four Obvious Statements  One -Awareness is the key to survival. Two -The key to awareness is willful directed use of the senses. Three -The primary sense in the curious biped called humans is sight. Four -Human sight does not operate at optimum capacity under low light conditions. But…we can use a series of tactical hacks to improve low-light acuity. Let’s delve into a bit of wisdom from Captain Peter Dickens, D.S.O., M.B.E., D.S.C., of Britain’s Royal Navy. Captain Dickens commanded an MTB [Motor Torpedo-Boat] during WWII. MTBs were small craft [70 footers] and mighty primitive…no radar, and, get this, no voice-radio. These wee boats were essentially electronically blind and had to rely on good eyes and unflagging...

Combat movement over open ground pre-projectile warfare was often a matter of movement in formation, melee, or breaking off into serial one-on-one or two-on-one engagements. Projectile warfare [archers and early firearms] ushered in a bit of care and cover and/or movement behind shields became more common. This was not the rule as we still see movement in formation under-fire for over a century of warfare. It is amazing how long a very bad idea can live. It outlived many a human. As British troops facing Indians in the early era of this nation can attest, skulking warfare [ambuscade, cover, concealment] began making colonials early-adopters of this successful tactic that was rendering superior numbers and overwhelming firepower less effective. Skulking is dependent on utilizing the terrain to maxim um cover and concealment effectiveness whether it be natural or urban terrain. But…open ground engagement where cover and concealment are at a premium was and is a...