Z-Day Plans and Preparations#2: Close Combat with Zombies

When Z-Day arrives, it is inevitable that sooner or later you will have to deal with zombies - up close and personal. So now that we've identified the various zombie types and their (few) weaknesses, it's time to see how your martial arts skills and weapons stack up against the zombie threat.

The Good News: The average zombie is slow-moving, and has no protective reflexes whatsoever. This makes them an easy target for your preferred techniques.

The Bad News: Zombies are insensitive to pain, only severe physical damage will slow or stop them. To make matters worse, most zombie types are infectious, so any bite, or even scratch, could mean a slow death for you.

The Really Bad News: Unless you're wielding some kind of magically infused weapon, close-combat with a supernatural zombie is suicide. And unless you're wearing complete protective clothing, close combat with type 2b will rapidly see you torn apart or infected due to the high speed and strength of the Rage Zombie.

So let's briefly review your options, starting with hand-to-hand.

Punching: Almost useless. Zombies can be dazed for a few seconds by mild head trauma, but unless you're the kind of person who can break coconuts with your fist, you have no hope of a kill. To make things worse, zombies are usually open-mouthed, so unless you're wearing gloves the chance of a bitten hand is very high. Hardcore Z-Day believers may wish to construct a spiked glove (local laws permitting). This will provide both protection and the chance of a swift kill if the zombies get too close.

Kicking: Zombies usually have poor balance, so strong kicks could easily put them down, giving you time to escape. Knee breaks will severely inconvenience them, but beware of crawling zombies that bite at your ankles. Given the protection afforded by shoes, head kicks could be effective for knockdowns, exceptionally strong kickers may even be able to break the neck and score a kill. Even flying kicks could have a use here, allowing you to punch through a small knot of zombies and make good your escape.

Grappling: There's no doubt that a trained grappler could tie a zombie in knots, and any neck-breaking technique would guarantee a kill. The hard part is doing it all without getting bitten. Maintaining "head control" of your target zombie is highly recommended.

Throwing: The outstretched arms of a zombie make them easy to throw, but again, you have to watch out for the bite factor. Hip/shoulder style throws that place your head close to the zombie's are not recommended. Joint manipulation/sweeping throws are probably the preferred option. Skilled throwers should be able to project the target head-first into the ground for a kill, or possibly into the path of other zombies to slow them down.

Weaponry: Since many of us live in countries where firearms are hard/impossible to obtain, only traditional or improvised weapons will be considered here.

Improvised:The most easily available anti-zombie weapons will be garden tools and sports equipment. The good news is that anything heavy enough to crack a skull can be successfully used against zombies. Baseball/cricket bats, hockey sticks, axes/hatchets, even large hammers can do the job. So it's worth having a look in the garage to see what you have on hand, and make sure it's readily available for when the zombies come knocking.

Traditional: Swords and machetes are a preferred Z-Day weapon, offering both decapitation and amputation options. Bladed polearms, maces and axes will also be effective. So if you can legally own something sharp, make sure it's big and nasty enough to cut through limbs and necks. Stick arts will be less effective, but with the right weapon a kill is still possible.

Bows and crossbows: countries with restrictive firearms laws tend to be hard on crossbows as well, but if archery is legal where you live you might as well join a club and get in some range time. While a headshot with a bow will be somewhat difficult, it does provide you with a long-range weapon. Arrows can also be retrieved/reused, and bows are quiet compared to firearms - an important consideration because zombies are attracted to sound.

As before, I welcome any suggestions/additions to the list. Tell us how your skills will cope against zombie attacks. This is also the place for discussion of protective gear and any (legal) weaponry you own, or plan to acquire/make.

 

I'm enjoying this...

 

Epic! I'm with Liero, I'm quite enjoying this

 

Thanks guys. Perhaps you could share some info on your styles and how you plan to go hand-to-hand with the zombie horde..

For myself, since I'm most comfortable with boxing I'm at a disadvantage against zombies. It's time to put more work into my kicking skills, plus a basic takedown or two. I do study LaCanne, which would work well with a bladed weapon, but I don't have one yet. Swords require a permit in Australia, so I'll have to see what I can pick up by way of a machete. So far the only decent protective gear I have is a leather jacket, so my Z-Day preparations are somewhat lacking. I'll also check out the legalities of bows since I don't have a firearms license.

 

is it just me, or could the whole Z day thing use it's own sub-forum?

After all, it is the primary reason most of us MAP folk train.

My own personal recent discovery, apparently zombies can't swim. Can anyone confirm or deny this? If the answer is yes, then we can all save the money we are spending on training and exotic decapitation devices and transfer our resources to the more efficient moat and drawbridge approach.

paul

 

oh, and Stevie B,

what you need is a sharp boomerang, no weapons laws there.... I think?



Paul

 

They can't swim per se, but equally they can;t drown...they just drop to the floor and walk across until they get out

 

Indeed they do. IIRC, in "Land of The Dead" a zombie horde walks across the harbour floor to reach a (supposedly) secure island. Mayhem results... So the moat/drawbridge approach will do little but slow them down. I'll discuss home fortifications in a later thread, but my research indicates that apart from secure doors/windows, your home should be sound and light proof. If the zombies don't detect movement within they won't congregate around your house. But more on that later.

Anyone want to share any anti-zombie weapons they own? Or what techniques they would employ?

 

I'm fine, my legally-owned because part of my profression machete and I are waiting. I'm also confident that my scythe will inflict quite a bit of damage, the sledgehammer should be pretty good at caving in zombie skulls, and if all else fails I can fall back on my ka-baar.

 

That's a good assortment of weaponry. What kind of scythe?

 

Austrain straight-snaff one. I had to get the extra-large version as I'm over six foot tall. You can get them here:
http://www.thescytheshop.co.uk/

 

Machetes - 2 x barong, 1 x kukris, 1 x magnum kukris, 1 x general purpose (short blade)
1 x heavy duty cleaver- style

Bushman bowie/spear combo - 5 foot shaft

Glock

Bow & arrow (hardwood)

Swords - 1 x "ninjato", 1 x katana, 1 x batleth

10lb sledge

trail tomahawk

various blades of lots of sizes for sticking in and forgetting!

Easy access to multiple Remington 870's (slug load not buckshot)

 

Shotgun

Cattle Gun

Bow n Arrow

Spear.

 

Ahhh,

I am actually gratified to discover that the training wasn't wasted. I have gone with a hardware store based approach and a zone based defensive philosophy. At long range it is all petrol bombs and pit traps (I will save the details for later threads). Closer in a bush hook (kind of an Australian straight bladed version of a scythe) for the decapitation of groups, then moving to the twin machetes that suit both my love of arnis and drumming.

All of which are available at a bargain basement price from the lcoal Bunnings hardware.

Like the sledgehammer idea there Knight, but I am only a fairly little guy and have some concerns re the recovery time of something so heavy.

paul

 

Petrol bombs are a bad idea - you will basically create a walking fire hazard that will spread towards you and risk compromising your shelter

 

Actually I expect petrol bombs would be ineffective. Zombies don't feel pain, or fear, and you would have to basically incinerate one before it stopped coming. Waste of precious petrol.

Hannibal: That's a nice collection you have there. How much of it comes from the Cold Steel catalogue, and is it any good? I seem to recall you saying that they have a lot of your money...

 

What you're saying is that I had a garden shed full of de facto anti-zombie weapons and didn't even know it? :bang::bang::bang:

 

You surely do! That's why I suggested looking around the garage (or shed) first. Anything that can hack limbs/necks or crack skulls is an anti-zombie weapon. See what you already have before spending your hard-earned money. Remember also that several cheap machetes can arm an entire party, but an expensive sword can only arm one person.

 

Very possibly. I suspect my friend's composite bow will not be very effective anti-zombie. It will only punch small holes. i have better hopes of the .22, however.

 

Since you need a headshot for the kill anyway, a .22 is adequate. Additionally, .22 ammo is much cheaper and smaller than larger calibers.

The bow's effectiveness will be largely determined by the arrow heads. A broad hunting head should cause enough damage to stop a zombie, a small-tipped target arrow probably won't.