Nettles

            When she was a little girl my favourite aunt fell into a patch of nettles. At the hospital, through her tears she demanded “Dock Leaves!”. Interestingly no one at the hospital understood why she was demanding them.

            I can very distinctly remember when I learnt about dock leaves. I was a small child in the beer garden of a pub. At one end of the garden was a very tall nettle. My father patiently explained to me the danger that this posed and also how rubbing a sting with a dock leaf would negate its effects, and that dock leaves would always be found where nettles grew.

            Recently I went for a walk in a park with my girlfriend. She was overjoyed to encounter some brambles with a good growth of blackberries and was soon wading among then picking as many as she could. All of a sudden she announced “my arm is burning”. Turns out that while she recognizes blackberries they do not have nettles in Brazil so she was quite unaware of the risk of brushing against these innocuous looking plants. I began hunting for dock, but contrary to common wisdom there were none nearby and I had to search a good twenty yards away. Not entirely sure what I found was dock, but rubbing them on the sting did seem to reduce the effects.

            Back at work I told her to use some soap to neutralize the effects of the sting. A colleague had some Olbas oil and this proved effective. Olbas oil is part of my travelling first aid kit so it was interesting to find yet another use for it.

 

           In addition to dock I now learn that Greater Plantain and Dandelion leaves could have been used instead. There were quite a few of these growing closer to the nettle. Alkalis such as baking soda or soap work, as does hot water. Other remedies include Horsetail, Jewelweed, the underside of a fern (the spores), mud, saliva, oil and onions, lemon juice, and topical use of milk of magnesia. Worth knowing.

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Uncle Phil’s List.

            Today’s blog leads on loosely from the previous ones and introduces a very useful tool.

            Decades ago I created what was to become known as “Uncle Phil’s List”. The list can be used to create a bug-out bag, survival kit or pack for a long holiday or just a weekend away. The list gives you a number of categories, each of which you consider in turn. Chances are you will not need an item for each category and some categories will have multiple items. The power of the list is that it makes you consider each individual category for a few seconds which really helps you clarify what you do and don’t need.

            The list has nineteen categories but memorising them all is unnecessary. Part of real knowledge is knowing something exists and where to find it when you need it rather holding it in memory. Cut and Paste the list, print it out and laminate it to use when you are planning and packing. Copy it into the front of your notebook if you wish.

Uncle Phil’s List.

1)                 Shelter.

2)                 Sleeping

3)                 Clothing

4)                 Fire

5)                 Water

6)                 Food

7)                 Hunting and Fishing

8)                 Cooking Equipment

9)                 Medical. First Aid items. Necessary Medication. Sun-cream and Insect Repellent.

10)             Tools

11)             Navigation

12)             Signalling

13)             Light

14)             Toiletries/Wash kit

15)             Documentation. Passport, Visa, Books, Tickets, Money and writing material

16)             Rope and Cordage.

17)             Repairs -sewing kit, tape, glue, spares

18)             Specialist items - Defensive weapons, climbing gear, cameras, gift for hosts etc.

19)             Packs -i.e. how the items are carried and bags that can be used for carrying found food etc.

            For example, the first category, “Shelter” can cover everything from having a plastic rubbish bag or poncho in your bag to protect from the rain to making sure your tent is not missing any parts or confirming the hotel reservations. “Sleeping” might also make you think about your accommodations but should also make you consider if you need bedding and related items. On many trips, particularly to more civilized areas, your answer to many of the categories will be “no, don’t need anything for that” or “I can use the credit card for that”.  The important thing is that you have actually spent a few seconds thinking about this and coming to that conclusion rather than assuming, and assumption is the mother of all muck-ups!

         Future blogs will cover how this list can be used to assemble various useful kits for a number of purposes.

         If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
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All Weather Blanket Rainwear Trick.

            A friend of mine asked me the other night about alternatives to ponchos. That leads on nicely from yesterday’s  blog post since I mentioned my All Weather Blanket.

            An All Weather Blanket is a more robust version of the Space Blanket. Appropriately enough I brought mine at the Kennedy Space Centre in 1991-2. Since then it has been a permanent addition to my daysac and has travelled with me from Hong-Kong to L.A and from Iceland to Brazil. One of the reasons that it has lasted so long is I loosely roll and scrunch it up rather than folding it up neatly. Folding it tightly causes wear on the corners and folds I have been told and my experience seems to verify this.

      

      An All Weather Blanket can perform a number of useful functions but today’s post is about how to effectively use it as rainwear.

            Firstly, preparation. When you are cold, wet and the light is failing is no time to fiddle around with knots. While you are snug at home tie a length of cordage to each of the grommets on your All Weather Blanket. I have used old nylon shoelace from some trainers for this. Your All Weather Blanket is now ready. Scrunch it up and place it in your daysac.

            This method of making an All Weather Blanket into a rain cape is relatively unknown. I discovered it when researching Scottish plaids and even in Scotland this trick seemed to have been only used by women in the Inverness region if I recall correctly.

            Take your All Weather Blanket and drape the centre of the top edge over your head like a shawl. Hold the top corners, one in each hand. Bring the two corners together and tie the shoelaces  that you fitted earlier together. Use a simple reef knot, nothing complicated.

            Holding the corners once again, cross your right forearm over your left. You have created a big loop which you now pass over your head so that the knot is behind your neck. The section of blanket that was draped over your head has now become a hood. Let your arms fall to your side and the cloak you have created will fall closed. Adjust the hood a little and you are now protected from the rain from head to knee. The reflective interior of the cape will warm you while the open front allows you to easily vent humid air or pick things up.

            That is it really. Very simple if you know the trick, but it is a trick that is virtually unknown.

         If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
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Six Items for Travelling

             The publication of my book on Survival Weapons gives me the excuse to diversify a bit more on this blog, as some readers have requested. Today's post nicely covers the aspects of both survival and marital arts and I hope will be of interest.

             It seems odd these days, but once information about ninja was hard to come by. One of the best sources was (and still is) Donn F. Draeger's Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts.

                In the discussion of the Ninja Draeger mentions the “Six tools of Travelling” or Shinobi-rokugu (p127).  Six items that a Ninja would never leave on a mission without.

               Draeger’s descriptions of the items were not as clear as one might wish, however. Last night, while researching a quite different topic I was able to clarify a few things. Items 4 to 9 in the illustration below represent Shinobi-rokugu.

Amigasa. Amigash was a broad brimmed straw hat, the Japanese version of what is commonly called a coolie hat. A hat is obviously good protection from the sun and the rain but for the ninja has the useful property that it can also conceal the face without the attempt being obvious. A hat such as this can also be used as an improvised buckler to fend off an attack with a knife. In the movies such hats are sometimes thrown like Frisbees. While this would not do the damage shown in such movies it would be a useful distraction. Below is a photo that is reproduced in a couple of my Japanese language books. I originally thought that the arrows shown here were either hand-thrown weapons or darts for a blowgun. Hand missiles this size made predominately from wood and feather would be rather light, while such large fletchings on a blowpipe dart would be unnecessary and less than efficient. Possibly these arrows were a hybrid for both than throwing and blowgun. I now see these are actually arrows intended for a bow and what was visible in my books was just the tail section. Each extends across the width of the hat, the rest of the shaft in a pocket of some kind so it resembles a supporting rib. Doubtless other weapons were concealed in the hats. Bo-shuriken could be placed radially like the arrows and this would be a good hiding place of a garrotte/ spare bowstring. The floppy hats favoured by 17^th century cavalry such as the English Cavaliers often concealed a metal structure called a “Secret” to protect from blows and it is possible that some Amigasa also had a metal cap or framework within.

Kaginawa. A rope with a hook. Ninja were known for climbing so it is hardly surprising that this would be an essential item. A length of cordage is always useful anyway.

Tenugui. Draeger calls this a towel, which conjures the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” to mind. The Tenugui is actually made from thin cloth and is better understood as resembling a bandanna of about three foot by one foot size. Kendo fighters will know the Tenugui as a headscarf to be worn under the helmet but it was originally a multipurpose item, used as a bandanna in the fields and a handcloth in the home. It could also be used as a bandage or sling, or as a mask to protect from smoke or conceal the identity.  

Sekihitsu. Draeger just calls this a “stone pencil”, which does not tell us much. In fact this was a portable writing kit ("Yatate"), which was not an uncommon item for feudal Japanese to carry on their person. Ninja were spies as well as assassins and some means to record information and leave messages was essential to their task. One of my Japanese language books shows this as something resembling Popeye’s pipe. The “bowl” is in fact an inkwell and the stem contains a brush. There is even a vent cut in the stem to allow the bristles to dry and air. Such kits could be used to conceal various weapons, and even the ink might be poisoned.  Even standard Yatate wear sturdy enough to be passable clubbing weapons. Underneath this item in the photo is what looks like pieces of pointed chalk. This may be either chalk or a slate pencil. Both would be useful and this may explain Draeger’s use of the term “stone pencil”.

Kusuri. Medicines. Ninja are known to have produced special pills intended to staving off the effects of thirst or hunger.  Various salves, ointments and insect repellents might also have been carried. Doubtless the ninja also carried a few poisons and hid them in plain sight within their medicine kit. Carrying a few medicines on your person was by no means unusual in feudal japan. Shown in the photo is a typical Japanese medical kit (“inro”) which is rather neat. It has a number of small trays which act as compartments moving up and down the cords. The whole thing can be pulled together and hung from a belt. Quite practical and worth copying.

 

Uchitake.  Draeger describes this as a short bamboo pole. In Eric Van Lustbader’s novel “The Miko” this is a long bamboo pole that can be used as a walking staff. The other five Shinobi-rokugu items are packed into the pole, which can doubtless also be used as a fighting staff.  The sixth item is in fact a short tube of bamboo filled with gunpowder and is mainly intended for firelighting. Since the Shinobi-rokugu is intended as a basic survival kit some means of making fire would be needed and this makes much more sense. Below is an illustration found in several of my books, but since I do not read Japanese I am little the wiser. The C-shaped item is obviously a striking steel but how the other items are used exactly I am unsure. The tube it is attached to resembles a flute, but has holes evenly spaced around it. Obviously this cannot be a container for gunpowder. The lower item is apparently a charcoal/char-cloth body warmer or Donohi which could provide a ready source of ignition for lighting fuses, arson etc. Possibly the flute-like tube is the central part of the Donohi around which the char-cloth is wrapped. This could be blown down to produce more heat when needed.

How to make a Donohi

                Some of you may note something is conspicuous by its absence. There is no mention of a knife. It may have been considered redundant to tell a ninja to bring a knife. In feudal societies most people carried a knife as a matter of routine, using it for all manner of everyday tasks.

Shinobi-rokugu in the Modern Day.

                A few months back I brought a new daysac. Once I had it I began to add a few useful things to it, and now that I think about it my choices did parallel the Shinobi-rokugu.

• One of the first things I added was a hat. In fact I added two. One is my much travelled broad brimmed boonie hat. The second is a lightweight synthetic headover that can serve as a cold weather hat, neck warmer and so forth.
•  I’ve not added a rope and grappling hook, but I did add a ball of string to provide useful cordage. Perhaps I should add a hank of paracord too.
• I put a bandana in the bag too, and usually carry one in my pocket, so that is my Tenugui equivalent.
•  Not yet added, but when travelling my daysac usually carries a notepad and spare pen in a plastic bag. Perhaps I should consider some chalk.

•  Medicines. I will be adding a few aspirin, plasters and dicholorfenic. When I travel with this bag a bottle of insect repellent and sunscreen will doubtless be added.

•  My fire kit is a spare disposable lighter and a couple of nightlight candles. The latter can be used to get a fire going and can also be used for illumination.

                For completeness, other items added to the daysac included an All-Weather Blanket, Pak-a-mac, lever-powered torch, pair of woollen gloves and my platypus water bottle.

         If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.
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