ZCC Site Launch Contest - Final Day!

Today is the final day to enter the contest to celebrate the launch of the site. See the contest post below for specific details, and good luck!

HQ

New Briefing Released: Protecting Children

A new and extensive briefing has been released: Protecting Children From Zombie Attack. 

In part one of this special two-part series, we examine the difference equipment can make in securing young children during a undead outbreak.

Review this briefing in the Defensive Equipment section at this link.

Funding for this briefing has been made possible in part by IUCS.  IUCS, For a safer tomorrow.

HQ

Protecting Children From Zombie Attack

Part One of a Two-Part Series

Our children. In a normal world, they represent what is best of our humanity; beacons of hope guiding our path towards a better future. In a world beset by the living dead, their beams burn a hundred-fold brighter. Even the most despaired individuals, distraught over their own existence in a nightmarish reality, will soldier on if they bear the sole responsibility as defender of their young.

The difficulties facing those who must ensure the safety of children from the clutches of the walking dead, however, should not be ignored. In this two-part series, we will examine several aspects of caring for and protecting the young from a zombie attack. Whether it be your own child, a relative, or stranger in your care, the information in this series will be invaluable to all who must defend those too small and weak to defend themselves. Our first report in this series will focus on the various types of child carriers, and how each may affect your ability to defend your child against an assaulting corpse.

The market abounds with hundreds of child transport variations - from sleek, European buggys to integrated backpacks and off-road joggers. Selection of a transport type often becomes more about public perception and personal status than actual functionality. When it comes to holding up in a world filled with the living dead, many of these devices fall sadly short. Despite the endless variations in carry method, size, and cost, most systems seem to fall within one of three categories, each of which we will examine independently - Strollers, Mobility Carriers, and Slings:

Strollers

Advantages: capable of long-distance travel, minimal energy expenditure required

Disadvantages: heavy, cumbersome, separation potential, lack of flexibility

Strollers represent the most ubiquitous of all child carry devices: from car seat conversions to all-in-one transport systems, strollers are an essential component of every family’s child-rearing equipment. As a defensive system during an undead attack, however, they leave much to be desired. The stroller exhibits three primary liabilities as it relates to the living dead:

Child Separation: This is by far the stroller’s most significant disadvantage. The nature of this unit is such that the child is physically separated from the guardian. A child sits or reclines, often strapped into a harness, in a wheeled carriage that is pushed by his defender. Modern-designed strollers that elevate the child higher off the ground make this device even more hazardous during an undead attack. This same elevation that enables a parent to bend slightly and tend to her child enables a ghoul to quickly snatch him out of the carriage and devour him before the guardian’s very eyes.

It was once believed that this separation of child from guardian provided a greater degree of security during a zombie assault, as the child could be maneuvered out of harm’s way while the protector executed appropriate defensive measures. While this may be the case, the hazards of separating from a child, coupled with the probability of encountering more than one ghoul simultaneously, make its use somewhat risky. Research has shown that given a choice, a zombie will focus its attack on the more vulnerable targets within a given group of prey, oftentimes the child. Whether this demonstrates a level of strategic analysis or combative insight by the ghoul is still unknown.

Maneuverability: The stroller’s ability to operate in a variety of environments is also rather limited. On flat terrain, pavement and concrete, the stroller performs as it was created: outstandingly. On any other surface material, such as sand, gravel, or soil, the effectiveness of this transportation device is hindered. Jogging strollers offer some terrain flexibility with their inflatable, off-road type wheels, but this advantage is counterbalanced by another, potentially worse, liability - the possibility of a flat tire, rendering the unit all but useless.

Construction: At its core, the stroller is a heavily manufactured item - an assemblage of screws, joints, and semi-fragile components. In normal use, perhaps for a daily stroll through the park or a quick trip around the mall, a typical stroller can last for years. Its lifespan, however, drops precipitously during an undead siege, when you may be required to traverse miles of rough terrain to operating aid stations or safe zones. Should you encounter an area where utilizing a stroller is impractical, such as a hiking path, mountainous region, or even a simple staircase, you or someone in your party must shoulder the weight of the unit. If you already bear the burden of transporting food, water, shelter, weapons, and your child, an additional 20-30 pounds is an unwelcome addition.

Having emphasized these liabilities, logic would dictate that you disregard the stroller as a viable transport option during an undead attack. On the contrary, it is of utmost importance that you have one of these devices at your disposal, for one sole reason that trumps all of its disadvantages: convenience.

The greatest asset of this transport class is clearly its ability to easily cover long distances without requiring the guardian to continuously sustain the full weight of the child. This asset becomes more significant the greater the age and size of the child under care. The protection the infant receives is directly correlated to the ability of the defender to ensure a secure environment. Thus, the vitality of the defender is of utmost importance.

Because the guardian does not have to carry the child when utilizing a stroller, energy expenditure is minimal; energy that can be used for other essential tasks, such as foraging, perimeter security, and defense. This is especially true if more than one child is being transported, or if significant distances need to be traversed. Refugees of a zombie outbreak have been known to travel more than a hundred miles on foot to reach an active rescue station, all the while being pursued by the living dead.

Due to the perilous nature of utilizing a stroller during an undead infestation, there are several points to consider when employing one:

1. Choose carefully - Remember, price does not necessarily denote benefit. As mentioned earlier, uber-designed strollers that benefit humans often benefit the living dead just as well. Pricier models also tend to outweigh their less expensive counterparts by 7-10 additional pounds - a consideration you cannot afford to discount when pursued by a flesh-eating mob.

2. Tend your wheels - Screws can be tightened. Straps can be resewn. But if the wheels literally come off your stroller, the unit has lost its utility. Make sure you care for the wheels just as you would any other heavily-used vehicle. Rotate them if possible, and ideally carry spares. Ensure that you carry the necessary tools to adjust any nut, bolt, or rivet on your device.

3. Manage your straps - Many stroller retention straps used to keep a child in place rival the harnesses found in a Formula One race car. These mechanisms may have a usefulness in the normal world, but complicate the situation if the need arises to extract your child under stress. At the very least, rehearse unbuckling and dismounting your child quickly, as there may come a time when you must do so with the dead at your heels.

4. Observe your surroundings - If the situation seems relatively safe, and you anticipate a long road ahead, save your energy and use this transport device. If the environment is unknown or unsafe, or you foresee an imminent combat engagement with the living dead, use an alternate, more secure means of transport.

Mobility Carriers

Advantages: portable, child secured to guardian, good maneuverability, defender free to multi-task

Disadvantages: limb exposure, guardian bears full weight, complex mounting system

Transport systems in the mobility carrier class include all back and chest-positioned carry systems that strap the child into a harness, positioning his torso flat against that of the guardian. Carriers of this type hold distinct advantages over the aforementioned stroller class. They are lighter in weight, portable, and enable hands-free use while simultaneously keeping the child close to his protector. There is a distinct difference, however, between carriers that mount the child in the front of the defender and those that mount him on the back.

Let’s first examine the back-mounted carriers. These are harness types that position the child across the guardian’s back, much like a school book bag or mountaineering backpack. The initial impression may be that this is a favorable way to position a child, as it limits his exposure to an attacking ghoul, keeping the guardian between the two. In actuality, these back-positioned carriers are the least favorable option to use when confronting the living dead.

With the child on his back, the guardian has no visibility to any vulnerabilities from the rear, undead or otherwise. In potentially lethal situations, the child needs to be in full view of the guardian at all times. Never underestimate the possibility of a ghoul that has lost the ability to moan (possibly due to a severe throat wound) attacking silently from behind. Mounting a child on your back also inhibits your ability to use an actual backpack to carry other essential supplies.

Finally, utilizing a back carrier sometimes requires two individuals to quickly secure the child. If you are traveling alone, anticipate taking more time to secure your child in the back mount, time that you may not have at your disposal.

Chest-mount mobility carriers are a much more favorable option when facing the undead. Unlike the back mount, you have full visibility to your child, your back is available for another carrier, and securing your child is much quicker from the front. Most importantly, your hands are available for other tasks, including defense, while you monitor your child. Individuals have even been observed engaging in long and medium-range combat with the living dead while wearing one of these apparatuses. This is clearly not recommended unless you are sufficiently experienced in ghoul neutralization. Close quarters fighting while wearing a child harness should be avoided at all costs, regardless of skill level.

These carriers, however, are also not without their drawbacks. First is the simple fact that the guardian shoulders the full weight of the child at all times during transport. With larger children, this can significantly impact a protector’s energy levels, so much so that additional rest periods may be required, during which time both are vulnerable. Those who decide to use a mobility carrier exclusively need to ensure that they are in superior physical condition to accommodate the child’s weight for extended periods of time.

The other significant drawback with these devices is the fact that, once secured in the harness, an infant’s limbs and head remain largely exposed. In normal situations, this provides a degree of freedom and comfort to the child. In an undead world, these exposed limbs are not only vulnerable to attack, but may impede the guardian’s vision. This situation could prove deadly should a flailing arm cross a line of sight at an inopportune time. The best method to use a chest mounted carrier is to supplement the unit with an after-market cover that secures the child’s limbs and minimizes his exposure to nature’s elements and the living dead.

Slings

Advantages: light, inexpensive, child’s limbs/head secured, portable

Disadvantages: protector bears weight, inappropriate for larger/older children

Slings can also be considered a mobility carrier device, as they require the guardian to shoulder the weight of the child and also enable hands-free use for the defender. Styles of slings that either mount the child on the back or expose the limbs of the child suffer from the same disadvantages as the mobility carriers previously discussed.

However, a particular type of sling, one that envelopes the child completely like a peanut shell and secures him across the guardian’s torso, is one of the best ways to transport and protect your child during an outbreak of the living dead, for several reasons:

Security: Because exposure of your child to the external environment is minimized, there is less likelihood that an exposed limb will find its way into the mouth of a hungry corpse. The child is also positioned lower on the guardian’s torso in a sling than in other mobility carriers, keeping his body out of close range to a ghoul’s open maw.

Flexibility: Not only is this type of carrier relatively inexpensive compared to the other options discussed, it packs well into a small space and requires a minimal footprint. It also enables hands-free use by the guardian, so that she can execute other tasks.

Comfort: One of the benefits of this carrier type is that it secures the child close to the guardian’s body in a soothing position. During a plague of walking corpses, there is no better time to provide maximum comfort and reassurance to your child.

Like other mobility carriers, the greatest disadvantage of the sling is that it necessitates bearing all the weight of the child during transport, requiring guardians to have a sufficient level of endurance, strength, and physical stamina, particularly in the event of a large outbreak. This device may also be less appropriate for larger or older children. It is the ideal mechanism, however, for infants and newborns - the most vulnerable of humans during a zombie attack.

Which is Best?

Given the pros and cons of the various carriers described, which one is the best choice during a zombie attack? If only the answer were that simple. Just as there is no one single weapon that is suitable for every undead combat situation, there is no ideal child transport system that will take care of all your needs. It is therefore recommended that, if possible, you prepare one of each device described. Should you lose or damage one system, you have an alternative at your disposal. This also enables you to switch between devices depending on your outbreak situation, which will no doubt be in constant flux.

If you can manage only one transport device, you should then ask yourself the following questions to help inform your final decision:

1. Is the child you’re guarding a newborn, infant, or toddler?
2. Do you have the strength to carry him/her at all times?
3. Are you alone, or will you have the assistance of a party?
4. Are you shepherding more than one child?
5. Do you live in a metropolitan, suburb or the countryside?

Safeguarding the welfare of children is a challenging task during the best of times. In a world where the dead feed on the living, it may seem like an impossibility. You can, however, better prepare yourself for the situation by not only having the proper equipment ready, but also understanding how that equipment will perform in such dire and unusual circumstances.

In Part II of our series, we will speak with Dr. Judith Ballantine, pediatric psychiatrist and expert on the psychological impact of the living dead on the child and adolescent mind.

ZCC Site Coverage

Thanks to the sites that have covered the Zombie Combat Club recently:

Slash Dot - Idle: How to Protect Children from Zombie Attack

WIred’s GeekDad Blog - Zombie Survival Tips for Parents

Miss Cellania - Halloween Holiday Links

Coudal - Protecting Children from Zombie Attack

Scott Kenemore - Zombie Combat Club

Raging Dad - Things You Didn’t Know You Should Know

John Joseph Adam’s Anthology, “The Living Dead” - “The Zombie Combat Club”

Zombie Reporting Center - Zombie Combat Club

Need Coffee - Halloween Links of Wickedry

Zombie Tools - Other Zombie Resources

HQ

New Briefing Released: Fingers/Grip

A new Anatomy briefing has been released, covering the Fingers and Grip of the walking dead.

Review this material in the Strengths section at this link.

HQ

Fingers/Grip

Bloodied, corroded, and teeming with infection from tiny cuts and lacerations, the hands and fingers of the undead are almost as lethal as its teeth. Often overlooked, the digits on a ghoul’s hands are a leading cause of human infection; second only to that of a bite. It is for this reason that close combat with a ghoul has an extremely high probability of infection, even if the human avoids being bitten. A single scratch that comes in contact with undead fluids will ultimately result in infection, death and reanimation, albeit at a slower rate than from a more pronounced wound. For this reason, female zombies can be as dangerous, if not more so, than males. Long, polished fingernails, like the claws of a feral animal, can easily tear into flesh, potentially causing infection.

The grip of a zombie is another commonly misunderstood element of its attack. Victims who have survived the clutches of the living dead have described their attacker having a “vice-like grip” of seemingly superhuman strength. Does this mean that a zombie’s strength is greater than that of a normal human? Studies that have measured the pound-for-pound compressive strength of the undead have found that, like its bite, a zombie’s grip is no greater or more powerful than that of its average human counterpart.

There is, however, one difference in undead physiology that may explain this phenomenon. The muscles in our hands and forearms behave like all fast-twitch muscle fibers in the body - they contract powerfully but quickly fatigue, causing our grip to eventually fail. In the living dead, these same muscle fibers contract, but do not fatigue, and will continue to grip with the same level of intensity and power as when first grasped. In greater numbers, this grip becomes even more lethal. Anecdotal records show that as few as three zombies can pull a human being limb from limb in a matter of minutes.

Zombie Combat Club on Facebook

Sticky Post: For those of you on Facebook, we’ve created a group for the Zombie Combat Club, where we will cross-post new briefings and site updates.

Join the ZCC Facebook Group at the following link:

Zombie Combat Club Facebook Group.

HQ

Blog updates proceed below.

ZCC Site Launch Contest

In honor of the Zombie Combat Club site launch this month, we’re conducting a contest for all readers who register on the site and/or comment on any of the posts until the end of the month, October 31st.

One winner will be chosen at random to receive an audiobook copy of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - And Why, by Amanda Ripley.

Ripley’s book has been called “The thinking person’s manual for getting out alive” by National Public Radio.

Ten others will be chosen at random to receive a Club logo sticker:

Contest Rules:

1) Register to comment on www.zombiecombatclub.com. Registration is free and comment as you would on any blog or website.

2) Comment on any of the posts on the site (please make the post relevant and polite. Even a “Congratulations on the launch” comment on this post would qualify.)

3) Each comment made counts towards one contest entry. The more you comment, the better your chances. Random and ’spam’-type posts, however, will disqualify the commenter.

4) Contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

5) Contest ends at 11:59PM Halloween, October 31st. 

6) Winners will be announced on Monday, November 3rd.

Good luck!

HQ

ZCC Recruitment Video

We have released our recruitment teaser for the Zombie Combat Club. View it as the Featured Video on the right, and on YouTube at the following link.

HQ

Improvised Weapons

What is the most effective hand-to-hand zombie combat weapon? Is it the Shaolin spade? The Japanese katana? The Swiss halberd? This question has been argued time and again by soldiers and civilians alike. The answer is actually quite simple: the best weapon is the one you have in your hand at the time of attack. A hand-forged samurai sword worth thousands of dollars is useless if it’s lying in your sleeping bag as a zombie clutches your throat. Likewise, a ten-dollar crowbar can provide years of faithful, defensive service if maintained well and used properly.

For an excellent historical example of weapon improvisation, look to Okinawa as a guide. In 1609, the island was captured and occupied by the Japanese Satsuma Clan. Shortly thereafter, the Clan banned possession of swords and firearms by all commoners and the peasant community. In order to defend themselves, the largely farming Okinawan population turned to their everyday agricultural tools, and developed them into the weapons-based martial art known as Kobudo.

Implements that were used to dig furrows (sai), carry baskets (bo), and harvest rice (kama) were transformed into the weapons that are still present and practiced hundreds of years later. Two of the most popular Kobudo weapons seen in the West are the nunchaku, made popular by the late martial artist Bruce Lee, and the tonfa, which has been modified for law enforcement use as the side-handled PR-24 baton.

Okinawan history shows us that it is not necessary or required to spend hundreds of dollars on custom-made weaponry. With a combat mindset, take a walk around your home, your garden, or your garage. You will spot many everyday implements at your disposal that can provide excellent protection against the undead.

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