Can't connect to wireless network via console

[drnde]

I'm trying to connect to my wireless network via console, because X is broken,
i tried this:

ifconfig ath0 up
iwlist ath0 scan -> shows my network
iwconfig ath0 essid "my_network" -> no password set
dhclient ath0 -> doesn't get a response from the dhcp server

i can't install dhcpcd, because, well the internet connection is
over the wireless network...
what am i doing wrong