To say that I enjoy working with these young folks is a
serious understatement.
Do I love it?
Words like enjoy and love fit in there somewhere. But even
these two good descriptive words fail to capture the essence of what I experience
working with and teaching skills to folks that are interested in and eager to
learn some things … whether it is these young guys I’m mentoring or folks that
schedule weekend courses. It’s a feeling that is deeper than emotional
feelings. It’s something that penetrates deep into the sinew, tendons, and
bones. It’s something that sticks with you in a way some fickle and fleeting
feel-good emotion can’t.
It is a simple yet complicated matter …. showing, teaching, explaining, demonstrating
… sometimes over and over and over … until others are able to effectively and dependably duplicate
what you are showing them. In the midst of the showing, teaching, explaining,
and demonstrating I am studying the guys.
I am looking at their strengths and weaknesses. Their strong
points need to be exercised and affirmed. These are areas they are confident
in. It would be doing them an injustice though if we stopped at the level of
their gained confidences. At this point I am beginning to push them outside
their confidence levels. It is, after all, outside that dimension of confidence
where learning takes place.
If we aren’t learning
we aren’t growing.
Growth can be a little frustrating but a little frustration
is a healthy thing when it has some positive direction and encouragement.
These fire making challenges figure in here.
All of the guys have made fire successfully numerous times over the course of their training. And they have done it successfully without
the assistance of matches or Bic’s. Making fire now without using those sources
of ignition … with the Lower Coast frequent summer rains, heavy dews, and high
humidity levels … is not as easy as it was back in the winter and spring when
fire making materials weren’t wet as they are now.
Ma Nature is doing her part in throwing extra curves into
the fire making learning curve. That’s a good thing. There are times when you
have to make a fire using wet materials and it’s better to practice in an
outdoor classroom setting than to discover yourself in a situation having not had
the practice.
Practice.
This is one of the key words where outdoor skills are
concerned. We practice these skills until we own them. I tell folks that we
practice until the skills becomes first nature. Second nature is ok but first
nature is better. Second nature is something that you have to think about
before you do it. First nature just happens because we know it well enough to
own it.
Patience.
This is another key word where learning skills is concerned.
It’s easy to get frustrated when things aren’t going the way we think they
should or want them to.
This is especially true where being successful with the
bow-drill fire making method is concerned. It’s not really complicated. It’s
honestly something simple and primitive. Cave men could do it. Young children
could do it. In every culture and climate. It’s not complicated but there are a
few things that have to be done right …
simultaneously … every time … in order
to dependably produce the desired result … a smoldering pile of charred dust
that can be turned into a blazing fire.
The thing that makes friction fire such a valuable skill is
that nature provides us with everything we need to accomplish it. It helps to
be able to identify natural resources that effectively lend themselves to the
process. Having a knife and some cordage
along does make it easier. These are items we are never without if we are
everyday carry and kit mentality conscious.
