Sunday, August 9, 2015

Woodsmoke Woodcraft School - August Class

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.





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