Practising?

[Bladesypher]

I have nowhere to practise techniques except my back garden. Sometimes I bring back some wood from a national park near my place and carve, but there isnt any wild life really. And the one place I can get to easily has at the most a few foxes, rabbits, maybe squirrels. And they are both protected, hunting is illegal here in England and carrying any weapon in a public place can land you with a criminal record, so I cant really do much except that with either my bare hands or in my back garden... If you look up Whitley Bay in Newcastle, England in google earth can anyone tell me where to find a place where I can practice survival techniques or maybe get flint or chert for knapping? Thanks. :p

[carcajou garou]

Keep practising in your garden with your knife, ax and such till you have a skill level. Many places in England that give courses in such discipline. Will Pm you with a few .

[carcajou garou]

Check your email, pm sent:D

[Bladesypher]

Thanks for the message, the first one looks good, Pricey but looks like it's worth it ^^

[carcajou garou]

In England so far as I have seen everything is a bit pricey, but realizing that forested land in nearly all in private ownership makes it harder to find practise areas.

[Rick]

Break your survival practice into segments. Work on one thing at a time until you have it perfected. For example, you can practice fire making in your back yard or a local park, using a number of different methods. Try a fire bow, flint/steel, striker, etc. until you're comfortable that you can make fire under most conditions. Not a raging bonfire but being able to create embers and then turn the embers into flame.

Make a list of the things you want to learn and work on them one at a time. I'd start with the basics.

Remember the rule of threes for survival:

You cannot live longer than,

3 minutes without air,
3 hours without shelter,
3 days without water or
3 weeks without food.

That will get your list started.

Focus on the very basics and do what you can where you can. You don't have to live in the wilderness to practice wilderness survival but you do need to be able to prioritize your skills sets and your learning opportunities.

I think if you really give it some thought and sit down with pencil and paper and start writing down what you want to learn, you'll be surprised how much of it you CAN do at home or in that national park you mentioned. And do it legally. Once you are comfortable with the basics then you might want to advance your skills by enrolling in some of the outdoor classes mentioned above.

Remember, too, that knowledge and the ability to improvise are two of the most important things you can take into the wilderness with you. Pick a couple of items you think you would like to have with you and write down all the things you can do with it. Hang on to the list for a week or so. You'll be surprised how many ways you can use a given tool and every couple of days you'll find yourself saying, "Oh, yea. I could..." and you'll think of another way to use that same tool. Then add it to the list. After a week or so you should have a pretty lengthy list of ways to use a given tool. That will help get you started thinking outside the box.

The internet is an invaluable research tool. Use it to research whatever your questions are. Use the forum to ask those who have had the experience and then try your hand at it.

I hope that helps.

Rick

[Bladesypher]

Thanks for the help. I've actually been practising shelter building, considering the rule of threes I'll look at filtering and purifiying water, then fire making, then foraging food. as I focus on one thing I pick up ideas and tips for other things anyway. ^^