Training – Physical Skills

Bruce Lee famously said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks one time…I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. This quote is about getting in physical repetitions to master a skill. This applies not just to martial arts, but to every physical skill in life. It’s why skilled trades people have to apprentice under a more experienced person until they get enough reps in. It’s why in the first week of USMC marksmanship training, you don’t fire a single live round. You spend an entire week doing “reps” of the motions to master them.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

Just like this Tactical Wisdom from Proverbs, we have to get out and train together. Take courses, like those offered by many prepping groups on trapping, growing, bushcraft, and whatever else, but then get out and continue to practice the physical skills, or you will lose them. Courses like those offered by Brushbeater Training and Von Steuben Training can certainly help you protect your community when no help is coming. YOu might even learn to communicate.

In the preparedness community, we love to watch YouTube videos and collect books; mine are no exception. However, unless you take those books or notes from the cool-guy video you just watched and get out and train on the topics covered, you aren’t doing yourself any good. You can’t “learn as you go” once things fall apart, because the cost for mistakes is permanent.

Get out your tarp and head down a trail. Practice setting up different shelter configurations. Once you have the basic down, start working on doing it quickly and SILENTLY. More importantly, working on taking it down fast and quietly, then stowing it away.

Individual movement skills like those in TW-02 (Fieldcraft) are a classic example of use it or lose it. Be honest with yourself, having been to bootcamp 24 years ago doesn’t mean you can still execute the low crawl. That takes developing a very particular set of muscles. Moving quietly in the woods takes practice.

Building primitive shelters is the same skill set as establishing observation posts and fighting positions, and there are some ideas in TW-03 (Defensive Operations) on this. Finding natural hiding spots and enhancing them is good skill to develop, so get out there and train.

I know it’s hard and most people are afraid to attend these courses and meet new people (FEDS, BRO). As long as you don’t talk about crazy stuff or entertain those who do, you’ll be fine. I’ve been to several courses with other trainers and never had an issue. The powers that be don’t want you to be self-reliant or organized into small groups that can fend for themselves, so that’s all the more reason to get out and do it.

Besides, there is some Tactical Wisdom on this:

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹hough one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

None of your “preparedness gear” should still be in the packaging, just waiting for the day you might need it. Get it all out, toss it into your packs, and train with it. You need to know how to use it right now, so that when the time comes, you are an expert on it.

On the gear note, BattlBox has allowed me to extend a 30% off discount to my readers throughout May. The June box will be Mission 100, and they’ve got big things planned for it. I highly recommend the BattlBox service at any level, but the higher you choose (i get the Pro box), the bigger the value. Use code JOSEPH-D-30 at checkout at BattlBox.

Get out there and train. Develop and sharpen your skills.

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