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+--- Thread: ever changing variables (/showthread.php?tid=5265)
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ever changing variables - TwistedPuppy - 9 June 2013
One of the most curious things people do is when they are at minimal risk to anything at present they prepare for specific scenarios.
Everybody's risk level changes from day to day,from economic to environmental.
Personally I rarely leave mainland UK and with the size of the UK you are never likely to be far from civilization.
To me there is a 95% chance I will only find myself in a short term survival situation in my lifetime.
Sure the knowledge and skill set to cope with any situation is useful but to be frank you can be the most prepared out there but it is all pointless if your mental strength and physical fitness is not reasonable.
I know one of my flaws would be my risk taking as I love a buzz,I could quite easily put myself and other people in danger and increase risk if I don't keep that side of me in check.
But that's why we are here,to gain knowledge and take on board others opinions...it is just a matter of respecting others opinions and deciding yourself if there relevant to you.
And remember folks knowledge is pointless if not shared
RE: ever changing variables - Highlander - 9 June 2013
Personal fitness, is just that personal, people all over have many different levels of fitness,..I guess your fitness has to be able to cope with what you hope to do in the events that you see as a threat.
So if your bug out route was to be planned using a push bike,.. or by walking, then the level of fitness would need to be far greater than someone who plans to drive out,... I am not sure that the persons fitness would make a lot of difference to his or her ability to manage all their skills needed in every case or situation,...
Mental strength is a different case entirely, I agree that is something that probably will be needed by many of us
RE: ever changing variables - TwistedPuppy - 9 June 2013
(9 June 2013, 12:47)Highlander Wrote: Personal fitness, is just that personal, people all over have many different levels of fitness,..I guess your fitness has to be able to cope with what you hope to do in the events that you see as a threat.
So if your bug out route was to be planned using a push bike,.. or by walking, then the level of fitness would need to be far greater than someone who plans to drive out,... I am not sure that the persons fitness would make a lot of difference to his or her ability to manage all their skills needed in every case or situation,...
Mental strength is a different case entirely, I agree that is something that probably will be needed by many of us
Good points nicely put my friend
RE: ever changing variables - Mortblanc - 9 June 2013
Yep, I want everyone physically fit, so they can keep right on moving past where I land.
I am going to be a grump here and suggest that OPINIONS are simply untried, untested theories. If one had tried them, and they worked, they would be FACTS. Not to suggest that there is not more than one way to do many things, just "my way" and the "wrong way", possibly 'your way" but that might be wrong too.
Mental strength? Yes it will be needed by all of us, and it will be lacking in many. Problem is,,,,You can't fix STUPID!
Now, what were the variables we were too consider, and if they never changed would they still be variables?
RE: ever changing variables - Grumpy Grandpa - 9 June 2013
(9 June 2013, 10:29)TwistedPuppy Wrote: ...it is all pointless if your ... physical fitness is not reasonable.
That's it then - might as well quit - I'm done for!!!
RE: ever changing variables - Jonas - 9 June 2013
If we were living in the stone age, I would have to agree that physical fitness would probably be the top "controllable" variable for survival. Even today, it's still better to be healthy than sick or debilitated. What we do have now, unlike Og and Ogette from cave-man times, is very effective "force multipliers" which allow those of us whose "physical fitness is not reasonable" (whatever the definition of "reasonable" is) to accomplish tasks without a great physical burden being placed upon us.
For instance, when Og or Ogette were hungry, Og had to hoist his club and tromp out of the cave looking for a stray mammoth. If he was fortunate enough to kill the beast, he then had to drag it back to the cave for Ogette to roast. Since there was no refrigeration or means of preserving meat, probably 75% of the edible meat would eventually spoil and rot. Today we have refrigeration, canning, and dehydrating techniques that allow us to shoot a deer (sorry, no wooly mammoths in East Texas), eat what we wish, and smoke, can or dry the rest of the meat for future consumption.
Nor are we limited in self-defense. In Og's day, any other caveman could attack him. His available weapons were his club and any rocks within reach. If Og wasn't strong enough to defeat his attacker, well... to the winner went the spoils (in this case, Ogette, the cave, and any tanned hides used for blankets). The loser went to the vultures - literally! Today, a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot allows anyone sitting in a wheelchair (and keeping a watchful eye) to defend his cave ...err ...home with very effective lethal force. The shotgun is a "force multiplier", the user needs only to be able to hold it, point it, and pull the trigger. There's an old saying here in Texas: "God made men, Sam Colt made them equal!"
As Og's and Ogette's family grew, communications became another consideration. Could Og call his oldest son for help if needed? Only if Ug (Og's oldest son - it's a family name) was in earshot of his father. Today we have CB and ham radios which, with good atmospheric propagation conditions and a battery or solar panel, will send a signal for help from several miles to halfway around the earth. Here's another "force multiplier".
Cars and trucks are also "force multipliers" in that even people confined to wheelchairs can travel at 60+ mph moving several tons of goods as they escape approaching threats. Undoubtedly, any regular reader here at SUK can probably think of dozens if not hundreds more of these "force multipliers" which tend to level the playing field for those with physical disabilities.
My whole point is simply that today, information and cunning will always beat brute strength...
RE: ever changing variables - Highlander - 9 June 2013
Fitness is not everything, being fit for what you need to do is something completely different
...an example from the Falklands war comes to mind,...when we first went out, we found that when it camp to yomping [ marching with heavy loads ] the first causalities were the fit looking guys who didn't have an ounce of excess fat on the them, including the fitness instructors who fell by the wayside first
The reason was that the Falklands is a very cold place, and it was the guys who had the little extra fat, the slightly less fit men who were able to continue best and fight at the end of it.
So dont make the mistake of generalising fitness, as long as your level of fitness is enough to get you through what you plan to do,..then you are fit enough
when it `CAME` to yomping
RE: ever changing variables - Juice - 9 June 2013
(9 June 2013, 20:14)Highlander Wrote: Fitness is not everything, being fit for what you need to do is something completely different
...an example from the Falklands war comes to mind,...when we first went out, we found that when it camp to yomping [ marching with heavy loads ] the first causalities were the fit looking guys who didn't have an ounce of excess fat on the them, including the fitness instructors who fell by the wayside first
The reason was that the Falklands is a very cold place, and it was the guys who had the little extra fat, the slightly less fit men who were able to continue best and fight at the end of it.
So dont make the mistake of generalising fitness, as long as your level of fitness is enough to get you through what you plan to do,..then you are fit enough
when it `CAME` to yomping
Now we know who ate all the pies!
RE: ever changing variables - Scythe13 - 10 June 2013
Haha, I bet you've all been waiting for me to rant and rave about how important fitness is. Well, here goes.
Highlander is spot on about the Falklands. If you look at the majority of SAS soldiers, they come from outdoors backgrounds. Lots of farming style outdoor strength, not the fitness-gym-physique style. Those will the little extra fat lasted longest in the cold conditions. Very true. But those guys were still VERY FIT. They were only a little fatter, and slightly less fit. They were not sporting bulges of blubber like a small whale. They could still lift a big pack, shift quickly with it, and have energy left over. They were not sat down, behind the laptop, all day, lazy buggers!!! If you got those guys and compared them to the majority of people, they would trump them, fitness-wise.
So, even though taking fitness to a ridiculous extreme, is not good for your health. However, having a GOOD LEVEL of fitness is important.
Consider this, numerous studies have shown that a better level of fitness helps to cope with stress, in the work place, and in life and death situations!!! I think TEOTWAWKI will be at least a mildly stressful situation!!! Low fitness just means your ability to cope with stress, change, mental and emotional challenges, is not at the level it could be at.
Increasing your fitness isn't everything, but damn....it greatly increases your chances of surviving a situation much more than if you had no fitness!!!
RE: ever changing variables - TwistedPuppy - 10 June 2013
(10 June 2013, 11:00)Scythe13 Wrote: Haha, I bet you've all been waiting for me to rant and rave about how important fitness is. Well, here goes.
Highlander is spot on about the Falklands. If you look at the majority of SAS soldiers, they come from outdoors backgrounds. Lots of farming style outdoor strength, not the fitness-gym-physique style. Those will the little extra fat lasted longest in the cold conditions. Very true. But those guys were still VERY FIT. They were only a little fatter, and slightly less fit. They were not sporting bulges of blubber like a small whale. They could still lift a big pack, shift quickly with it, and have energy left over. They were not sat down, behind the laptop, all day, lazy buggers!!! If you got those guys and compared them to the majority of people, they would trump them, fitness-wise.
So, even though taking fitness to a ridiculous extreme, is not good for your health. However, having a GOOD LEVEL of fitness is important.
Consider this, numerous studies have shown that a better level of fitness helps to cope with stress, in the work place, and in life and death situations!!! I think TEOTWAWKI will be at least a mildly stressful situation!!! Low fitness just means your ability to cope with stress, change, mental and emotional challenges, is not at the level it could be at.
Increasing your fitness isn't everything, but damn....it greatly increases your chances of surviving a situation much more than if you had no fitness!!!
To be fair,although you make valid points....until recently most average Joes were farmers,Forresters,miners,and physical labourers and used the army as a form of escaping that life.
It would be interesting to see where our finest soldiers come from in 10 years time due to economic and social change,mostly the huge move into the tertiary/services industry