Mightier than thou

[Scythe13]

I frequently hear about people having a Holier than thou, attitude. It's pretty damn useless.

However, the same is true with many people in prepping. On so many forums and the alike, people talk about how they're the best shot in the world, and they can shoot the wings off a gnat from 1km away, and crap like that.

The same is true at the gym. I've had big guys come training for BJJ and get their buts whipped! They think that what they know is the best. I can laugh because when I first went to a BJJ session, I was being used as a test dummy. When we had a Gracie come to teach, guess who was asked to show the difference between skill and strength...? I was getting my butt whipped left right and centre! My instructor was about 12 stone, and he still managed to tie me up and tap me out. I was truly humbled when he tapped me out in 6 seconds. Even though I was messing about, that's an embarrassing speed to be tapped at! I was humbled beyond belief. I am NEVER going to underestimate a person again.

When I first went to a full MMA class, and got involved in stand-up fighting, I wanted to up my defence, so I told the guy I was sparing with to go all out on me. I had a headache for a week afterwards. I should have learned who I was up against first hu? Bad move. But again, I was put in my place.

One thing I think many people can learn from. Being a little more grounded in experience, and not opinion.

For example. I recently spoke to SD and he said about how he recognised he needed to work on certain skills and that he knew the principles, but saw that the practical application is never as easy as it looks.

Of all of the things we need to recognise, our own shortcomings is probably one of the most important. Okay, let's have a quick game on this. Pop-Quiz:

1. Have you made a fire using a bow drill?
2. Have you bled car breaks and refilled the lines?
3. Have you welded?
4. Have you ran 10km?
5. Have you shot accurately under stress?
6. Have you survived a winter in the wilderness without any gear?

If you answer no to any of these questions, then you cannot say that you can do them. If you can run 9km, then maybe you can say you can run 10km, but that's the only one that you can stand to disagree with.

I remember one of the members on this forum (a lovely older lady) whom used to camp out on her own front lawn, to test her tents out, and had a disliking for flint and steel. She said she could never get them to work for her, and just kept throwing them over the neighbour's fence. She recognised they were not a tool for her, and although she would persist until frustration, she still recognised it wasn't the right tool for her. Hats off to that woman. But there will be others whom have steel and flint in their pack, but don't know how to use them properly, or have never used them to make a fire. When it comes to it, and it's a do or die moment, you don't want to be caught unskilled.

I know a guy who packs loads of gear. Much of it he freely admits he doesn't know how to use. Is he an idiot? Not at all! He plans to have the equipment for when someone comes along that knows how to use the gear, then recruit them. For example, a welder. I don't think he can weld, but some of his neighbours probably can weld, so WTSHTF, he can pop to his neighbour and get a good set of door supports, road barriers, or anything else made, so that his situation is better. If you can support other people, and allow their expertise to benefit your group, then you'd be an idiot NOT to have their gear with you.

He recognised his weaknesses.

BP, and I've spoken to him about this many times, and he admits it, forgets that not everyone lives in a rural situation. It's a natural thing to focus on your situation and thus respond to people from your own situation. But we're not all facing fields and woodland. Which is why BP tries to realign his responses for those looking more towards city escape.

As preppers, we need to recognise our genuine strengths and weaknesses. There are two weaknesses I want to highlight, and they apply equally to me as to everyone else.

Firstly.
If you do not have experience in a skill, use of a weapon, or something similar (let's say skiing or snowboarding for example), then that is a weakness that needs to be recognised.

Secondly.
If you think you can turn a weakness into a strength, I hate to tell you this, but that's a weakness too. - Jack Handy, Comedian.

Please note, that last comment was a joke.

Thank you and enjoy the deliciousness of humble pie. I eat mine daily, when my wife is a better shot than me :'(

[Tibbs735]

I am far from being a serious prepper, and my position right now with preparedness is really less than ideal. I am envious of people who have had years of head start on preparedness, whereas I've only had my head in the right place for about 2 years, and I'm only 18. I won't be able to own my own land any time soon. I have no BOL, other than my parents home. My family will likely only wake up when the SHTF. I know I'm lacking in certain areas.
-Food
I have a few months worth of non-perishables, and we have a reasonably food garden, on a corner of a 1/3 of an acres plot.
-Water
Around 80 litres of water, some purification tablets, and around 8 berky filters I have yet to attach to a bucket.
-Security
Little to none; my krav maga club closed and was too far away to be convenient anyway, but there is a KAPAP club that is much closer anyway. I am about 90% done on my SGC though, and I intend to get a Mossberg 590 ASAP. A youth compound bow is also in the post. Most of the family other than my brother have no consideration of anything security related.
-Medical
Some basic first aid training, and a bag of bandages and other stuff, some may be out of date.
-Energy
Some stored AA and AAA batteries and a spare motorycle battery.
-Sanitation
Relatively small amount of TP, a few months of toiletaries and hygiene products
-Heat
Around a cord of firewood, a good axe, and means to burn the woods and cook from it.
-Comms
2 walkie-talkies, other than that, nothing.

Lots of areas to work on then!!

[Midnitemo]

i can answer yes to 4 of the 6 pop quiz questions but i fail to see there relevance... well to me anyway... i'm not ready by a long way and theres alway's something you could be learning/practicising , anyone who sits back and say's thats me squared away is at the very least missing the opportunity to improve there chances most likely dissadvantaging themselves with there over confidence.

[bigpaul]

I think prepping is an open ended thing, there is always something else to do or another skill to learn, I don't think we can ever say" that's it I've finished".

[Scythe13]

(16 November 2013, 12:11)Midnitemo Wrote: i can answer yes to 4 of the 6 pop quiz questions but i fail to see there relevance

They were just an example of the difference between what people think they can do and what they actually have done. That's all. There was no deeper meaning to them.

[Midnitemo]

Being an armchair warrior is inevitable if you work(to a greater or lesser extent) were I unemployed or retired then I would do more hands on practice , just as an example I have chosen to ignore fire making in the more skilled and time consuming manner because I have other more pressing things to learn/achieve(currently sat in work practicing tying knots/looks like a manic kitten has been here!)to negate this I have a large store of "easy" fire making equipment , matches/lighters/steels&flints...I have books on the theory and its something I will get too in time but we time poor have to prioritise on what we feel will benefit us most.

[Scythe13]

I get where you're coming from MNM and I don't disagree.

It's just a post for people to accept when someone else has more expertise, but also to be careful about what they say if they have 'knowledge' on a subject they have no practical experience with.

I don't talk much about solar, medical, weapons, vehicles, and many other things. Not because I don't care about them, but because my knowledge base is pretty limited. Take comms for example. I didn't post anything about comms until after I had some radios and learned a load of stuff from Sansei LightSpeed haha. Even then the stuff I was posting was about the basics I had learned for anyone else that's a beginner, as I still am.

It's okay to bring in information from third parties. We all do it, and my wife knows her medical stuff. So I will quote her. I have some American friends with their gun love. So I ask them a lot of questions, but I still don't comment too much on gun stuff, because the UK legal stuff isn't exactly my knowledge base.

Many people hide opinion as fact, which can be very difficult to differentiate for newer preppers/survivalists.

[Midnitemo]

very true S13 "a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing" I think overconfidence is a terrible trait....and no amount of book knowledge can better practical skill in something......it's a good point you've made that we shouldn't all believe our own hype and take book knowledge for actual skills.

[Scythe13]

(16 November 2013, 19:33)Midnitemo Wrote: very true S13 "a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing" I think overconfidence is a terrible trait....and no amount of book knowledge can better practical skill in something......it's a good point you've made that we shouldn't all believe our own hype and take book knowledge for actual skills.

You've summed up in a couple of sentences what took me a few paragraphs to explain. Once again I am humbled.

[Barneyboy]

no to number six , for me ,we are not taking this week for all of them mate just over time mate