Just got back from the Survival 1 course with Tom Laskowsky and Glenn Monaghan (and others) of Midwest Native Skills Institute (www.survivalschool.com) . The week was excellent except for the weather. We had one severe storm that brought down many trees in the area.
I had seen numerous articles and webpages authored by these guys and they were every bit the experienced professionals I expected. Unfortunately, there are too many people out there who've read a few books and declared themselves experts--cough cough Canterbury. Laskowski and Monaghan have lived the life for decades.
The class was what you'd expect, covering survival priorities, shelter, fire, knife, kits, traps, knots, cordage, cleaning game and food prep, wild edibles, herbal medicines, signalling and navigation. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. It was very basic at times, which was ok because I had my brother with me and he has no experience or training. It moved quickly from basic stuff to practical exercises. At the end of the course you have a survival exercise where you must show all the skills you've learned. If you do it right, you eat fish.
I was most impressed with the learning environment. I've heard really bad things about certain schools having large classes and the "guru" having little to no contact with the students. I think we had 14 students total. The instructors and TAs sat amongst us in every class. They didn't run off to drink coffee and allow one person to do the lecture. During every skill session and during every break they were with us, approachable, adjusting the angle of our bowdrills, telling us to apply a little more or little less pressure. It's hard to fake enthusiasm and eagerness to teach, especially over the long hours. We were generally in class from 9am to 10-11 pm.
At one point, I mentioned to Glen that I had an interest in a primitive blade. Although it wasn't part of Survival 1, Glen spent a couple of hours total throughout the week showing me various concepts, finding a couple of decent stones and showing me various tricks. I also used one of the same stones (a chert) to spark a fire with my knife.
Bottom line, I think the course was a great value and I learned a great. If you have a chance to take a course from these guys, I'd jump on the opportunity.
I had seen numerous articles and webpages authored by these guys and they were every bit the experienced professionals I expected. Unfortunately, there are too many people out there who've read a few books and declared themselves experts--cough cough Canterbury. Laskowski and Monaghan have lived the life for decades.
The class was what you'd expect, covering survival priorities, shelter, fire, knife, kits, traps, knots, cordage, cleaning game and food prep, wild edibles, herbal medicines, signalling and navigation. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. It was very basic at times, which was ok because I had my brother with me and he has no experience or training. It moved quickly from basic stuff to practical exercises. At the end of the course you have a survival exercise where you must show all the skills you've learned. If you do it right, you eat fish.
I was most impressed with the learning environment. I've heard really bad things about certain schools having large classes and the "guru" having little to no contact with the students. I think we had 14 students total. The instructors and TAs sat amongst us in every class. They didn't run off to drink coffee and allow one person to do the lecture. During every skill session and during every break they were with us, approachable, adjusting the angle of our bowdrills, telling us to apply a little more or little less pressure. It's hard to fake enthusiasm and eagerness to teach, especially over the long hours. We were generally in class from 9am to 10-11 pm.
At one point, I mentioned to Glen that I had an interest in a primitive blade. Although it wasn't part of Survival 1, Glen spent a couple of hours total throughout the week showing me various concepts, finding a couple of decent stones and showing me various tricks. I also used one of the same stones (a chert) to spark a fire with my knife.
Bottom line, I think the course was a great value and I learned a great. If you have a chance to take a course from these guys, I'd jump on the opportunity.
