New job??

Rockywolf

Rockywolf

Joined
Oct 16, 2005
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I know some people make their living teaching survival skills, well, at least on a part-time basis...Cody Lundin and Tom Brown come to mind right away...

I have a friend who has taken upwards of ten classes from Tom Brown and I'm wondering whether any of you out there, with waaaaay more experience than I have, would chime in and educate me as to whether this guy has enough skill or credibility to teach classes and charge for them yet?

I live near him in Minnesota, USA, and we don't have many teachers of this type around here (at least that I have been able to locate yet). I'm always trying to learn more...

What are your thoughts? Thanks!
 
Rockywolf,

I'm confused. Are you ultimately asking about Cody or Tom? Let me know, and I can answer. Tom is in New Jersey, and Cody is out west last I knew.
 
Brian I think RW is asking if taking over ten classes from Tom Brown is qualification enough to charge other to pass on skills learnt... I think

Maybe some more info RW.
 
I think as long as you " know your sh*t" you qualify to teach :cool:
Whether it be by books, Da Net, dvd's, military training or just experience in the bush
Whether your business remains solvent or not is a function of how well you know your sh*t I guess

This is a great question
I eagerly await some more replies/input
I was wondering the same thing myself.....
 
Good point Trent, that's the key I guess, if you give the client/student enough that they feel they've got good value from the teaching then they'll be happy to part with the dollars and probably tell their mates.

Also depends on who you are trying to get as students. Some know a next to nothing and some know a lot, and you gotta keep everyone happy.

great to hear from some of the lads that teach.
 
To be a really competent survival instructor you need a lot more experience than taking classes at some school. I have had people ask about teaching for me, they gave me a whole list of schools(both Civilian & Military) and when we got down in the dirt I wasn't even remotely impressed. When I take on a new instructor, they usually work with me for about 2 years before I am satisfied that they can teach on their own and even then I am very watchful for their first few classes. I did however have a young man who became a Journeyman instructor for me for one year and there was no doubt that he was qualified to teach on his own at my school, you may know him as Kevin Estela.
Oldman/Marty Simon
 
southern bigfoot said:
Brian I think RW is asking if taking over ten classes from Tom Brown is qualification enough to charge other to pass on skills learnt... I think

Maybe some more info RW.
Click to expand...

Yes....Southern Bigfoot you are correct...I have read books by both Tom and Cody, and my friend has taken classes in the Pine Barrens (he is going back again this summer). We were hanging out, swapping stories about outdoor experiences, showing off our new knives, and I decided to push him on the teaching classes thing.

He has shared his notes with me from some of the Tom Brown classes and I was amazed at the sheer volume! I asked if he ever got any dirt time! He has taken many classes, has a lot of notes, garnered new skills (and purchased a lot of gear from the Tom Brown store) and so I asked if he would be willing to develop a curriculum to teach me and some of our other buddies. His comment was that he doesn't know if people around here are interested in survivalism and when he used the old "where do I advertise?" argument, I knew that meant he didn't want to even attempt to market the info.

I'm interested in shelter building, tracking, plant identification, etc...all the things I don't know very much about and things he was saying he learned in the survival courses that, frankly, he paid a LOT of money to take. I was willing to help him develop the curriculum. My BA degree is in education so thought if I could compile and categorize his notes he wouldn't feel like it was an overwhelming project. Plus, let's face it...to make money while spending time outdoors doing things we love to do??!! Sign me up!! :thumbup:

So after the backstory, my question is does he have the knowledge /credibility to attempt such a venture? Marty's comment was very telling...I have learned more hanging out on this forum than I knew last year, so maybe taking class after class isn't the key. Maybe it is as simple as trial and error in my yard and little jaunts into the woods with my sons that will give me the experience. NOTE: I'm not going to be the primary teacher. I would be the gofer/sidekick/student. I do NOT know enough to teach this stuff.

I would love to get dirt time with people more knowledgeable than me (that's most guys on here, LOL), and so if any of you out there have taken classes with Tom or Cody and think that after so many classes my buddy would be qualified to teach, well, I guess I will try to mine him for more knowledge.

Thanks for the advice,

Steve
 
Rockywolf, first let me say that there is definitely a market hole in Minnesota for this kind of thing. I think the best thing your friend could do would be to offer a class free or very low cost to generate some word of mouth credibility.

Another thing, as an analogy I builit up a very successful personal training/athletic performance business but I established a reputation working for YMCAs and local clubs before I set out on my own. Maybe your friend could offer some community ed classes or seminars for REI to get started.
 
I agree with Marty, just because you have studied the work does not mean you know how to translate the work to others. I live an hour or so North of the Pine Barrens in NJ and go down to play when I feel like it, not that there's a need. I have plenty of places to practice right outside my door. My 'skills' always seem to be of interest to folks who have next to no basic skills, but that does'nt make me qualified to teach anyone. Teaching is really an art form where teacher and student get on the same mental plain and the concepts flow back and forth seamlessly. At least that's my understanding of what teaching is, and if it were easy many folks would'nt be sitting here yakking about it they'd be charging for it IMO. Instructing others goes beyond book learning and practice of your own, it involves being part showman, part teacher, part drill instructor, part friend with unlimited patience. I think your friend is the one who needs the BA now! Which is why adults always tell young people, "Stay in school, you will need it in the future"....
 
This is an interesting thread. For the past fifteen+ years I have studied martial arts. Having earned my black belt, the question from people was always "so can you teach me something?" For the past two years I have been doing just that at the local university. However, prior to that I instructed under the watchful eye of my sensei until I had proven that I could impart my knowledge in a concise, proper and interesting way. Even today, despite the fact that I have my own students I still train regularly with him, have him oversee my classes from time to time etc. Those first months were pretty rocky. I have come to realize that teaching anything to anybody is an art that takes time to develop in of itself, whether it be bushcraft, karate or needlepoint. Just attending classes on a subject doesn't make you a teacher. I think it also takes the desire to impart knowledge and the will to see it through. From your description RW it sounds like your buddy is perhaps not as keen as you are! Please don't misread, I think it is awesome that you are taking an interest like this. It may be worthwhile to spend more time with him in the field, observing how he does stuff or even attending a class with him. Get a small group and practice together, no pressure on any one person and then discuss what worked, what sort of worked and what didn't. One final issue that i myself have run into is, would he teach "Tom Brown" bushcraft or his own interpretation? There may be issues with him advertising as "Tom Brown trained" or along those lines. Anyway, my .02
 
If people ask me to teach them anything, I always give them a very clear picture of the extent -- but most importantly the limits -- of my knowledge. I'm not remotely qualified to teach wilderness skills yet in my own opinion, but I enjoy sharing what knowledge I do possess.

That said, I know I'm better at wilderness skills than some who make a living teaching those skills. That should tell you something about the quality of their instruction. In other words, Buyer Beware.
 
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