The Most Important Survival Skill

G

Gautier

Joined
Aug 31, 2006
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What's that you thought? Fire? Nope...Navigation? Wrong again. Surely it's signalling! Sorry, strike three.
The most important survival skill is one that most people don't even think about. As most experienced outdoorsmen, have developed it to the point that it's subconscious, a reflex action. That's not to say that only certain people possess this skill, we all do.
It's called observation. More importantly observing your surroundings and circumstances, also known as situational awareness.
There are quite a few unfortunate posts I see that come up from time to time, and several national news stories that break,all of which could have been prevented with a little awareness or foresight.
Just as an example, and I'm in no way "picking on" this poster, but Dr. Pepper's "Need for Speed" thread was sort of the proverbial straw on this subject for me.
Now, I know that we all have our moments(I call them senior moments, or brain-farts) and sometimes, fecal matter just happens. Ninety-nine percent of the time though, we can trace our mishaps back to operator error, complacency, poor judgement, etc.
I also know this isn't a new concept by any means, and probably everyone has heard it. Some are probably thinking "Yeah, I've got that, I always check my 6" or some other equally dismissive throught is ringing out.
Now, I'm not preaching or lecturing, but I will ask a rhetorical question of you all. The thing is, I don't want the answer, you have to answer yourselves...and hopefully you don't end up lying to yourself, because you'll be the first one to suffer from it.
The question is; How many of you are fully aware of everything around you at any given time, especially in the outdoors? For instance, can you walk 10 miles down a trail, and know exactly how it looks and what landmarks to expect on the way back?
Just thought I'd give some food for thought. Afterall, the easiest mistakes to learn from are the ones that everybody makes...They're sometimes the hardest to recover from though.


Gautier
 
Gautier,

I'm wrapping up for the evening soon, but want to say that awareness and observation are two of my religions in life. Your post is EXCELLENT, and it asks all the right questions and gives all the right examples. Members, please chime in here. And I hope everyone pays close heed to his post. It's right on the money in my book.

Well done, G. I'll be back here for more! :thumbup:
 
As a martial arts instructor, I cannot begin to tell you how many times we discussed this very subject in class. People think it is only a sometimes thing though...

Our school hosts an annual weekend training seminar in the outback of SW Iowa, and we practice outdoor skills as well as the traditional martial arts stuff. Observation and awareness are skills that need to be taught, reinforced, and practiced!

People are often so secure in their "comfort" zone that they don't realize something has happened until it bites them on the butt. Call me paranoid, but I prepare for the worst, and hope for the best, in all aspects of life!
 
Thanks for the kind words Brian, and you're right Rocky. I don't find it the least bit surprising that the first two to chime in are both avid martial artists. To blow my own horn, but I'm also a San Dan in Jujitsu and Aikido, a bastardized version of the Tomiki style to be precise, but back to the point.
The whole reason I felt like bringing this up, is that we always talk about what gear to bring, what clothing to wear, etc.
It's to a much lesser extent, although some do touch on it, that we ever talk about the mental and psychological sides of survival. Especially things so common as our most pervasive sense, SEEING. I'm of the contention that; All the gear in the world, and your hat full of (insert survival instructor of your choice, Ray Mears, Tom Brown, etc.) endorsed bushcraft tricks and techniques, won't save you if you're watching that brown throated thrush as you're walking along, trip on a root, fracture your skull and bleed out.

I also agree that for most people, in this day and age, it does require a degree of training, practice, and constant reinforcement to achieve that sort of awareness, Rocky.
I mean after all, we have been reprogrammed to ignore nature's cues and follow a system of blinking lights, sounding buzzers, color and number coded lists, and most simply take their cues from the television...Of all things.
Weatherman calls for rain, they grab an umbrella...Traffic light turns green, they accelerate(honestly, how many of you check the intersection before going on green?)
The list goes on and on. One of my points, I'll have more as this discussion blooms and goes on, is that in order to get back to nature in the way some of us want to...The first thing we need to do is see it as just that, nature.
To borrow from Merriam-Webster "6: the external world in its entirety"-"1 a: the inherent character or basic constitution of a person or thing : essence"

I hope I don't come off as condescending or trite with some of my statements, that's just my "nature". My goal is just to spawn some productive discussion on the subject, and maybe provide some food for thought or shed light on a subject that is very important, yet sorely overlooked.


Gautier
 
Gautier,

I wrote an extensive white paper/article on awareness, how the effects of daily life cause a certain tunnel vision (stress, staring at computer screens, etc) and cause us to be so caught up in catching up, we lose track of our surroundings. The paper goes on to describe primitive awareness (360 eg), et., and exercises to develop it. I'll shorten and adapt it and post it when I have a moment. The psychology, mindset, emotional factors, and keen awareness and their interplay, plus knowledge (not equipment), and how it all is critical not just for surviving, but thriving is one of my central areas of study and interest. I'm catching up on so many things lately, and have wanted to expand our talks on the brain as the central tool. The Lightning thread is one along those lines of knowledge and awareness, not gear. Keep 'em coming, everyone!
 
Brian,I can't speak for everyone here, but I know that I'd be keen to read the full version. Long winded, typos or oversights, and all(not incinuating). Afterall, sometimes our follies give us our best ideas when writing out these sort of things. I also think that a lot of us here would appreciate a more mentally-geared(blatant pun) approach to things.
I look forward to reading and participating in more discussions that pertain more to what you carry in your head, and less of what we carry in our packs.


Gautier
 
Gautier, Watchful said it very nicely in an email to me, and I think it describes how all three of us feel, plus many others here:

"Survival is, for example...what you need to pack in your head, not in your PSK."
 
excellent posts, good topic of discussion.

i always try to expand my awareness of a situation, in all things. if i am sitting in a room and realize that there is someone in the room that i did not see enter, i use that as a sort of duh remember to pay attention thing. if i am walking in the woods and i walk into a branch, that is a reminder to not only look at where the feet go. in general, i make an effort to be aware of everything. unfortunately, we are only aware of what we are aware of, and we don't know what we are missing.

by paying attention to things, it is easy to avoid a bad situation, in terms of survival, self defense/assault scenarios, and all others.

i disagree that it is the most important skill. i would tend to place it under life skill, more than survival (though as a life skill it allows you to survive)...i think maybe we should just say that it overlaps alot of different areas...

as a society in america ( and the rest of the modern world) we have been trained to respond to unnatural signals. we are simply not used to the natural signals anymore. it simply comes from being out of practice. a person that has grown up in a huge city will know it just as precisely (down to what each train sounds like) as the person that grows up in the great wilderness of Canada will know their environment (down to being able to tell what kind of bird is making what kind of call). humans are so adaptable that those that don't get alot of dirt time are not tuned into the signals in the woods.
 
Gautier said:
Brian,I can't speak for everyone here, but I know that I'd be keen to read the full version. Long winded, typos or oversights, and all(not incinuating). Afterall, sometimes our follies give us our best ideas when writing out these sort of things. I also think that a lot of us here would appreciate a more mentally-geared(blatant pun) approach to things.
I look forward to reading and participating in more discussions that pertain more to what you carry in your head, and less of what we carry in our packs.


Gautier
Click to expand...

Ditto, I love reading white papers, since they are usually written by experts for people who are knowledgeable about the topic at hand. I'd be happy to host it if you need some storage space.
 
Thanks, storl and everyone. Maybe, based on storl's description of a white paper (at least the "expert" part), it's more of just an article! Wait until you read it, then PLEASE give me honest feedback. I want to shoot as many holes in it as possible to make it bulletproof.
 
I agree that situational awareness is an important skill. I discuss situational awareness briefly in my sub-article Being Survival Minded, on my website, wherein I say:

For the purposes of this article, what I mean by "situational awareness" is: an actively maintained mental state of observation and thoughtfulness about what is happening to you and what is going on around you, so as to identify, process, and comprehend critical elements of information about your circumstances, in order to choose actions wisely.

It comes into play with disaster aversion, through attentiveness to your body and to your surroundings, long before danger presents itself. It includes staying well hydrated before heat exhaustion, fatigue, or loss of coordination begins. It involves adjusting your clothes and your pace before you end up shivering or soaked from perspiration. It involves frequently checking where you are on your map while you hike, to stay on track and stay found, and frequently turning around and taking a good look behind you as you hike, to make sure that you'll recognize the route back. It involves recognizing and avoiding dangers such as undercut and eroding cliff edges, shifting boulders, and river crossings that will have risen substantially when you are hiking back, later in the day.

When an emergency begins to unfold, situational awareness helps minimize catastrophe. If you become lost, the sooner you can recognize this and stop wandering farther from your last known point, the easier it will be to figure out where you are, or the easier it will be for a search party to find you. If it will be necessary to spend the night out, the more quickly you realize this, the more time you will have to build shelter and fire before the cold and dark of night is upon you. Whatever the situation may be, the sooner you recognize it and begin to deal with it appropriately, the better.

It's worth clarifying, when talking about "observation" skills in this kind of context, that it is not merely a matter of seeing stuff, but also a matter of making the cause-and-effect connections related to what you see, and understanding what is unfolding.
 
Well, that was much more succent and articulate than my off the cuff schpeel, Evolute. :p I agree on all accounts though, and I particularly like this last part that you mentioned:
"It's worth clarifying, when talking about "observation" skills in this kind of context, that it is not merely a matter of seeing stuff, but also a matter of making the cause-and-effect connections related to what you see, and understanding what is unfolding"
When I emphasized SEEING earlier, I may have been a bit ambiguous. Like I said, it is our most pervasive sense(for the sighted at least), and so it was more a figure of speech.
I'm glad that you brought up not only the observation point, but also the "seeing"(as in understanding) the chain of causation. This includes all of our senses; smell, hearing, touch, taste, and sight.
For instance, just before a storm, you can reasonably call on all or any of your senses to determine what's coming. A lightning/electrical storm will make the hairs on your neck stand on end, allowing you to feel what's around you.
The high moisture content in the air allows you to smell certain scents more clearly. You can see the wildlife around you reacting, and the formation of clouds sometimes. You can hear sounds more clearly in times of low barometric pressure. You can even taste a sort of bitter and metallic quality in the air.
This is just one example of how our observational skills and awareness can help increase our odds of survival.


Gautier
 
Avoidance is one-third the work of surviving.

I suspect many folks need to reprioritize their survival training.

Focus on what is close to you, before you look farther. Focus on what kills you sooner, rather than later. Focus on what will happen before worrying about what may happen. Things that happen every day take precedence over things that happen every season. And every season takes precedence over every year. And every year over what happens once or twice in a person's lifetime. And so on.

It's sometime frustrating to read posts about bird flu; the odds say you'll die of regular flu much sooner. Or worrying about an EMP taking out society, but the home emergency plan isn't ready for next year's crippling three-day blizzard.

When the little tasks are done, then you can worry about the big ones.

A couple of great posts lately have caught my eye. Mercop provided a great challenge about bug outs being fantasy. The bad news is: they probably are. The good news: everyone participating addressed what HE would do in his own case. That's great! Now we're thinking close to home, rather than trying to come up with a solution to fit all problems. Sometimes you stay, sometimes you leave: which is it? Depends on you. Not what I think.

This thread by Gautier is excellent: it asks us to step back and think for a minute. But don't limit your sense of awareness to complacency.

There are three types of awareness to consider:

1. Awareness of yourself. Know if you're afraid of heights. Know that four beers later, your capacity to address a serious situation may be gone. If you're sick or freezing cold, your skills erode. If you're injured badly, your skills may be gone. Know what your level of readiness is.

2. Awareness of the opponent. Know his triggers and warning signs. Know where he lurks. Know what attracts predators to people like yourself. Know when he's about to snap, or if he's looking to defuse.

3. Awareness of the environment around you two. Know the exits. Know the obstacles. Know the difference between cover and concealment. Know what helps you, hurts you, helps him, and hurts him. Know where the weapons are, or could be.

Most critically, recognize the transitions, for these are what kill. Know when you're getting too weak to continue. Know when he's about ready to snap. Know when you're moving from one environment to another: ever wonder why a lot of ambushes take place where people are exiting or entering their vehicle, or entering or exiting their building, or are setup around corners or narrow spaces? (Because the ambush happens during your reorientation.)

But on top of all this, know your odds. Doesn't guarantee you're safe or in danger...but don't ignore the probabilities. If you live in my area, you need to have a plan for tornados more than earthquakes...and way more than hurricanes! Blizzards here are deadlier than tsunamis. Flus kill more people than heat waves in a big city. I can find more ways to start fires than I can find food, here, if supplies for either run out. My odds of finding potable water are generally excellent, but my ability to escape quickly is limited. And so on.

How are you?
 
Mike,

Excellent situational awareness piece! Like Gautier said, your last part about observation and cause-and-effect: it's using applied critical thinking skills. This means not just knowing techniques, but CONCEPTS, and using the critical thinking to evaluate based on that conceptual knowledge, then using applied creative thinking skills to solve the problems by devising and improvising techniques that fit the concept.

The Socratic method I used in the lightning thread -- asking analytical questions, is the process I believe everyone should learn to use to evaluate any given situation. if you're alone, you will be alive only by first asking the right questions.
 
"I'm super, thanks for asking!"--Big Gay Al...Sorry, I couldn't resist, I blame the Jack and Cokes. :o Anyway, I hope that doesn't detract from Watchful's excellent post here which I think is spot on, and agree with 100%.
So far, everyone that has posted seems to understand exactly what I meant in my original thread, and has posted similarly, additionally, and usually more concisely than I originally did. Great discussion, and very great points being brought up fellas.
I look forward to reading more, and learning a bit about areas where I might be able to improve my own situational awareness. Afterall, we all have room for improvement, and those that don't...are dead. :thumbup:


Gautier
 
Watchful, I was writing when you posted. Outstanding! This is mission-critical stuff, folks.

Gautier: Uh, oh, another South Park fan besides me in the forum...:D
 
i'm looking forward eagerly to more replys on this topic....and brian's article also.

maybe also replys on how to avoid panicking when lost or injured.


this may be premature, but this might develop into a good sticky post in the near future???

Bill
 
bill, we'll make it sticky or not by consensus vote in the future...sound good? And part of my article deals directly with controlling emotions and fears, and putting them to work FOR you. Awareness starts not close to the self, but within the self. You have to be "still" inside to effectively read what is going on both inside and outside.
 
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