Indigenous Ability

We’re all high-speed, low-drag, “ Keep your head on a swivel, eyes on everything ” sorts, right?  I’m assuming that because I am bombarded with a never-ending posting parade of “ Awareness Musts!” “Situational Readiness Always!” “Eyes of Jack Reacher” or commentary on shared violence-porn, “ This guy got popped because he wasn’t paying attention; what he shoulda done…what I woulda done ” that sort of thing. We’re all wide-wake great ones from what I read. I’ll give you a super-easy quiz to test that assumption in a mo’ but first, a little tale of one who was always eyes-open even amongst other eyes that were also straining to be open and these allied eyes had use of new technology to assist “seeing.” [The following is excerpted from Biographical Sketch of James Bridger: Mountaineer, Trapper, and Guide (1905) by General Grenville M. Dodge. Mind you, a military man not prone to exaggeration.] “ Captain H. E. Palmer, Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, Acting Ass...

[Consider this Part 2 of the offering Move Like a Scout or Indigenous Warrior . You can consume this piece in isolation but to really follow the arc I’d recommend reading the mentioned piece [or even re-reading it] to gather fully where we’re going.] Many of us tout our bona fides as high-speed, low-drag, can-the-noize-boys cuz’ I’m lock ‘n’load from bang to go! It’s a fun little play-acting symptom we see in grown-ass adults who wear the gear, talk the talk, but…do they walk the walk? Before you answer, I’m going to drill down so we get mighty specific with that question of walking the walk. I have zero doubt that there is a squared away cadre that walks a walk some of the time. I wager there is a smaller contingent [not anyone you likely see on the street in the day-to-day] who walk the walk more often than not. I refer to those folks in war-zones, battle-zones, boots-on-the-ground, no time for drill cuz’ this shit’s real. Environment shapes behavio...

[For the mindset behind the following see Part 1 .] The car plunges through the guard rail into the river below… The recreational boat sinks from beneath you at 2AM… The bridge long overdue for inspection fails beneath you… The proverbial “100-year flood” occurs and that formerly high and dry street becomes a strictured fast-water nozzle strong enough to sweep cars and humans… The non-swimming loved one is thrashing and flailing mid-water… Your “unsinkable” luxury liner sinks beneath as you sip brandy in the smoking-room… The ability to swim and maneuver well in water, or as the old-timers called it, being possessed of good watermanship, is of ultimate importance at these times. But…again we often fail to consider that even if we possess the vital skill of swimming, like all other endeavors, it is subject to state-dependent learning. That is, if we learn our combat skills in a nice, calm, no-worries zone that is in no way reflective of th...

There is not a Warrior culture, a “preppers” blog, a survival account, or an archetype of intrepid explorers that does not tout and shout the ideal of preparation.  No one doubts the value of this advice. Preparation is no guarantee of survival, but also, no one doubts that odds increase for the prepared soul. “ Chance favors the prepared mind .”-Louis Pasteur But, to quibble with the illustrious Dr. Pasteur, that quote is only partially true. Case in point, we all know [ ALL know ] that one vital aspect of the road to good health is moderated food intake, meals that are more wise than not, and getting in a good level of physical activity that robustifies the myriad physical processes that make up our physical self. These choices go a long way towards making the day to day less grumbling, and in hard times give us a higher baseline to work from towards recovery. Again, we all “know” this advice to be true, our minds are prepared but…have a look a round y...