Step 6: Basic Skills Aquisition/ Practice
This is probably the most practical part of prepping, and probably also the most overlooked.
If you have all this gear, the best first aid kit, and the best plan, all of that can quickly fall apart if you have no idea what you’re doing. Basic first aid skills, gear competency, and local knowledge will get you further than having the latest gadgets.
These are skills you should probably have anyway, but modern society has made it too easy to skate on by and rely on others for all those “specialties”. You don’t need to go through medical school, but regularly doing weekend first aid courses will serve you well in your daily life - and you never know when you’ll need them in an emergency situation.
I’m pretty fortunate. My main volunteering gig is with Search & Rescue, and we get a lot of practice with emergency situations and first aid training. If you aren’t part of a group that practices regularly, or works on upgrading skills we would use in prepping, it might be time to start looking for courses, or groups you can join to gain some essential skills.
Some examples of skills/courses you can work on/take:
basic —> advanced first aid courses, especially leaning towards wilderness and prolonged care in first aid
map and compass navigations
mechanical/electric basics
any diy/repair skills for all of your gear in your BOBs, SAHK, Car kit, etc.
fabric gear repair - tent/goretex/technical fabric mending/patching
anything you would need to do in your house in an emergency - water main shut off, gas shut off, burst pipe protocol, etc.
mental health skills in an emergency situation
diplomacy/de-escalation skills
food prep/sanitization
firearms use/safety
self-defence (martial arts or combat)
water purification
fitness
local knowledge
The list goes on and on and it never ends. And that’s a good thing! The more skills/knowledge you have and are well-practiced in, the better prepared you’ll be when the SHTF. These skills are not solely reserved for the worst case scenario either. Food handling is probably a good skill to have in your every day life. As is first aid. Mental health awareness. De-escalation. Think about your day-to-day and how many of these skills you would use on a daily basis.
I’ve heard many people say, you rise to the occasion when SHTF. BUT, all of the people I know that have life experience with emergency situations have told me, “you fall to the level of your training”. So if you’re in a tough situation and haven’t trained for anything remotely as hard/serious, you might have trouble dealing with any emergency situation that arises. The higher your level of training and the more you practice, the better you’ll perform when the time comes.
Some people I know have been evacuated multiple times. Their best advice is to be as prepared as possible and PRACTICE. One person told me that they have been evacuated 3 times in the last 5 years. His advice? “You’re gonna fuck it up, it’ll definitely take a few times to get it right - but the better prepared you are, the less of a mess it’ll be.”
So find some people. Find some courses and get to work. Then practice. Make it fun. Have some buddies over and order pizza and beers. Organize your emergency gear. Talk about what you’ve got and why. Join a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym. Get some fitness and some self-defence skills. You’ll be surprised at how much fun it can be to be “prepared”.
What else? What have I missed? What would you add? What are the most important skills for being prepared?
Just a reminder: I’m no expert and nothing in any post/blog/section of this website should be taken as advice. I just want to be prepared so I can worry less, and enjoy life more and I wanted to share it with you! Any tips/tricks you have for me - let me know! :)
