Throughout this book, you will read about ways you can modify
the skills presented to increase the diculty level. Sometimes this
means putting completion of a task against a time restriction; other
times it means performing a task with one hand instead of two. Still
other times, your training can be made more dicult by using lesser
quality equipment or smaller equipment. At all times, you should
mentally catalog the repetitions you complete while learning from
your experiences.
I believe in the idea of training hard and ghting easy. Ideally,
your training should push you to the far limits of your comfort level.
When the suck factor of an emergency or survival situation starts to
weigh on you, remember how much harder you trained leading up
to that moment. Remember how you rose to the occasion before and
how you can again. It’s very rare to hear of someone who performs
at a level higher than their training when the situation is real. Invest
in your safety by taking your training to new levels under conditions
you have control over now, rather than when it is too late.
All three of these requirements—awareness, preparedness and
willingness—must be present if you want to be truly “ready.” You
can be a combination of two and not be ready. For example, you can
be aware of wilderness survival situations and be willing to spend
time and money to train and purchase gear, but if that training and
gear are not appropriate, your preparedness will be lacking. If you
say you are aware and prepared but lack willingness, you probably
are not willing to do what it takes—like using your gear to test its
strengths and weaknesses or testing yourself to see your capability.
You can also be prepared with physical tness and willing to give
110 percent of your being, but if you are thrust into a situation
without knowing which threats can impact you, you are not ready.
You need to know what you’re getting into, determine how you can
equip yourself with what you need and have the desire to win.