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SURVIVAL SCHOOL - 1982

SURVIVAL SCHOOL - 1982

Jacek Pałkiewicz
2006-06-17 15:09:25

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We plodded on, grasping for breath. Our rucksacks cut into our shoulders, the sun beat down on our heads, sharp stones required our constant attention. There is no need to trek along the paths of far-away mountains to find strain and fatigue : on this occasion we were only a stone's throw away from civilization, in the mountains of north-eastern Italy, together with my pupils from the School for Survival and Adventure. I had plenty to do. Encourage those who were already tired, advise those who were pressing too hard and who before long would be out of breath, goad the lazier ones along with an acerbic comment or two.

This last technique is the Japanese method. It can seem pointlessly cruel, but it does reinforce a person's stubborness, recharge his determination and oblige him to look deep into himself to find his last scrap of will-power to go on. I was with my students, because I am not the kind of teacher, and never will be, who is content to write theory on the blackboard. 1-
I looked at them with pride and some envy : the ones who were not already competent adventurers were quickly becoming so. They were all enthusiastic, generous, ready to give their all. But they were also lucky, because things have been made easy for them : to learn the arts of survival, they need only send off a coupon.

I, by contrast, had to learn by myself, at my own expense, by a continual process of trial and error, solving problems when they cropped up. Nobody ever told me :"Pay attention, if this happens to you, do this". It took years to learn what to do. It was my desire to pass on my experience and expertise to others which prompted me to open my school. I began by teaching a friend of mine how to use a compass, and I swear it all but reduced me to tears to see something I found so simple be the source of some much puzzlement. Then dumbfounded another friend by showing him how to light a fire with the sparks produced ...