Survival instinct

A local survivalist says armed with a little bit of knowledge, you can save a mishap from turning into a tragedy.

Think about all the useless information you know: footy scores, the words to songs, details of a Hollywood wedding you read about on the internet or a factoid about whales.

If a crisis of survival struck, would the fact that you know the name of Posh and Beck’s kids help? Probably not, but what could save your life is a series of survival skills.

International survival expert Bob Cooper has taught himself to survive in all sorts of situations and has been teaching these skills for three decades with a goal of making sure mishaps never turn into tragedies.

He has worked with everyone from NASA, the FBI and Texas Rangers to Australian security forces as well as teaching hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts the same skills. Bob believes survival skills applied with fear in check and a clear head will get you home safely.

In a survival situation, Bob says the five priorities for self-preservation are: water, warmth, signals, shelter and food. You need to be level-headed enough to decide which to satisfy first.

As part of his award-wining courses Bob teaches survival aspects like the psychology of survival, map reading and navigation, snake awareness, day and night signals, stellar and solar navigation, procuring water, edible and medicinal plants and avoiding poisoning from toxic plants.

Learning survival skills will be useful whether you are on an over-night camping trip or away from home for months. Ultimately, Bob says they will hold you in good stead in the harsh outback of Australia, camping in a foreign country or caught in the middle of political unrest.

Survival skills are also invaluable for everyday life: learning to be calm under pressure can aid you just as well in a city traffic snarl as it can negotiating a business deal.

“One of the by-products about learning survival skills is that you learn a lot about yourself too,” says the Perth-based veteran survivalist. “If this is something someone doesn’t think they can do and they conquer it, they begin to wonder what else they can achieve in their lives.

“In some cases it has had a very profound effect on people and they have totally changed their lives, thanks to the skills they have learnt. It’s very empowering.”

By Ara Jansen, Originally posted at www.realmark.com.au