As a relative newcomer here, I'm still impressed by the range and diversity of experiences that people have and are ready and willing to share.
I think that the points Stuart and Adi make are really well argued and I agree wholeheartedly that experience outweighs qualifications in almost every situation. Combining the two is the ideal and hopefully something that 'bushcrafters' can achieve in the not-too-distant future. If I had the money to go on a course soon I'd choose one that was recommended to me by people like you all, although one small caveat I can think of is the minimum qualifications in 'recognised' skills, such as First-Aid and H&S.
In my small and insignificant opinion the question of courses and qualifications is mirrored by the "what's survival and what's bushcraft" question. I'm fairly confident that I can survive 72 or so hours on my own with the bare minimums in the majority of environments on our planet, and I've been on courses, both civvy and forces, to teach me the basics to help me achieve this - plus my own bloodimindedness not to give in! I've learnt a lot from courses about how to survive but I know that I'd rapidly come up against problems that I can only guess how to overcome after only a few days. This is where the experience of people like Jack (who I'm only singling out as everyone else is too!) come into their own because he can draw on many years of experience of his own, and cummulatively from the people he learnt from, to make the educated and intuitive guesses needed to overcome a difficult situation.
To me courses can only teach you the very basics - be it navigation, hurdle-making, plant identification or first aid - it's then practicing and refining those skills amongst others who know more - and less - that adds up to the real knowledge.
I think that the points Stuart and Adi make are really well argued and I agree wholeheartedly that experience outweighs qualifications in almost every situation. Combining the two is the ideal and hopefully something that 'bushcrafters' can achieve in the not-too-distant future. If I had the money to go on a course soon I'd choose one that was recommended to me by people like you all, although one small caveat I can think of is the minimum qualifications in 'recognised' skills, such as First-Aid and H&S.
In my small and insignificant opinion the question of courses and qualifications is mirrored by the "what's survival and what's bushcraft" question. I'm fairly confident that I can survive 72 or so hours on my own with the bare minimums in the majority of environments on our planet, and I've been on courses, both civvy and forces, to teach me the basics to help me achieve this - plus my own bloodimindedness not to give in! I've learnt a lot from courses about how to survive but I know that I'd rapidly come up against problems that I can only guess how to overcome after only a few days. This is where the experience of people like Jack (who I'm only singling out as everyone else is too!) come into their own because he can draw on many years of experience of his own, and cummulatively from the people he learnt from, to make the educated and intuitive guesses needed to overcome a difficult situation.
To me courses can only teach you the very basics - be it navigation, hurdle-making, plant identification or first aid - it's then practicing and refining those skills amongst others who know more - and less - that adds up to the real knowledge.
