Hypothetical qualification question posed to me.

[ex Member swampy99]

And the Bear. Seems that I have pointed out now that any monkey can do this. Looks like I am going to write a book name myself after a woodland creature and throw some vids on you tube copying everyone else's vids and say it is my reply to theres and how to do it.

I should be a hit.

 

[santaman2000]

And the Bear. Seems that I have pointed out now that any monkey can do this. Looks like I am going to write a book name myself after a woodland creature and throw some vids on you tube copying everyone else's vids and say it is my reply to theres and how to do it.

I should be a hit.

No, you cain't do that unless you can show me your certificate/license proving you're a qualified author.

 

[spandit]

Knocking Bear Grylls is like knocking Jeremy Clarkson for not being a serious motoring journalist. His programme is entertainment, not a documentary. I might not agree with his methods but it's fun to watch

 

[wattsy]

Yup. Please report Mors Kochanski for not having qualifications.

Come to think of it what qualifications does Ray have?

slightly different situations chum both of them have proven extensive background experience in their chosen fields, thanks for chipping in with your irrelevant point though

 

[santaman2000]

slightly different situations chum both of them have proven extensive background experience in their chosen fields, thanks for chipping in with your irrelevant point though

I may be wrong but I think he was commenting tongue in cheek.

 

[d-day66]

Well i think this is a very relevant point here!
Qualifications! Exactly!!!
Ive now been doing this for a number of years too, 82/83 i started. Yet i dont have any relevant quals. And in todays world a majority of folk would want to see them before being led out into the field by an instructor! What point i would like to make is this. Has anyone noticed that around the country different schools of bushcraft are offering an instructors course, the same course i gather for the same qualification, but at ridiculous prices! What price can one put on life skills that someone has in their head?
I still have a newspaper that i was on the front cover of from July 86 with a headline of "A country walk can reduce shopping bills." Well i think todays world we all should be taking heed of this now! lol!

 

[ex Member swampy99]

1. I am not knocking The Bear he has done his training and making money from it. Someone pointed out that The Mears may not have a cert for what he does.

2. It looks like that you dont need one as there is no cert for it so if your good enough to do it and can get the insurance you can set up and call yourself an "Expert".

 

[spandit]

I suppose, in short, if you have enough experience/background to know what you are talking about, plus an effective teaching style, then no problem.

 

[SMARTY]

You could try contacting Duncan Clark at North Ridge Adventure. The last time we met he was planning and developing a recognised UK survival instructor qualification.

I personally use my BTDI qualification and have done the for the last 20 years or so teaching survival skills.

 

[d-day66]

yeah i agree with swampy and spandit! What we know is good enough. But i dont like the thought that even i could set up a sylabus for a recognised cert, and make an obscene amount of money from it for nowt. Basically it is cash for old rope.

 

[spandit]

Thing is, if I set up a bushcraft course and people enjoyed it as much as I suspect (i.e. not very much, as I'm not a trained instructor and have little experience) then people would come on here and (rightly so) slag me off. I'm sure my poor reputation would soon spread to other forums so I doubt I'd make a lot of money in the long run.

 

[Lumber Jack]

1. I am not knocking The Bear he has done his training and making money from it. Someone pointed out that The Mears may not have a cert for what he does.

2. It looks like that you dont need one as there is no cert for it so if your good enough to do it and can get the insurance you can set up and call yourself an "Expert".

Ray mears looks like he's invested too much money in greggs in my opinion. The guy is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But I can't help thinking he's either perpetually pregnant or swallowed a football. He get's out of breath carving a spoon. I haven't been able to take him seriously since the heroes of Telemark documentary. It was fascinating. But he made the Royal Marines and the other lads recreate it whilst he spent his nights snug in a cabin. He's a great guy, just not for me.

It might be an idea for your mate to seek employment with a well known survival school first. If he does well, he'll take a good CV away with him. Reputation is everything in buisnness. With op' and per'-sec', most of what he's learned won't have any paper to back up the claim. Unless he was on the team at St. Mawgan that is. I think Trueways have 99.9% of their staff now anyway, greedy gits.


LJ

 

[spandit]

Viz had a competition a few years ago offering a reward for anyone who could send in a photo of Ray Mears eating a pie Don't know if they ever succeeded

 

[Lumber Jack]

Viz had a competition a few years ago offering a reward for anyone who could send in a photo of Ray Mears eating a pie Don't know if they ever succeeded

Where's my reward?

He does look like he's enjoying it doesn't he. Maybe a little too much. Anyway, I better nick off before I get into trouble for thread hijacking. Apologies to mods in advance.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

I think someone said he has got lymes disease and has not been well enough to keep fit and keep the weight off or he is sponsored by greggs and not craghoppers.

 

[BOD]

Actually if you watch the Bear series you will notice that the Survival consultant is the Bushcraft Expeditions Team - Woody, Ross and Stani.

All we have to "show" that the Bear has experience is the TV programme which as we all know is heavily edited and where sometimes they order pizza for their motel rooms.

Strictly speaking all we can surmise is that Bear has considerable TV entertainment experience and probably has a free-fall parachutists ticket of some kind.

As for Ray, yes he has experience operating as a survival school and considerable TV bushcraft demonstration experience. But I have not seen an unedited handdrill demo yet.

I have never asked for any persons qualifications. I sometimes write about people who offer bush trips or survival training in this part of the world and have yet to meet any who were lacking expeirence - whether an illiterate native or an ex-squaddie.

Actually one should ask for Wilderness or Remote Areas first Aid and casualty evacution

 

[spandit]

Bear presents well - he's exciting and entertaining to watch. Ray also presents well of you're of a nervous disposition

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Does this company mean anything outside of canada? http://www.pawgi.org/
Discuss

 

[BOD]

Please don't start on PAWGI.

A lot of strife arose during the last discussion on BCUK about their qualifications.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Please don't start on PAWGI.

A lot of strife arose during the last discussion on BCUK about their qualifications.

So take it then it would be a big waste of money and the people who created it so a gap in the market and found a way to make some cash and make them sound good. What I thought in the first place.