Ray Mears on YouTube

[OldJimbo]

I noticed this was put up just before Xmas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghbv6VYlqwY

Vintage Ray Mears
Karamat Wilderness Ways
Published on Dec 23, 2014
Filmed by Lars Falt in 1995 in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden at the International Survival Conference that was hosted by the Swedish Army. There were approximately 150 students from the Swedish Army. The footage is rough and was converted from PAL format but it is nostalgia at it's best.

Others on Mors' presentation etc..

I wasn't sure if peope knew it was up...

 

[Fraxinus]

Thanks for that link, I'd not seen it before.

Rob.

 

[Stevie777]

Pity about the video quality but decent amount of information in that video. Ray looks about a 28" waist in that video. oh well, the price of success i suppose.

 

[Coldfeet]

I saw that quite recently, well worth a watch, or at least a listen to.

 

[Macaroon]

Twenty years ago is not nostalgia, surely? Seems like yesterday to me

 

[BillyBlade]

It's like when people say 'oh ten years ago', well, in all honesty 2005 isn't the date that then pops into mind. I'm getting old I think.

 

[John Fenna]

Very interesting - I had not seen that before either .
20 years ago I was slimmer than I am now - but I knew of Ray well before then!

This from a magazine we both wrote for "back in the day"

 

[Stevie777]

Very interesting - I had not seen that before either .
20 years ago I was slimmer than I am now - but I knew of Ray well before then!
View attachment 34372
This from a magazine we both wrote for "back in the day"

Hi John
Wee Question if you dont mind me asking.?
Where would you say Ray picked up most of his knowledge from in the early days. Was it through reading and getting out there and practicing or did he have a mentor. Was he ever in the military?
I havn't read much about Ray's past just a few of his books and the ones i have read dont mention anything about where or how he started out on his journey.

Cheers
Stevie.

 

[John Fenna]

According to his autobiography he was basically self taught and failed the military on his eyes...
He does mention a club I belonged to but not how much of an influence it was on him...

 

[woodsorrel]

One reason I like this video is because Ray doesn't look nearly as polished as he appears today on television. He looks to me like a young instructor toward the beginning of his career. Remember, this is almost 20 years ago and Ray must be around 31 years old.

I enjoyed watching the video. Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention.

- Woodsorrel

 

[Fraxinus]

One reason I like this video is because Ray doesn't look nearly as polished as he appears today on television. He looks to me like a young instructor toward the beginning of his career.
- Woodsorrel

That is one of the reasons I enjoyed it too, another was that he got a lot of info across in a short presentation. I also liked the concept of being a couple of levels ahead of the subject you are teaching and having been in the position to teach carpentry/joinery methods to apprentices I can see where he is coming from. I have found the process of having to impart knowledge or methods of work to others has made me think harder about what I do, which actually improved my own knowledge and ability to share it.

Rob.

 

[dennydrewcook]

In his autobiography he mentions lymes disease and says that is the reason he is so plump in his older programmes I'd recommend it doesn't get half as much of a good review as it should


Denny

 

[OldJimbo]

Direct link to the Mors segment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Vr6v6ZCeM

Direct link to Shawn McBride and Mel Deweese:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO7NjK5NUD0

Direct link to Turkka Aaltonen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zktUxmCHBMY

Doing a search on Lars Falt on YouTube brings up other stuff a person may not have noticed before.

Forty years ago, the oldtimers were still around, but I for one was not into bushcraft stuff at that time so I while I went shooting with them, I never thought to ask the questions which I'd like to ask now - except that they are dead.. The US forestry service trail clearing videos really bring out how much effort they went to, to get their staff trained by the oldtimers, before those oldtimers retired and died. That was vital because while for example a chainsaw is faster than a big handsaw, it's much more work and effort to haul a large chainsaw along rugged trails for 5 miles to get to one log. The trouble with being self-taught with woods stuff, is that something will eventually come along which has killed lots of people before you, and not knowing that, you have to survive and re-learn the knowledge in order to pass it on.

 

[Stevie777]

I wonder if anyone has ever thought of training a Beaver to cut your trees down for you...I mean, You wouldn't have to lug a chainsaw or any kind of saw anywhere as the Beaver could just walk beside you there and back....

you could even train like 30 beavers and get them to lug the wood back as well. Hell, why not go the whole hog and just train them to go get wood and make and bring you some pancakes and coffee in bed when they get back.

Ok that last bit i might have gone too far.

 

[OldJimbo]

I wonder if anyone has ever thought of training a Beaver to cut your trees down for you

Your living room with a couple of pups..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bever_lodgeGrey.JPG

 

[John Fenna]

It is bad enough trying to train Cubs and Scouts never mind Beavers!. They are a bit young for chainsaws .. you cannot get PPE to fit them....

I wonder if anyone has ever thought of training a Beaver to cut your trees down for you...I mean, You wouldn't have to lug a chainsaw or any kind of saw anywhere as the Beaver could just walk beside you there and back....

you could even train like 30 beavers and get them to lug the wood back as well. Hell, why not go the whole hog and just train them to go get wood and make and bring you some pancakes and coffee in bed when they get back.

Ok that last bit i might have gone too far.

 

[rik_uk3]

Pity about the video quality but decent amount of information in that video. Ray looks about a 28" waist in that video. oh well, the price of success i suppose.

Perhaps the price of lymes disease.

 

[Stevie777]

Perhaps the price of lymes disease.

Perhaps...

 

[woodpoet]

Excellent video. Thanks for the link.

 

[The Cumbrian]

If that is an unpolished version of Ray's tutorials, then his current teaching skills must be incredible.

His physique means nothing, the fact that he was chosen to impart his skills to military instructors must mean that he's well known and respected beyond our seemingly small world.

Many people in the UK (including me before I went to work in Sweden), assume that the average Scandinavian has the skills to get by in the wilderness. While this was probably the case 40 years ago, when I told the 20 and 30 somethings in my office that I was going walking and camping on unmarked (or for that matter , marked) trails, in winter, they were horrified.

Cheers, Michael.