The Essence of Bushcraft

[THOaken]

I apologize if there is an already existing thread concerning this topic. If that is the case then moderators can feel free to delete this thread.

Bushcraft can be defined in many ways by many people...

To me this hobby is the culmination of the many thousands of years our ancestors had to hone their skills and make a living in whatever environment they found themselves. But that's just the survival aspect of Bushcraft. I think that Bushcraft's most important role is to enable those who feel a powerful connection with nature to live off the land and see it for all it's worth.

I'm a budding naturalist who reads ancient history and mythology. I greatly revere many aspects of ancient man and have always been deeply enamored by the natural world and the men who could thrive in it. When I found Bushcraft it felt like it was my calling. And it is. It blends seamlessly with my word-view and my way of thinking, but on a material level it joins together my love of the ancient world.

In one line "Bushcraft" means to me the following: an amalgamation of ancient skills upon which ancient man depended to thrive in the natural world, that brought them closer to their surroundings.

I find it hard to find fault with the Bushcraft community/label, but I'm generally against the commercialization of the some of the products that are endorsed. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd say there is a large group of people out there who think that Bushcraft is all about the latest and most high tech equipment. That, quite obviously, is not what Bushcraft is about. Depending upon the latest gear is just being a modern camper. I strive to be something more than that. I strive to honour my ancestors by learning these old techniques.

What, in essence, is Bushcraft to you?

 

[Toddy]

I believe that the necessity to 'make' is hardwired into the human brain and psyche.
The earliest signs that we see in the archaeological record of the development that led to our species are toolmaking and fires. They are inseperable in virtually every culture on the planet......until the advent of industrialisation and then we simply developed even better tools and fires.

Bushcraft greatly enriches my very modern life. It's a grounding in the seasons, and all that changes within them. The resources of one are often simply not available iin another.
I make from those resources, I eat from those resources, I create from those resources.

The rest is camping, and the kit just enables folks with very modern lives to get out there easily without the necessity of the years of work to make all of their clothing and kit from scratch.....besides as Kipling said,

"These are the Four that are never content,
that have never been filled since the Dews began--
Jacala's mouth, and the glut of the Kite,
and the hands of the Ape, and the Eyes of Man."

We like shinies and we can be fascinated watching people make things. If folk can afford the kit, why not ? if they can't then they make do as best they can. Most who've been at it for a while seem to pare down more and more each year though.

It's not a competition; it's the chill out asap type activity

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BJJJ]

I believe that the necessity to 'make' is hardwired into the human brain and psyche.
The earliest signs that we see in the archaeological record of the development that led to our species are toolmaking and fires. They are inseperable in virtually every culture on the planet......until the advent of industrialisation and then we simply developed even better tools and fires.

Bushcraft greatly enriches my very modern life. It's a grounding in the seasons, and all that changes within them. The resources of one are often simply not available iin another.
I make from those resources, I eat from those resources, I create from those resources.

The rest is camping, and the kit just enables folks with very modern lives to get out there easily without the necessity of the years of work to make all of their clothing and kit from scratch.....besides as Kipling said,

"These are the Four that are never content,
that have never been filled since the Dews began--
Jacala's mouth, and the glut of the Kite,
and the hands of the Ape, and the Eyes of Man."

We like shinies and we can be fascinated watching people make things. If folk can afford the kit, why not ? if they can't then they make do as best they can. Most who've been at it for a while seem to pare down more and more each year though.

It's not a competition; it's the chill out asap type activity

cheers,
Toddy

I totally agree, Bush-craft means different things to everyone and is just as valid whatever the philosophy high or low tech makes no difference, it is the being comfortable with nature in their own way at whatever level that suits. I never feel any pressure to make fire by friction when it's cold and wet and I have a stove and lighter handy.

 

[THOaken]

I totally agree, Bush-craft means different things to everyone and is just as valid whatever the philosophy high or low tech makes no difference, it is the being comfortable with nature in their own way at whatever level that suits. I never feel any pressure to make fire by friction when it's cold and wet and I have a stove and lighter handy.

Let me just clarify by saying that I'm not an elitist and not once did I say my "philosophy" was superior. Heck, if you read my other posts you'll know I'm actually a beginner. I just feel that the very purpose of Bushcraft is to return to the natural in as many ways as possible ...

Although I don't wish for this thread to become side-tracked, I'd suggest having a quick read of this article: http://frontierbushcraft.com/2012/06/08/getting-started-bushcraft-equipment/

I'd love to hear from more of you your definitions of Bushcraft and how this hobby has effected your lives.

 

[milius2]

To me bushcraft is life changing experience. If one think he cannot live the way he want he's a fool. Let me tell you this. 8 years ago I was an average Joe living in the busiest city in the world - London. And for what I could tell I had a good job, salary that was 6 times of what I make now and drinks with friends, clubs, pubs and all the fast life can offer. But I just could not bear the mind, that this is all there is in life. And when I first saw Ray Mears catching fish in Thames on a hook made from hawthorn I was stuck to the screen like crazy. Not because I could not believe what I saw, but because what I was witnessing was something very me, the concept of life outside the concrete box in a form of understanding nature and using resource that is there readily available and using skills that has been around for millennium. And of course my dependance on Tesco's was great, I could not grow my own food, I could not gather any resource at all. And I had to bear all the crazy people.... So I left London, got back home and used the money on university degree. I finished Ethnology, a study about traditional people, the old time bushcrafters who relied mainly on their skills to make life happen. After finishing a degree got myself wondering what to do next and indeed again it was bushcraft that gave me ideas about learning a craft and rely on my own skills for survival (money). I got myself learning woodworking, blacksmithing an now me and a friend of mine currently run a blacksmith shop where we try making all kind of things and it does start to pay off. On my free time I run with my fiance to a 2 acre playground where I plant different things, keep bees and try to set up a forest garden which would provide me with the materials for woodworking and food and ... ahhh it's a lot of things to describe When I have any more free time I help family with making food (we do have 70% food home made(GROWN) including some bread), read books, talk to buscrafters on internet. If I have any more time left I run to woods to get inspiration to do even more crazy stuff. If someone think he cannot live the way he wants - he's fool! I tell you that but only because Ray Mears made a hook from a hawthorn on TV bushraft is an inspiration to live a different kind of life style that is not dependent on today's market shares, oil prices and food supply (in the ideal) to me.
Andy

 

[Zingmo]

Bear Grylls! ...Oh. Sorry this is the other subject...



Z

 

[Man of Tanith]

to me it's about being back in my natural habitat. I honestly think people often forget we are animals and not designed to chase money whilst living in boxes where we can control the environment to our liking.
we are meant to feel cold when it is cold outside warm when it is warm and wet when it is raining.
as for the kit aspect well each to their own. I am far to much of a kit junkie to pass comment on what anyone else uses

 

[Laurentius]

If I was pressed to it I would say that in this day and age Bushcraft is about treading lightly on the planet, using the resources to hand rather than something shipped half way around the world. However that is far too noble and unachievable for most of us, so we do the best we can. Another way of putting it could be, to do everyday activities in interesting ways in a natural environment.

 

[John Fenna]

For me Bushcraft is about being "out there" as much as possible, developing my closeness to the natural environment by developing skills and knowledge of what is out there, what I can make from as naturally sourced materials as I can aquire, apreciating the work of others who are artists/craftsmen/true enthusiasts for their medium and by having as little long term impact on the planet as I can manage...
but that is just me!

 

[widu13]

How far back in history are you going matey? I take it you're using bark containers and stones for boiling water? Natural bushcraft, historic or modern bushcraft? I prefer not to label any of them.

 

[woodstock]

A few people who we have spoken to recently were almost put off Bushcrafting after courses they had attended, they said the main topic was Survival and not what they thought they had signed up to,
To me Bushcraft and outdoor skills is something that should be on the national curriculum living completely of off grid in a tipi gave me a great insight on how we can live comfortably with very little but with all we need.

 

[copper_head]

"Beneath a hemlock grim and dark,,Where shrub and vine are in tertwining,
Our shany stands, well roofed with bark,
On which the cheerful blaze is shining.
The smoke ascends in spiral wreath,
With upward curve the sparks are trending;
The coffee kettle sings beneath
Where sparks and smoke with leaves are blending."

 

[THOaken]

A few people who we have spoken to recently were almost put off Bushcrafting after courses they had attended, they said the main topic was Survival and not what they thought they had signed up to,
To me Bushcraft and outdoor skills is something that should be on the national curriculum living completely of off grid in a tipi gave me a great insight on how we can live comfortably with very little but with all we need.

That reminds me... I'm not really a fan of the survival aspect of Bushcraft, although that is at its core what we're doing. I'm referring to the whole military "macho man" culture of who can survive the longest in the harshest conditions. For one, I prefer Mears' approach that knowledge is power and that, "it's about much more than survival. Bushcraft is a treasure trove of wisdom which enables us to feel a real kinship with the landscape."

 

[Tengu]

Im still a begginer even though I have been here a long time.

It makes me think differently about things. When you are camping you can concentrate on what is important, being warm and dry, without getting distracted.

 

[rg598]

To me bushcraft is just a set of outdoor skills. They can be used in whatever way one chooses. I think the most important part of using bushcraft skills is to be realistic about their limitations and not to over romanticize the activity or skill set.

 

[Elen Sentier]

For me it's about living with the Earth rather than on it. Remembering and relearning things that used to be well known that enable us to enjoy and use what the Earth gives us where we live. Many of these things were still well known only 50 years ago – I remember my dad and my uncles doing them, showing me, and now need to relearn them. Things like reading the weather from the sky; direction finding without a compass; what animals and birds and fish live where; watching and tracking; what plants are edible and/or medicinal; things like that. Not about “survival” or disaster prepping or such but about delight and joy.

 

[GordonM]

+ To what Toddy wrote!

I'll add...

Who hath smelt wood-smoke at twilight?
Who hath heard the Birch-log burning?
Who is quick to read the noises of the night?
Let him follow with the others, for the young men's feet are turning
to the camps of proved desire and known delight!

(Rudyard Kipling)

 

[spiritwalker]

To me its about learning that everything you need can be provided for if you just have the knowledge,
just so long as you dont expect it all to be wrapped in plastic.

 

[rik_uk3]

That reminds me... I'm not really a fan of the survival aspect of Bushcraft, although that is at its core what we're doing. I'm referring to the whole military "macho man" culture of who can survive the longest in the harshest conditions. For one, I prefer Mears' approach that knowledge is power and that, "it's about much more than survival. Bushcraft is a treasure trove of wisdom which enables us to feel a real kinship with the landscape."

You won't last long without knowledge of the outdoors whether your a hard core 'survivalist' or a fare weather 'bushcrafter'

Bushcraft, its essence is a core of good solid outdoor/camping/backwoods skills; thats the essence, the core, then you can dress it up a bit with things/other hobbies that interest you; photography, birdwatching, spoon carving, fire lighting, re-enactment, hunting, fishing, mycology, cooking, et al.

Its a way of life when it pays your bills, until then its a very nice hobby IMHO.

 

[rik_uk3]

To me bushcraft is just a set of outdoor skills. They can be used in whatever way one chooses. I think the most important part of using bushcraft skills is to be realistic about their limitations and not to over romanticize the activity or skill set.

Good post, with you 100%