Why isn't Ron Hood given enough Credit?

[weaver]

But, you know that nobody in the US ever heard of Ray Mears?

If I hadn't been invited to join here I would not have a clue as to who he is or what he does.

Still don't really, just second hand discussions of what you think of him.

I wouldn't know him if he sat next to me at the lunch counter.

Through this site I have grown to admire his work, he must be great to have such a loyal following. I wish I could see his TV shows, then maybe i could understand what all the hype is about. But, for now all I have to judge him by is the effect he has on the people here.

 

[scanker]

And that explains exactly how I feel about Ron Hood. I'm not putting "we" as I can't talk for anyone but myself. But that sums it up perfectly if you switch US for UK and RM for RH.

 

[Sniper]

mostly because the perception of those who don't do it is of RM, and with the best will in the world, small cuddly middle aged female does not = RM

Aw c'mon Mary you know we all think your a babe!

 

[demographic]

No apologies needed, I do get vexed when (please see my definition of the semantics) Suvivalists insist on their voice being the only one that addresses every aspect of our activities and interests........there are hundreds of survival forums on the net, got to admit most are a big yawn..........why do they persist in trying to hassle this one It surely can't be just the name.
I don't use the word bushcraft to describe what I do when talking to most folks.........and yes, I can make virtallly all my own kit, and frequently do, I am also incredibly fortunate in that I have a growing group of friends who also make, and are happy to barter I do get out lots, I generally forage daily too.............mostly because the perception of those who don't do it is of RM, and with the best will in the world, small cuddly middle aged female does not = RM

And yet, notice how yet again an innocuous thread turns to Bushcraft/ survival/ Survivalist, and there's suddenly the need to restate our interpretation of the word and our chosen definitions of the differences on a British Bushcraft forum

I think on balance I'll stick to the bushcraft, and mention survival with a small s in the same breath when talking to Americans

Maybe it's the title........ ' more ' credit, we just don't know them so they haven't influenced us so they will get no credit.

Funny old world.

cheers,
Toddy

Herbacious Bordercraft, its the title for the future

Just wait, one day Ray will lose his marbles, go nuts with a Bushy knife and kill twenty people standing in line for a burger. The title of "Bushcraft" will be a no go area in the UK, then my herbacious bordercraft title will really gain momentum

Mebbe not eh?

 

[sam_acw]

I read somewhere that Ron Hood released a sort of "best bits" compilation of his other videos that was an hour or so long. Maybe that's the one to check out. It is called the survival basics DVD.

 

[weaver]

Yes, Scanker. That was the point I was trying to make. Thank you.

 

[crazydave]

I may be wrong but I do not think Les was ever an "army survival instructor" in the sense that, for example, Woody is/was.

While making soldiers a bit more familiar comfortable with indigenous food resources enhances their survivability, his role was more to establish a survival doctrine and from the start built on indigenous knowledge.

Some time ago, I was told that Les, after talking to the SASR about bush tucker, politely (and wisely) declined their offer of participating on their survival course and presumably of becoming a survival instructor.

He had no need to prove anything.

part of his brief was to educate the troops in what he was learning which was where the snack map came from. one thing he did do which was featured in his tv shows (in the same way rm piggybacked onto the excellent raf course) was to take a group of troops into the bush, give them a birefing then leave them with a group of aboriginals who would do the actual instruction. the aims being knowledge and break any prejudices between city boys and local natives the project was set up along with several others when the australians realised that they needed small self sufficient groups of troops for coastwatching/counter insurgency when they were worried about communist groups. the australian and new zealand sas being more of a specialised infantry unit rather than the british definition of 'them'

there's loads of forgotten or undiscovered 'gurus' out there and people should seek them out to encourage them to carry on. Mors kochanski was as unknown as ron hood to everyone except the survival community who read his book when it started to come over back in the late 80's I read one in '88 I think when my mate got a copy. same goes for eddie mcgee who was a true british inspiration and didn't have lofty wisemans scary stare.

knowledge is life so people should seek it without putting blinkers on.

 

[Ron Hood]

Errrr... well. I guess I ought to explain myself. At least the part that's fit to print.

At the age of 12 I discovered my.... [shut up Ron]

I'll try to 'splain my reasons for not having more of a video presence in GB. We started producing videos over 12 years ago. We had them duplicated to VHS tape. That immediately cut out most of the world as in the US our video standard is NTSC and in Europe it is PAL or SECAM. Very few outdoors folk had the dual mode players required to view our product. It wasn't until recently (last few years) that the all digital DVD became the format of choice and we had a product that could be viewed by the majority of Brits. Since we started offering DVD's exclusively, our British audience has grown significantly and for that we are grateful.

At the moment we lack a distribution system in GB. Sadly shipping costs add significantly to the cost of our product but we are actively searching for a good way to lower that cost though local distribution channels. Ultimately you will find us more easily.

Someone mentioned Edward Grylls. FWIW I was the first consultant on the show and though I like Edward a lot, I did not like the producers or the thrust the show was taking, so I quit. Shortly after that some of the photos we had taken during the shoot were released to the public in your local papers. Photos of a fake bear attack, fake maggots on so called rotten meat and more. I am not much loved by certain producers in GB and I'm not sure I care.

In the US we have had many TV programs that have not made the airways in GB. Some of you might have seen a bit on "Myth Busters" involving fire with a flashlight. Oddly I was in Romania filming a video on ancient Bronze making when that came on there. Odd coincidence....

Our products include much more than simply "survival" or "Bushcraft". We try to delve into the skills that make us what we are today from a natural perspective, a technological perspective and a scientific perspective. My educational training is in the Biological and Physical Science where I hold a Masters Degree.

As a teacher in the University I subscribed to the notion that the "Mind can only absorb while the butt can endure" so we try to keep folks from thinking about their butts. Humor is our method as it was in University.

I could go on and on but it's late and I'm editing a new video (the one I shot in Romania).

I did want to add one thing. The ATAX tool.

There were a few comments... a little snide me thinks but this is the genesis. I was riding my horse in the mountains, maybe 30 miles from the nearest road when something spooked it. I think it might have been a Grizzly I'd seen earlier. At any rate I lost my connection to the saddle and ended up in the air. I landed hard. I felt a pain in my upper leg and when I moved it hurt more. Two inches of my 4 inch fixed blade knife was sticking through the sheath into my leg. I cleaned it up, put some super glue on it, caught my horse and left.

In the following days I thought of a bunch of blade designs that were not potentially lethal to Horsemen or 4 wheelers. In time I had a blacksmith make me something like the ATAX and in a couple of years a bunch of my outfitter buddies wanted copies. I added some extra functions, made a video to explain how it's used and sold it to them. TOPS made 100 for me in a limited run. Now there are almost 10,000 out there. Many in the hands of our soldiers who find them handy.

You cannot have them in GB. The customs office has declared them to be "push daggers" though I fail to understand that reasoning. They have confiscated several now.

When I designed and made it, it was with the understanding that they are not for everyone and are not meant to be "do everything" tools. Just a handy pocket sized tool that works well in it's role.

Enough of that.

Best wishes to you all and keep on truckin'

Ron

 

[sam_acw]

Thanks for coming on and saying that.
Distribution could be handled without postage - data could be moved digitally and DVDs burnt at this end. You would just need a very trustworthy business partner to do so.
Sad about customs going looney on the ATAX

 

[BOD]

Hello Ron and thanks for coming on-line to talk to us.

When this thread started, I re-watched your survival basics dvd and my first impressions of your work remain unchanged. Its good, informative and enjoyable. Keep it up.

My children, in particular found it easy to digest, more so than other instructors works.

I'd disagree with you on one thing and that is the usefulness of a whistle in the jungle. It might not be the right thing to call attention to yourself when you are lost in the Vietnamese jungle (which is what I think you may have had at the back of your mind) but in 'safer' jungles it helped my friend and I to regain contact when we became separated in a downpour and were walking down different parts of a spur. Voice was drowned out but the whistle was audible.

Best Wishes

Ash

 

[scanker]

I'd echo my thanks for posting that too and a warm welcome to the site. Very interesting. Customs are doing odd things in the current climate of increasing knife crime.

 

[weaver]

I am ashamed and embarrassed that i didn't think of writing to Ron when this thread first popped up. I congratulate whoever did.

Thank you Ron for posting here and I promise to visit your site. I hope you will find time to come back here and post some of your outdoor tips for this great audience.

 

[Forest fella]

Hi,Hoods, Glad to see your still in the Business.

 

[Ron Hood]

Thanks for the kind welcome!

I will check in just in case there is some small thought I can add. Of course you are all invited to pop in over at our forum if you choose. We are establishing an international base of members and love it when knowledge cross pollinates different forums.

The whistle... The one in the Jungle survival kit. You are absolutely right. In that scene I was referring to the sorts of minds that would add a noisemaker to a kit intended for use in an area where the key to survival is invisibility. The Viet Cong were notoriously ill mannered with respect to POWS.

In our Jungle living video we had all the expedition members carry whistles at all times for the reasons you stated. The Chapra-Candoshi tribe we were living with also used whistles but they did it the old fashioned way, with their mouths and or leaves. We gave a few whistles to the kids and the cacophony that resulted almost drove us all mad. The tribal elders seemed a bit out of sorts by our generosity.

I've been scanning posts here and this looks like an excellent group. There is so much to learn in this life.

Ron

 

[Bernie Garland]

Hi Ron,welcome to the forum,glad to see you here.

Bernie

 

[C_Claycomb]

.... We gave a few whistles to the kids and the cacophony that resulted almost drove us all mad. The tribal elders seemed a bit out of sorts by our generosity.

Ron

A couple of years ago we had Mors Kochanski over here for a summer meet-up and he spent a busy day making little tin-strip (aluminum strip) whistles for the kids. The next day dawned to a "melodious warbling" :aargh4:

 

[Bernie Garland]

A couple of years ago we had Mors Kochanski over here for a summer meet-up and he spent a busy day making little tin-strip (aluminum strip) whistles for the kids. The next day dawned to a "melodious warbling" :aargh4:

We made some this year on the Mors course,and the noise they omit is staggering.

Bernie

 

[Ron Hood]

We made some this year on the Mors course,and the noise they omit is staggering.

Bernie

You mean they can actually silence noise!



Ron

 

[Bernie Garland]

You mean they can actually silence noise!



Ron

When you blow them everyone shuts up

Bernie

 

[British Red]

I think that emit

They were loud though Strange how blowing mine was fun. I wish other people hadn't agreed when blowing theirs though.

Great ton see one of the "greats" here Ron. Honoured to see you here

Red