Prioritizing the Wrong Things
What comes first?
Author : Steve Hanafi (Silat Sharaf Practitioner, Malaysia)
Gears, skill and knowledge ; which comes first?
You watch countless YouTubers reviewing guns, knives, medical kits, they say a lot of things on the gears and equipment, but do most of the people reviewing it, actually use it? Have they had any experience of using it, or even tried to use or get their hands on some type of training on using it, or are they just reviewing how good it looks and how “well” it works? Have they actually used it in the field, not just cutting cardboards, or shooting blanks, have they used it? And are you buying into those reviews because you’re thinking “Oh, if this famous YouTube guy says this gun rocks, then I must buy it and it will absolutely rock for me too!”
Or will it ?
You don’t need more gun or upgrades, you need more training
The Idea of “Buying Things to be Good at Something”
Most of the tactical products or equipment are now sold based on this idea that “if you buy this, this, and this, then you’ll be good at doing it when the time comes”. As a matter of fact, I fell right into that deep hole a few years ago when I started hiking and learning about wilderness survival. “I must have this tool. I must have this survival kit so I can survive better, I must spend more on gears and equipment so I can be more skilled when the time comes”. When in reality, if I were to be in a survival situation, I’d be dead. The marketing made by companies to sell their products and videos made by reviewers have one purpose; to make you believe that you need the gear to be better.
But actually, it’s quite the opposite
The more you spend on hoarding “tacti-cool” gear, the less skilled you will be.
Why you may ask?
Well, it turns out that the more time you spend watching countless reviews, buying into the marketing, hoarding gear and equipment, the less actual time you will spend on joining seminars or signing up for a good class – be it shooting, a martial art or medical class - that is, if you still have money left in your piggy bank.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against people who are doing gear reviews, in fact, I support them because a lot of them help us in making better decisions when buying. And no, I’m not saying that buying gear is bad, choosing good gear that works well and doesn’t break on you in critical times is essential. But spending money on buying gear that will help you perform better is only as valuable AS YOUR SKILLS USING IT.
Let me say this straight, there’s no point in you spending almost $1000 bucks on your gun upgrade if your aim is terrible, if your grouping is shit, and if you shoot even worse than an 81-years old grandpa with Parkinson’s.
Invest your time and money to get quality training from good instructors
“The best thing you can buy for your gun is ammo, so you can spend more time shooting”
The same principle applies to everything else. Combatives, urban survival, wilderness survival, any particular skill that you can imagine. Spend time learning and developing it, working on your craft. The more time you spend, the better you will get at it, the more skilled you will be, and the more you use your gear, the more you’ll know what is useful or not, what is essential or not, and what’s really worth upgrading. Upgrades, kits, they’re super handy and useful, but that has to be on the condition that you have spent a substantial amount of time in the field developing your craft, not time on YouTube watching reviews. Only hands-on experience will get you to know what’s good or what’s not, what needs to be in the kit, or what needs to be thrown away…well, not really, don’t go throwing your $200 sight out because of this article :)
It all depends on the individual themselves and their mission needs. So, suit it to your needs. Just because it is used and recommended by ex-Navy Seals, doesn’t mean you need to have it too to be efficient. They have different mission objectives/goals, and blindly following them on the gear that you buy won’t do you much good. While it is cool to have gear that Navy Seals use, it’s much cooler to have gear that suits your daily needs and works well for you. And it is much cooler to not die. And much cooler to not look like a fool.
When it comes to upgrades, be it for your weapon, your bag, your kit, it is best to upgrade your skills first. Prioritize skill-building rather than gear building.