Ever heard the expression, "Honesty is the best policy?" It has been around for quite some time. Some attribute it to Benjamin Franklin, while others trace it further back. The expression is hundreds of years old, but it still holds true today in many domains, including training. Honesty IS the best policy, and an extension of honesty is integrity. If you've sat in my courses where the mindset is covered, I always address the importance of honesty after describing the Sayoc Readiness Formula. We can say or believe we are ready when reality may speak to the contrary. Training should take us to a better state of readiness, but when there are honesty issues, it will be harder to make the desired improvements in preparedness. Therefore, your training should have a solid reality filter. You should become hyper-sensitive to what is fake because it won't serve you. Before you start reading into my thoughts on honesty, understand I do recognize some training is just for fun, and since we live in America, we can and should have good old-fashioned fun.

Honesty on the Student

What are you looking to get out of the training? That is one of the first questions you should ask yourself, and you guessed it, be honest. It would help if you started with a self-assessment of your skill set, capabilities, physicality, and the many factors that make up your unique life. A common mistake is jumping into a training course that doesn't match the actual you but rather the one you imagine yourself to be. Remember, you are not the person you were five years ago, ten years ago, or 20 years ago. We get older, life factors change, and the people around us change. There is no shame in realizing you made the wrong choice and vocalizing it to your instructor. This goes both ways. Feel free to jump into a more challenging course if you've been sandbagging. You are prepared, but you must be willing. Honesty must exist in your relationship with your equipment, too. Give me a Formula 1 race car, and I'll likely crash it. A better fit is the 4Runner I drive now. I can't utilize that high-performance vehicle to its potential, nor do I need to learn how to. I may want to, but to what end? Honesty must be the filter for my wants and needs in training.

As a student, you must keep practicing long after leaving a course. Whether you just learned how to apply a tourniquet, start a fire, clear a firearm malfunction, or some other skill, you must practice since some skills are perishable. If you don't practice, be honest and realize your skillset will deteriorate. Since we live in a strained economy at the moment, you must also ask yourself if the training is worth the price you're going to pay. Training is an investment of time and money; sometimes, the amount of time you get for the price you pay is hard to justify. Be honest with the way you spend your money. What will be the best investment? You may have to make some difficult decisions with how you budget. With any school you attend, always break down the price per hour of instruction (and only include lunch if you have it with the instructor). This hourly price should light a fire under you to make every moment of training matter and give all your attention to the course, which usually means putting your smartphone away.

Honesty on the Instructor

Classic instruction involves a teacher/instructor/mentor and a student/class. There are two sides to instruction, and the instructor you train with must also be honest. The driving question for an instructor should be, "Does this benefit the student?" Some instructors like to show off, hear themselves talk, or use up student time for their selfish reasons. Some instructors don't allow the students the time truly needed for skill development. Do you want your training to be a mile wide and an inch deep? The goal should be a mile wide and a mile deep. The wave-top view is sometimes appropriate to change a class's tone or highlight a skill to come, but an instructor should use time wisely with the student's interests in mind. Matching the level of skill with a class is also essential. During the modern survival skills course, my instructor cadre first teaches the most robust fire-starting methodology and then handicaps the students once success is achieved. Teaching primitive skills first in a modern survival skills course departs from the original intent. Going off the cuff can be tempting, but that temptation can't win. The importance of being honest with techniques shown can be elevated to the question of "Will that get a student killed?" Some instructors are stuck in their ways and won't admit when a tactic or technique is dated, lousy form, or simply wrong because they need to learn better. Vet your instructors the best you can with honesty. A good instructor can fill in the gaps, answer questions with depth and breadth, and elaborate from multiple perspectives, letting the students determine what works best for them. Pressure testing is good for students and essential for an instructor. Keep this in mind, and always ask yourself if your instructor is faking it until they make it. A good instructor also is constantly evolving in their skill set. 2024 will mark 17 years since I started teaching outdoor survival skills professionally, and I'm the first to tell you I don't know it all. I want to evolve and be a student for life because my students deserve it.

Your training should improve your life. You should walk away feeling empowered with a new skill set or guidance in becoming more ready. One remaining question not mentioned yet is, "Should I train?" That answer is a resounding "yes." You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to be a more capable you. You may find yourself in a scenario where others are looking for help, and those around the incident will either offer solutions or become part of the problem. You want to have answers; the best way to develop those is to develop yourself. Training is always ongoing and should happen all the time. Don't lie to yourself and say you can't train. There are those with fewer freedoms, finances, and equipment who manage to train physically and mentally while behind bars, disabled, and in countries with oppressive governments. Remember, when seconds count, help is minutes away. You are your own first responder. If you think you don't need to worry about it, I leave you with this simple, honest question, "If not you, then who?"