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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: The panic reaction and a bear story
Posted By: sing In Response To: The panic reaction and a bear story (Pamela)
Date: Monday, 13 December 2004, at 5:48 a.m.
: Robert,
: In my opinion, it's also a matter of experience and training. As I progressed
: uup my kayak learning curve, I sometimes encountered situations which,
: while not life-threatening, were definitely scary to a novice. My first
: reaction was always panic. I had to learn to take a deep breath, tell
: myself that panic was not a constructive solution and start to look for
: other options.: Spending a lot of time upside-down while I was learning to roll was excellent
: training for facing panic constructively.: Like learning paddling skills, you train yourself to deal with panic
: reactions in progressively more serious situations.: And an aside: a friend of mine who's a wilderness guide on the Yukon/BC
: border claims to have killed a black bear with a knife. It seems to me
: that it's likely a true story. The man went for the carotid artery in the
: bear's neck. Unfortunately, the bear took off part of his nose before he
: was able to kill the bear.: Pamela
Very good, Pam. There is the trained physicall skill set and there is the mental skill set. The interplay of the two is critical in dangerous situations. When we're within out physical skill set, we feel very confident. The problem is that in dangerous situations, it may well fall outside of our training and skills development experiences. It is at this point, where your mental skills set needs to kick in. The fear and adrenaline factor in and often can paralyze those not used to these. The best method to train oneself to act, despite a level of fear and adrenalized state, is to train every so often at the "edge" (with back ups of course). The edge is wherever you feel a certain level of discomfort or fear. The more one adapts to taking on uncomfortable situations, the more the mind and body is able to respond adroitly in unfamiliar situations. The decision and action may turn out to be wrong, but there is a shot at success whereas the one who freezes will almost always fail.
sing
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