Elite Training Center’s Winter Survival Education Retreat was an enormous success. It’s taken a few days for the magnitude of the knowledge and experience to sink in, and I’m finally ready to share my thoughts.
To begin, getting a taste of what it’s like to fight in the snow with winter gear on was an eye opening experience! From kickboxing, to kali, to Krav Maga, to MMA and jiu-jitsu, students discovered how different it is to fight and defend themselves off the mat. It’s one thing to train in a controlled environment, and it’s another challenge entirely to adapt and apply those techniques in a more unstable and unfamiliar situation.
Besides training in martial arts, we learned survival skills that are so important yet so difficult to come by. Land navigation and orienteering, shelter building, fire starting, water purification, fishing/hunting/gathering, and first aid were just some of the topics. What made the information even more valuable was the real-world experience behind it; we had a former Army Ranger and former Navy SEAL as our expert instructors, and their experience and knowledge lent a unique perspective to each lesson.
On a personal level, I was privileged to witness some of the more subtle yet crucial necessities of survival at work. My team’s positive attitude, teamwork, and calm demeanor were critical to their success. It was also fantastic to watch them apply survival lessons learned at the last retreat, such as organizing effective search parties, and to see them have such success with those techniques.
I consider myself so fortunate to be a part of a school that teaches all aspects of martial arts. Martial arts, at the core, are about survival and defending those who are weaker and less able to defend themselves. An army defending the freedom of a nation cannot succeed if they can’t survive conditions long enough and well enough to actually fight. The same skills and mental fortitude can enable a family to survive if stranded in a snowstorm. I feel so much more prepared and equipped to handle such a situation. Elite is unique, and has enriched my life in immeasurable ways…I can’t wait to be a part of the next adventure!
Katie T.
