HomeTracker SchoolClass Summaries

Standard class

(2000)
Brief summary by Lawrence H.

 

The Tracker Trail website has no official connection to the Tracker School or Tom Brown Jr. whatsoever.

The Standard is great, short and simple.  Perhaps the most important thing to know is that the class is geared to giving you as much info as possible on survival, at the expense of practicing the skills.  There is more lecture than practice, but there always seemed to be enough practice to let you take the skill home and teach yourself the rest.

Although I never heard complaints at the class, class size is large, about 100.  But since the class was geared to lectures, it wasn't as important.  There were always enough instructors when they were needed, and it was fun to be surrounded by lots of people interested in the same thing as you.  The class size used to be 50 and the waiting list a couple of years.  I prefer it this way :) 

They taught an amazing amount of stuff:  bowdrill, handrill, throwing sticks, deadfalls/snares, tanning, camouflage, ropemaking, cooking, wild edibles, stalking, shelters, and tracking.  The best endorsement  for the class is what Tom Brown said: "You'll never look at the ground the same way."  It's true.

The instructors were great, and I've seen lots of bad teachers, so I know (too many years in school).  Tom himself is an intense speaker, and gives a few of the lectures on philosophy and tracking, and shows up at other times.  He's set up the course well, mixing up lectures with practice and changes in subject so that you never get too overwhelmed or bored of one thing. Apparently he is much more involved in higher level courses.  The other instructors all knew their stuff, they were clear, paced the lectures well, friendly, patient, fun... Fun is especially important... by the Thursday of the course a lot of the people in the class were talking like pirates...did I mention the days were long?

This website has no official or informal connection to the Tracker School or Tom Brown Jr. whatsoever

 

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