Come on baby, light my fire

Published: Fri, 12/30/16

Hi

I hope you had a good Christmas break. V and I went to Norfolk to be with V’s family. We had a great time and on Boxing day evening there was a big bonfire in the couple of acres of woodland V’s father owns. The fire was simply a big pile of tree cuttings which had built up over several months. Including a couple of Juniper trees and a lot of branches from fir trees in the local church yard. When it got dark we lit the fire with newspaper and cardboard and it went up very nicely. However, it also became apparent that a large proportion of the wood wasn’t burning at all. It was assumed that the intense heat would eventually spread the fire to all the supposedly combustible material and most of it would be consumed during the night.

The next morning I went out to look and about a third of the wood wasn’t even singed. On closer inspection it turned out that the branches and leaves were so damp and tightly packed they were effectively fire proof. It was beautiful day, clear, sunny and still and I fancied a few hours in the wood. So, I offered to make sure the rest of the intended fire wood got consumed. I have always enjoyed a good fire and I also like the challenge a fire can present.

I was in the scouts in the 1970s when we were still expected to cook as a patrol over an open fire. As an 11 year old I was expected to be able to light and maintain a fire and be learning how to cook over it. A simple principle was drummed into us, a fire is a combination of fuel, heat and air. Get those three working together and you have a fire. Simple in essence but then you need to understand that fuel comes as tinder, kindling and fuel that will sustain the fire and different woods are suitable for the different categories. Then there is the heat you need to start a fire, the heat to sustain it and how to maintain the right heat for cooking. Air means knowing how to protect the fire from wind so it does not blow out as it lights. How to fan or blow it to get the fuel to take. Even how to cover a fire and exclude most of the air so that it can be coaxed back into life the next morning. All these are covered by the simple
fuel, heat, air principle but you need to know the various methods of building, lighting and maintaining a fire. You also need to be reasonably skilled in techniques of fire place building, cutting wood and actually lighting a fire, with or without matches or a lighter.

Here I was confronted with the challenge of a large pile of wood so wet that it wasn’t actually fuel. So, I found enough dry branches lying around to throw on the hot ashes and get a blaze going again. There was the heat. The wet branches were stacked above the blaze, making sure there was enough space for air to circulate. The wet branches and leaves soon dried out and caught fire and more wet wood could be stacked on top. By the morning of the next day there was nothing left but a big pile of ashes and enough charred twigs to make a small camp fire.

Fire lighting and use is a fundamental human skill. It may have been the first thing that early humans learned to do that other creatures cannot. Until relatively recently if you wanted any more heat or light than the sun provides you had a light a fire. Today fire lighting is still a basic survival skill and one that everyone would do well to learn and practice now and then.

Even more importantly, while I was getting my particular fire to burn I was reminded that I was simply using a principle I was originally introduced to nearly half a century ago. In three words I had been given the means to think about a problem and develop and test a solution.

Getting that wet wood to burn was simply an example of applying a principle and getting a result.

In January and February I will be leading two training events which will explore the basic principle of martial arts training, the combination of Action, Intention and Movement and how to express this principle through techniques and methods of training. On the 21st January we will look at CQC training http://somersetstav.co.uk/cqcseminars.html and on the 25th of February looking at weapons http://somersetstav.co.uk/weaponseminars.html If you are based in the USA I will be covering the same ideas at the course in Minneapolis in May http://iceandfire.org.uk/usamay17.html

Have a good time seeing out 2016 and I look forward to catching up with you in the new year.

Regards

Graham

PS One of the reasons I took to Stav was that Ivar always said that Stav is not about techniques but about understanding principles. Learn the principles and work out everything else for yourself. Don’t take my word for it, hear it from the man himself next September http://www.stavcamp.org/