Adequate Training

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) Apr 2001

Now, you don't throw kids into the river to teach them how to swim, but if you threw a lot of them into the river there may be a chance that a few survivors would become excellent swimmers! However, with training not one of the kids would drown and with advance coaching most of them would become excellent swimmers and even potential champions.

I could name quite a few Englishmen who claimed very high times with Tipplers and with highly credible referees. To my mind the result of any contest is incomplete unless information about background is available. A half of any story so often gets out of perspective because the extremes, sacrifices, failures and the waste are conveniently excluded. I could name Englishmen who are still alive who have claimed 20 hours plus with Tipplers but there are two sides to every story. All of them were extremists to the point of fanaticism, where self sacrifice and time was no object. All of them endured staggering losses during the training of young birds and one would suspect a parallel to throwing kids into the river for their first swimming lessons. I am saying that such success is extremely hollow.

It rather compares with certain military victories in our history where in order to capture some hill or castle most of the attacking force of soldiers were killed or crippled for life. On the other hand, with brilliant tactical knowledge and patience, territories have been occupied without a shot being fired, and these in my opinion were the true victories. Even though the medals were not dished out so freely.

I know that this is quite a ramble from a battlefield to a tippler loft in a back yard. Nevertheless, it is all about tactical expertise, economics and common sense - isn't it?

It is to my own despair that so many men go along making the same ghastly mistakes every year with their birds without realising that something is radically wrong with their training methods or even their entire attitudes. They don't fully utilise what time is available to them.

[Internet Published Apr 2001 at http://www.tipplers.com/jack/]