David Broyles | The News

The Rev. Jacob Norman, right, talks with Glenda and Levi Mayes before leading a nature walk during the Womens League of Mount Airy Fly Fishing Expo. Norman plans a class on hitches, lashings and knots on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Beulah Ruritan building at 5436 W. Pine St.

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The Rev. Jacob Norman of the Norman Way Life School is hoping to introduce a whole new generation to hitches, lashings and knots in a free class on Monday for the public and the Beulah Cub Scout Pack 517. It will be held at the Beulah Ruritan building on West Pine Street.

Norman said there is no charge for the class scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. It is open to the public and participants are asked to bring $1 to purchase rope. He said the class will be for those wanting to refresh what they already know about the much needed, often forgotten skill.

“Our children today are lacking these skills because technology has given us things like Velcro,” explained Norman. “It’s technology that makes us forget where we come from and how to survive. You don’t have to know how to make a basket since plastic came along.”

He said hitches, for instance, were once common knowledge because they were extensively used anytime anyone wanted to haul something. Lashings are essential if you find yourself without nails or other types of fastening and need to make a shelter or if you need to join two ropes together.

Norman said he has simplified the class to 15 different knots which apply to a variety of applications from shelters to sewing.

“This all comes down to my survival mindset classes,” said Norman. “This is the first time I will have taught knots as a separate class. Breaking them down to individual classes lets students focus more on one area of study.” He said urban survival priorities are the same. People will need shelter, food, fire and water.

Norman said his school is dedicated to teaching sustainable living and providing insight into wilderness, urban and spiritual survival from a Christian point of view. He said his classes are free and the school has recently branched out to offering survival kits on its website, www.normanwaylifeschool.com.

“Survival kits are necessary for urban survival as well as wilderness survival,” said Norman. “Just because you’re in a city doesn’t mean you are not going to get put into a dangerous situation by a hurricane, fire, flood or a riot. The survival mindset you need to have is the same.

“Really survival priorities are the same as what we need to get by in everyday life,” added Norman. He said urban survival requires different information to meet these priorities but it’s the same skill set. “Information is power. An important part of your survival kit is your knowledge. Information doesn’t weigh anything. The more information you have the less you need to carry.”

Norman said everything in our lives is tied together and rope is easy to get and make if you find yourself in the wild. He added some lashings also are used for outdoor cooking. He said survival situations aren’t always triggered by harsh weather such as Hurricane Sandy, rioting or economic collapse are also possibilities.

“We want to teach from a biblical standpoint that God does provide for us and we can survive in bad situations if we just use our ‘noggins’ a bit. Having the right knowledge makes the difference in coming home or not,” said Norman. “Our school is continuing to grow and we hope to offer one or more classes a month next year.”

He said he plans to teach classes next year on sustainable fire building, fires for inside or outside a shelter and primitive hunting skills.

Reach David Broyles at dbroyles@heartlandpublications.com or 719-1952.