Aww, Caveman fail

I tried my hand at the fire by friction over the weekend. I used the techniques I had read online, everything was perfect. But no fire. I had charred wood dust, I had smoke, the dust was fine not grainy. The problem wasn't my materials or my technique, it was me. I had hoped that my theoretical knowledge would carry me into success. I will admit that I was  disappointed with myself for failing. But then I began to think about it, very few people succeed at making a fire their first time, especially when they try the hand drill method alone with only books to learn from. Everyone has heard the old axiom "practice makes perfect", well this is doubly true with survival skills. If i were in a survival situation I probably could have built a fire but I would not have had the energy to build a shelter, find food or water, or maintain the fire I built. So I will not give up, and I will encourage anyone who has any interest in survival skills to practice until these skills become second nature, it might make the difference between eating and staying warm or being cold and hungry.