What is Spotter Up?
Spotter Up Tactical Solutions (Spotter Up for short) provides credible and applicable information in support of individuals becoming the best Chessmen they can be. A Chessman is an expert strategist, who trains rigorously, and takes action(s) to bypass threats. Not all of our contributors are Special Operations members. Nor do they have to constantly remind people of what they accomplished but the journey never ends. Telling stories for the sake of helping others is important.
The road is ahead. Walk it, learn and share with others who know less. Becoming tactically sound in anything worthwhile requires sacrifice, discipline and a long-term plan. Spotter Up believes in finding solutions to problems. ‘Find a Way or Make One’. Excuses are never made.
About the Logo and Heraldic Shield
A spotter is trained to look for things. In our Spotter Up logo, our Spotter is the omniscient strategist who looks at problems through a lens of opportunity. He sits atop his tower and holds command over the 360 degrees around him, as represented by the eight arrows, (six in view) in our black and white circular logo. From his line of sight, he can see around, above, below and beyond a problem. He isn’t stuck using the same movements, as a rook chess piece would do, because he breaks the rules when the rules plainly don’t make sense. He capably navigates himself around threats, and can go anywhere.
A Spotter is the known as the consummate Chessman. He identifies issues, gathers information on the threats, devises a plan, and executes it successfully. In heraldry, the skull represents victory of life over death, and our spotter tower is a fortress that is a testament to his ability. Sometimes success is achieved by looking inside rather than beyond, and it is gained by listening to what you ‘know’. He is the sentinel that watches over others, himself, and learns in order that he can point the way out of danger.
Below, our heraldic shield illustration goes into greater detail about the Spotter Up Shield logo.
Not only do we teach, but we listen and learn too. Your comments are valued. Please send info our way that you believe can improve our website and enhance the reader experience.
Spotter Up looks at the five components of health that many in the health field generally recognize as areas people can work on to become well-balanced. Health professionals call it Emotional Health, Physical Health, Social Health, Intellectual Health and Spiritual Health. We call it Heart, Body, Circle, Mind, and Spirit.
As long as we have breath we want to keep improving in these areas. The Greeks immersed their students in the studies of art and science. They learned history, wrestling, gymnastics, poetry, geography and so on. Today this could be substituted for men who learn about world history and affairs, Crossfit, and Land Navigation. The Greek technique called Paideia (pahee-di’-ah), somewhat equivalent to the Romans humanitas, was the method for making a man. It required strenuous discipline to become good at something. Paideia, was the schooling students were given to acquire knowledge.
To be really well-rounded, we have to have a balance in all the things that we DO and ARE. Our body, emotions, social circles, spirit and mind have immersed in worthy things or we don’t function well. I liken it to the architectural pillars clustered around and supporting a very strong tower or building. Strong pillars let a watchman see clearly out along the horizon, all 360 degrees that is under his responsibility. If just one pillar is offset, then his view is canted, and the information he receives is askew.
A pillar used for decorative purposes is just that, it is decoration. Working solely on building the body has a payoff, but the rest of what needs attention suffers. In order to get our sight lines pointed right, Spotter Up seeks to provide useful information to those seeking to better themselves tactically.
Real Threats in the World
The world is a tough place to live in and there are real threats everywhere. Anyone who has seen it, can tell you that evil is real. We endeavor to fight the good fight and we desire to help others to do so as well. Rather than spending our time concerning ourselves with the events we cannot control, we focus on the things that will give us the skills and knowledge to handle the things we can.
Not going Solo
Some have a ‘lone wolf’ survivalist view, where they choose to disengage from what is happening around them rather than being engaged. Withdrawing and going solo is one view that we respect, understand and can follow if necessary. However, while we can, we will make a direct and positive change in the world. We will develop ourselves to reach the maximum potential.
The World is Comprehensible and our Nation needs Warriors
We believe that life is comprehensible and has a purpose for each of us. The philosopher Plato believed that developing men in service to the city was a noble thing.
“So long as the young generation is, and continues to be, well brought up, our ship of state will have a fair voyage; otherwise the consequences are better left unspoken.” —Plato, Law
We do believe that “I will find a way or I will make one” follows a warrior’s mindset. This is not to be interpreted as being selfish. The ends don’t justify the means.
We desire to emulate the warrior/scholars such as the Greeks of ancient history
Survival
The pursuit of excellence and a competitive attitude should never stop. In the end, the answer for ‘Finding a Way or Making a Way” is not always found outside of the walls of our strongest defenses. Knowing how to live, to survive, and to find perfection are all concepts and ideas that are found within ourselves. Survive can be defined as: continuing to live after the cessation of something. Survivalist can be defined as: a person who advocates finding ways to survive, especially when anarchy occurs or society breaks down. It’s just plain smart to find ways to survive a tornado or a hurricane. And it’s paramount to try to outlast a society that has decided to give up on living by rules. There are some very bad people out there. We accept that living with concern in a world of danger is a prudent thing to do.
But, we propose that life has a purpose and a plan and therefore we choose to live it without living in fear. We propose to live life on our terms and not by the terms that others dictate for us. We choose to live well. We choose to seek out the highest perfection, this is Arete, this is the highest purpose that is greater than working vainly on ourselves.
Lastly, Spotter Up Tactical proposes we teach people how to become survivors, because we want to share with others not only how to survive in this life, but how to live with glory in the hereafter. Til Valhalla!
Always perfecting ourselves
The Renaissance Man
We believe there are five aspects of health. The Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit, and Social Circle.
We aren’t just creating content in the form of articles and videos. We believe in being influencers and helping others effect change. On Spotterup we categorize BODY as MISSION CRITICAL. You will find information to Build Up Your Physical Base. We literally have HUNDREDS of product reviews on guns, ammo, clothing, and more. We provide information on things that will help strengthen your physical base. It could be about Survival Fitness, Nutrition, Health, Gear or the latest in first aid information.
We hope to provide good content on how to perform Olympic lifts, or how to knock a man out. In a section of Mission Critical called Survival Fitness, Spotter Up presents articles about cardio, resistance training, and plyometric workouts. You’ll also find info on subjects as varied as: Crossfit, Kettlebell Training, Running, Mental Fortitude, Running and Gunning. Flexibility or Emotional Control.
In physical fitness, as with life – we do not believe in a one size fits all approach. You have to do what works for you. Our purpose is to provide you with options and strategies to achieve your physical goals. Your job is to understand where you are now; and where you want to be. Fitness Programming offers you different approaches from our affiliates. Not only are these programs created by our friends in the SOF community who understand fitness, but they are also programs that we believe in. We are honored to present them to you on Spotter Up.
We categorize SPIRIT and relabel it LIFE. We provide Information to Build Up Your Spiritual Base. You will find inspirational stories, articles on PTSD, divorce, and a section called memorial. One goal of Memorial is to honor men and women who have served this great nation and preserve remembrance of them. We hope to tell people two important things: not only how these sons and daughters died but also how they lived. Check it out!
On Spotter Up we categorize MIND and relabel it PSYCHE. We provide information to build up your intellectual base. We have a sub-order called MASTERY. This is where you will find knowledge and skills that allows you to do, use, or understand something very well. We all drink from this cup every day; you’ll find a great section of tactics, camping, shooting tips, planning, running and more. We have articles on the latest News, Intel and Opinion and a section on how to Weaponize the Behavioral Sciences.
We categorize HEART and relabel it “THE TEAM ROOM” You will find Information to build up your emotional base. Our mission is to cultivate and inspire the heartbeat beneath the armor through the way of the gun, the discipline of the blade, fitness and nutrition, cutting edge gear, apparel, trends, and events that define the outdoor professional and embody the warfighter’s lifestyle. We write about cigars, whiskey, war movies and television shows, family, war games, style and more.
We categorize CIRCLE and relabel it NETWORKS. You will find information on Small American Businesses. America is great because of the fire in her belly. Check out our articles on small American businesses that start out with a spark and become a fire; also read these articles on people who inspire. Read up on the latest happenings in industry from ADS and other manufacturers and suppliers and our interviews on interesting individuals.
I am now going to list some of the things that I personally believe is important and helps me keep focus in order to daily craft Spotter Up.
Number One: God. Nuff said.
Number Two: America is the greatest place on earth. Let’s work to keep it that way.
Number Three: Spotter Up means to ‘man up!’ or ‘woman up!’ for that matter. It means to live life without making excuses and to look for ways out of a bad situation. Primarily it is about finding a way out of danger, but it can be about finding a way out of a lousy job, a way to connect with your kids, find a way to be a better leader…you get the point. Don’t just quit. Give it a try.
Number Four: There’s something honorable and fulfilling in loving and respecting God, our families, our country and the Service (Airmen, Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Coastguardsmen, Firemen, & Police Officers). Thank you.
Number Five: There are a lot of amazingly smart and physically gifted people out there. If we can’t do something, than we want someone to teach us how. In a world where people think, “Don’t judge me, and I’m not going to judge you”, our attitude is about team-work and community because we don’t have all the immediate answers. And a lot of really good people do. Judge us and call us out. Tell us what we did wrong and we’ll fix it, and we’ll help fix our brothers. This can still be done while retaining our individualism.
Number Six: Blame and excuses have no place in my world view. If we can’t find a way out of a mess, we’re going to make a way out and so should you. Anyone that is an expert had to start as a beginner at some point in their life. Tearing down others who don’t have a tactical mindset, knowledge base or experience base is not being profound, it’s actually being petty. There are better ways to instruct and we want to try to do this.
Do something better; lead, follow, or get out of the way. Read Roosevelt’s quote (below) on the matter of being a critic.
Number Seven: Being a better strategist means learning about things that aren’t necessarily interesting or cool to you. Reading or writing poetry doesn’t mean someone is a sissy. If you said that to General Patton I think he’d punch you in the nose. Yep, he wrote poetry.
Number Eight: This website cannot be built without our writers; some of them are not of the Christian faith, but I respect their right to express who they are. When it comes to facts, I need them to provide that and when it comes to opinion, they need to make the distinction between the two; and when opinion matters it will be rooted in fact. We’re only able to write anything, because good people have done the ground work; they have failed or succeeded but at least tried. (Military and First Responders, etc.) We will attempt to give credit when we can, and if we don’t, let us know.
Number Nine: Our website is about learning to be the best Chessman we can possibly be, regardless of the circumstances in life that we’ve been given. Life is not fair, but do something good about it. Making a direct attempt to build up rather than tear down is my goal. Boot-camp has its purpose and its place. I’m talking about the strategic picture. We want Spotter Up to provide useful information to the military, law enforcement, fitness and survival community alike in order to gain skill-sets that help us bypass threats. We want people to be good tacticians in all aspects of their life. Spotter Up is for those who want to learn, teach and share. We appreciate and respect anyone who wants to do the same. Survival for one is good, survival so others may live is best.
Number Ten: Yes, the quote “Aut Invenium…” is Latin but it sounds cool and I just had to use it. It was supposedly spoken by Hannibal the Great when his generals told him they didn’t think he could get through the Alps.
I hope you’ll subscribe to this philosophy. If you already do, then thank you. We need men and women just like you to make a difference. Thanks for reading Spotter Up and I hope you’ll contribute what you know to help others who want to try to become Chessmen.
AUT INVENIUM VIAM AUT FACIUM-I will either find a way or I will make one.
Michael Kurcina-Founder
The Man in the Arena by Teddy Roosevelt
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.