The Skills of Solid Snake

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The Skills of Solid Snake

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Solid Snake is an extremely capable individual, both in and out of combat.  Less impulsive, violent, and outgoing than his other “family,”  he has a methodical approach to combat and life that we can definitely take a look at.  Soldier, brother, and friend, Snake is many things, including but not limited to…

A Polyglot

One somewhat lesser-known fact about Solid Snake is that he actually speaks six languages.  While his combat skills may be first and foremost in the games, as an actual agent this ability to speak multiple languages would be invaluable.  In addition to allowing him to communicate with locals wherever he may be deployed, it also would allow him to identify and root out the meaning of words from languages he doesn’t know, just by identifying commons patterns and base words.

Learning a new language is a great thing to strive towards, for multiple reasons.  It boosts your overall brain processing abilities, keeps your mind fresh, opens more avenues for you, and, maybe the best part, doesn’t have to cost you anything.  Of course, it’s easiest to learn a new language if you can find someone in real life who speaks the language you want to learn, but even if you don’t have access to a native speaker, there’s still plenty of resources to learn on your own.  My personal favorite is LiveMocha, though there’s also DuoLingo.  Check the sites out, they’re worth your time.  You can also probably find some torrents for language CDs, or, if you can shell out the money, grab a copy of Rosetta Stone.

Regardless of how you go about it, immersing yourself in the language completely is the best way to learn.  Jump in with both feet, and don’t be afraid to wander into the deep end!  =D

A Stealth Specialist

Utilizing cutting-edge technology and sheer skill, Snake is one snakey mofo.  Seriously though, this guy is basically invisible when he wants to be.  Here’s a few tips to go off of.

Use Your Environment
Sure, the whole “hide under a box” thing is a bit of an overused joke at this point, but the theory is sound.  Using the environment to your advantage is incredibly important when it comes to remaining unseen.  If you’re in a warehouse with a bunch of boxes lying around, climbing inside one isn’t so silly.  Out in the wild?  Cover yourself with dirt, jump in a pile of leaves, or submerge yourself in a stream.

Move Slowly
Someone made a joke about “ground humping” exercises when I posted the Solid Snake workouts on Youtube, but seriously, sliding slowly along the ground like a worm definitely helps keep a low profile.  Moving slowly and patiently really helps to contribute to your “stealth” factor, because human eyes look for movement, and if you’re moving very slowly you’re difficult to detect.  It also helps to keep you from making excess noise on, say, an unseen patch of dry leaves, or some broken glass and rubbish.

A Skilled Combatant

We covered marksmanship in the skills of Alex Mason, so we’re not going to center too much on that here.  Instead, we’re going to talk about another aspect of combat that Snake is incredibly good at:  adaptation.  Much like his OctoCamo suit, Snake is capable of adapting to many different situations, usually on the fly.  Hopefully you’ll never have to do this in actual combat, but the idea of being adaptable to stressful and/or sudden changes can still remain valuable in day-to-day life.  Here’s a few tips:

Remain Calm
More often than not, in a difficult situation, most people will be stressed out and running around like chickens with their heads cut off.  Merely by NOT being one of these people, you will already put yourself ahead of the game.  Realize that frequently, in stressful moments, emotion is the LEAST helpful thing.  We are human, so we feel emotions, but being able to set them aside and react rationally to situations as they develop is KEY to remaining flexible enough to find a solution to the problem.  Take a deep breath, put your emotional reaction to the side for a bit, and go from there.

Observe
Pay attention to what’s going on around you, and constantly look to get a full grasp of the problem.  Sometimes this just means watching and listening to what’s going on, and sometimes this means asking calm questions and/or doing research on the subject.  Regardless, you need to understand whatever obstacle you’re facing before you try to find a way to deal with it.

Be Flexible, Act Decisively
In a difficult situation, you need to remain flexible to all possibilities.  However, when something does need to be done, you need to act swiftly and confidently.  Being the calm and observant person helps immensely in adverse situations.  If you use your judgement to determine the correct action to take to resolve whatever issues may be going on, and do so in a confident manner, then other people will be inclined to follow your lead and assist with whatever the situation may be.  Take the time you need, then take action.

That’s it for right now!  The Skills of Batman will be posted later today, so as not to overshadow our friend Solid Snake too much, haha.  See you later!  Until then, live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace