Night Ops

okay so where do i start? ive been a member here for quite afew years and i have never been able to get out at night,untill now.. and i have quite abit of time on my hands,and im keen to go exploring and do something new, but where do i start? and how can i overcome the fear of the night and the unknown? i am a girl and i think alot about the worst case scenarios that can happen to me in the night,especially out on my own,which is basically the reason i dont go anywhere much at night.any tips would be appriciated, any ideas on what to do for a start aswel?

if it helps any, I decided to start out with a construction site, and still am opping occasionally on a construction site. They're usually easy to watch and hardly ever guarded at night for as far as I know, see if anyone's building anything new. Or rebuilding! (a local old, gothic church being repaired, for example). There's plenty of climbing to do, and you get to do some fence bypassing!

Fear of the dark and the night, well, to daring anything goes step-by-step really. Like for a guy to start talking to a girl (this is appearantly really difficult for us), Going deeper during a dive, or, indeed, going out at night, or further away from home. One baby step at a time. Try sneaking out of the house, first. Try taking a walk at night, all the way untill you feel comfortable. Building the courage is the hardest part to doing anything.

I've always seen it like this: darkness is YOUR asset. First and foremost, sneaking around undetected is priority number one. It's the key to freedom. If you can do it, then you can do anything you want and you're the one in control. You always have the initiative. If you see someone shady, the first move is yours. It's sort of a "best defense is a good offense" situation. You have the chance to smash any problems before they even become one.

Exploring and B&E is great, that's WHY most of us sneak, but sneaking around is the thing that's there no matter what. There shouldn't really be much that's "unknown" to you, because YOU are the one in the shadows. You have all the time in the world to sit in hiding and observe everything around you. The darker it is, the safer you should feel. It's when the light hits you that others can see you and things can happen.

It's a complete opposite of what you learn growing up - to stay in the light so everyone can see you. If something happens, people will see it and call for help. Turn the situation around. Everyone else is in the light and you mustn't let them see you so they can't call for help.

Try just going near a sidewalk people go by all the time. Sit in the darkness and wait. Watch them go by and not even realize you're there. That's when it will hit you how much the dark can be your friend. You can't stalk and prey on something you can't even see.

Basically what the others have said; one step at a time and learn to make darkness your friend. Start by just trying to sneak out of the house quietly and going for walks at night. Then try walking quietly on the different surfaces you come across (grass, concrete, etc). Learn how the sound travels through the night and adapt accordingly. Then start walking along the dark & shady routes and really get used to being alone in the dark. Then you can take it up a notch and try breaking into something low-key. Like Cpt. Winky suggested, construction sites are a good place to start. Buildings in general are good places to start because you can quickly get used to the sounds that they make. You'll hear a lot of strange noises at night - particularly in abandoned buildings - so it's best to get used to these sounds sooner than later. A good mindset to have is to pretend you're in a test; trying to complete a course and getting marked on how stealthy you are. This will motivate you to do your best and you won't feel so alone.

By the way: what part of Australia are you from?

Whenever I op, I always start simply, with a basic period of acclimating myself. I'll go crouch in the darkest corner of my property(it's always nice to get the added security of still being on "home turf" as it were), and I cover my eyes with my hands, and just listen to everything around me. I inhale and try to smell the world around me. I'll concentrate on feeling the wind currents and breezes, and feel the ground under my feet. I try to recreate the picture of the world around me without relying on my sight at all.

From there I'll slowly remove my hands from my eyes(at this point, my eyes will have acclimated to the pitch blackness of my hands covering them), and, from a sensory standpoint, it's like opening my eyes when waking up on a bright day. My ears have already painted the picture of everything around me, and now that my eyes are adjusted, just the tiniest fractions of light are enough to verify everything my senses already picked up.

It's a pretty major confidence builder. It should help you get accustomed to the dark, and realize that, like the others said, if you keep your head about you, the darkness is your strongest ally.

thanks guys this will all be very helpful and i will keep all that in mind,tonight i will see how i go... and im in nsw

To be more specific sydney nsw

Sydney, eh? Well if you're ever up for some trouble let me know.

Some easy first ops you might want to consider are construction sites (as has been said above), anything covered in scaffolding if you like yo climb, or simply the classic of exploring your neighbors back yards. It's important to know that most "threats" or "problems" or whatever will come as you let them, because the chances are you'll notice anything before it notices you if your being even a little stealthy; no expects someone to be sneaking around near them.

riotgurl wrote:okay so where do i start? ive been a member here for quite afew years and i have never been able to get out at night,untill now.. and i have quite abit of time on my hands,and im keen to go exploring and do something new, but where do i start? and how can i overcome the fear of the night and the unknown? i am a girl and i think alot about the worst case scenarios that can happen to me in the night,especially out on my own,which is basically the reason i dont go anywhere much at night.any tips would be appriciated, any ideas on what to do for a start aswel?

Always remember, it does matter if you are a man or a woman. The darkness when used properly will protect you. If one cannot be seen they cannot be harmed directly.

Also in my experience there are more female oppers then male. Females have a smaller build, are more agile and dexterious on average then men. Also females have a more developed sense on hearing and smell which came from the child rearing part of female life (look it up, real science on this one).

You have innate advantages, use them along with the shadows and you can do anything.