Reprinted from the July 1936 issue of Doc Savage Magazine

The Doc Savage Method
Of Self-development

as explained to KENNETH ROBESON

Because of thousands of requests for more definite knowledge of the exercises which are part of Doc Savage's daily routine, Kenneth Robeson has prepared this exposition of the means used by Doc Savage to reach his present state of mental and physical development. As explained here, they start from the very beginning of Doc Savage's career with the most elemental tests. They are numbered for convenient reference. It is only because of the faithful daily performance of even the smallest of these exercises that Doc Savage has developed his senses and perceptions to the present high degree.

Exercise LXVII.

A great number of times in his adventures, Doc Savage has had to identify his immediate surroundings by his sense of smell alone, for he has been tied and blindfolded. The marvelous training of his olfactory sense has, in each case, enabled him to place aecurately the surroundings, so that he could plan his moments accordingly.

Doc developed his sense of smell by constant practice with many devices and plans. One of these plans-which has enabled Doc to tell where he is when blindfolded-is that he makes it a practice to go into different stores in his normal shopping circle, and definitely classify the odors. For instance, if Doc steps into a hardware store he will definitely distinguish the odors of oil, steel and iron. He notices the apparent coolness and atmosphere of the store. Then he goes to the grocery, where he smells the various enticing odors of food and spices.

Each story that Doc visits has a different characteristic smell, and Doc has been careful to list mentally them all. Doc can now go past any store and, with his eyes shut, tell you if there is any possible odor emanating from-it, what type of store it is which he is passing.

This astonishing development of his sense of smell was accomplished by long practice in such identification, which Doc kept up each day as he moved about his other duties.

Exercise LXVIII.

One of the outstanding characteristics of Doc Savage is his attention to detail. A great man once said that genius was simply the meticulous attention to detail, and Doc, realizing early that this was true, trained himself to pay strict attention to all things, regardless of their size; and upon this careful scrutiny has often depended the safety of his co-workers and himself. In order to train himself to observe all things, Doc used this exercise, arnong others.

Doc bought for a few cents from a stamp dealer two hundred used two-cent United States stamps. They were of the issue of 1918-1920 and are called "off-set printing." They were printed during the World War, and were hurriedly, and carelessly, done by a special process that was conducive to many errors and varieties. Learning from the stamp dealer and a stamp catalogue the different types into which these stamps could fall, (there are four) he started his exercise.

Doc used, at first, a small magmfying glass to make the work somewhat easier and faster. Every morning, Doc took twenty stamps and laid them out face up on his table. Then with the magnifying glass he checked each stamp as to its type, and if there was any difference between it and its fellows. In some of the stamps there were breaks in the lines; others had lines where there was supposed to be blank space, while still others had small ink blots in the design, giving in many cases a grotesque appearance to the stamp.

When he discovered a difference, Doc ''hinged'' the stamp in a small memorandum book and wrote the error below; but this was done after the exercise itself was completed.

Doc's idea in checking the twenty different stamps every morning was to find as many varieties as possible for the week. His attention to detail has grown to the extent that now he can find over a hundred differences out of the week's allotment. This is a very high percentage, but illustrates the length to which the exercise can be drawn. During his sorting of the twenty stamps, Doc recites aloud Joseph Jefferson's philosophical poem "Immortality."

Exercise LXIX.

Many times, in the pursuit of his adventurous career, Doc Savage has to perform the simplest of tasks under extremely difficult conditions. In order to prepare himself for these very contingencies, Doc has devised many exercises One of the easier of these is that of walking under a handicap.

Doc stands erect at the start of the exercise and, after taking five very deep breaths, bends from the waist and grips the rear of his ankles so that the back of the hand is facing away from the calf of his leg. Now he steps ten steps forward, then moves ten steps sidewise, and back ten steps. Then sidewise ten steps, so that he is back to his starting point. Doc then straightens up, and rests by taking five deep breaths holding the last one in, while he counts five slowly. Then Doc again bends over and grasps his ankles as before, but this time he walks in as large a circle as the room permits. While doing this exercise, Doc enumerates the muscular system of the body, and their positions.

Exercise LXX.

Doc Savage always has to be very sure of his directional sense, for he has often to pick unerringly the exact position of a stalking enemy in order to properly protect himself, or attack that enemy's position. In order to be certain of this faculty, Doc devised a series of exercises. The following is one of them.

Doc wired together two eight-inch lengths of steel wire, to form a rough circle. The lengths were so wired that at each intersection the wires crossed each other to form a small angle. At one intersection, Doc wired a sufficient quantity of soft lead, to weight the apparatus on that side. This was to insure the circle settling on that end as a base. At the other intersection, Doc wired a small bell.

Having his apparatus complete, Doc took his stand in the center of his room, which, of course, was well filled with furniture, and held his eyes tightly shut. Doc rapidly whirled around; after the third turn he tossed the circle of steel. Doc then turned around three times more, noting, the meanwhile, from what part of the room the sound of the bell came. By the time the third turn after the throw was completed, the bell had stopped ringing.

Now Doc, with his eyes still closed, would walk to the belled circle and, withoul having collided with any of the furniture, would pick it up.

This exercise Doc performed three times daily. While doing so, Doc would trace the passage of food from the mouth through all the digestive organs, naming the functions and uses of each.

Exercise LXXI.

Doc iavage found that the most difficult part of his body in which to develop the muscles was that part across the hips. Yet this development was necessary, for these musdes were used in constant endeavor. After a study of the anatomy, Doc created the following exercise.

Doc stood in the center of a room, the furniture well out of range of the widest swing of his feet. Holding his arms out horizontal to his hips, he balanced himseLf on his left foot and swung his.right foot slowly behind him, knee stiff and as far back as his muscles would allow. At the same time, his torso was bent in the opposite direction. Doc attempted as nearly as possible, to make his leg and body become horizontal to the ground. Now, without lowering the leg any more than necessary, Doc swung it to the side of the body, and then to the front, keeping his knee stiff and his body opposite the direction his leg was pointing.

The exercise was done with extreme slowness. At the completion of the forward movement, Doc swung his leg as high and his body as low as he could without losing his balance, then brought them to the normal position. Doc then alternated his position, and used his right leg as a balance and swung his left leg in the same exercise.

This exercise could only be repeated five times with each leg at first, but now Doc can do it his allotted ten times without undue exertion.

Exercise LXXII.

Because so many of his adventures occur at night, or in places where he cannot depend upon his sight to identify familiar items, Doc Savage trains himself in this identification by touch. One of these exercises is as follows:

Doc went to a brick yard and obtained five different kinds of brick. He had them broken across the short way of the brick, so that they made pieces about 22x5x3 inches. These pieces were not smoothed down, but left rough.

Doc also inquired at the brick yard of what each brick was composed, and under what condition they were made, as well as their normal use. This, in itself, allowed Doc to further that insatiable quest for knowledge that is his.

With his five pieces of brick, Doc then went to a granite works and asked for different kinds of stone they had. He found that by using dressed and undressed granite as different stones, he could get five stone pieces the same as he had brick. The stones were cut the size and shape of the brick pieces. Of the uses and origins of each piece, Doc was informed by a stone mason.

Placing these pieces of stone and brick upon a table, Doc would rearrange them until he no longer knew their exact location. This, of course, had to be done with his eyes closed. Then, by running his finger tips over the face of the material, Doc would tell what kind of stone or brick it was, and give its entire history.

After a while, Doc found that by looking into the encyclopedia, he could get many other facts about the different types of rock. He also discovered there were rocks and stones around his home, so he collected pieces of them to change off and add to this exercise.

More of these explanaIions of Doc Savage's exercises will be given
in the next issue of Doc Savage Magazine.

NOVELS   |  COMICS   |  RADIO   |  BEYOND   |  HERO PULP     ||   SITE MAP

Site by Chris Kalb || Doc Savage © Copyright Conde Nast Publications